Album Notes

"Now this is folk music. Acoustic guitar...sweet voice...intelligent and political lyrics...it's everything folk is supposed to be."-Collected Sounds

ABOUT ROBERTA & MISS AMERICA:
"Powerful, Fiercely independent, Sultry and Intelligent..." are a few of the words that have been used to describe singer-songwriter, Roberta Chevrette, a new face on the Sacramento music scene and the national folk circuit. Like many artists these days, Roberta has been building a career outside of the homogeneity of the Britney/Cristina lookalikes of the mainstream. Indeed, with her direct personal-political-feminist informed lyrics, Roberta is not afraid to call it like she sees it, and with her high energy performances and a never-ending tour schedule, she has been playing to growing audiences in California and across the country.

But her appeal is not just in her dislike of a certain man in a certain higher office. Also helping Roberta to carve her own path are her distinctive guitar work and a voice that one writer describes as "stunning," saying, "It's clean and clear, and it provides the perfect vehicle to carry her thoughtful lyrics across the landscape created by her melodies." So it is that armed with just her acoustic guitar and her naivete (along with the help of online stores like CD Baby), Roberta's homegrown demo cd, Can You Hear This? (2003), managed to draw attention as far away as Belgium and Germany, and her full-length studio debut,
Woman Mother Earth Sky (2004), led to tours and radio appearances across the US. With the release of her sophomore cd, Miss America, on March 19th, 2005, this
driven and talented 23 year-old has certainly been keeping busy.

Describing the new cd as "fast, fierce, feminist folk," Roberta delivers 13 new songs on the album, which, while continuing in the strong socio-political lyrical focus showcased on her debut cd, also branch out into a newer folkier realm of stringed instruments and bluegrass influenced harmonies. From the flat-picked opening notes of "country girl," to the feminist commentary on body image in the aptly titled, "miss america," to the rollicking sound of "bear tracks" and a couple of the political spoken word pieces that Roberta's audiences have come to know and love, Roberta has created an album with a sound that falls somewhere between the woman-on-her-own style of
influential artists like Ani DiFranco and that of a rowdy boot-stompin' (albeit untraditional) string band.

And that is not all. In the past two years Roberta has shared the stage with Sacramento's rising star, Jackie Greene as well as numerous other local and touring performers; she has performed at folk festivals alongside seasoned veterans such as Utah Phillips and newcomers like Noe Venable; and she has toured near and far, receiving press and airplay while criss-crossing the country. She is a performing member of Indiegrrl and a dedicated activist to feminist/queer/progressive causes, interrupting the stream of coffeehouses, bars and acoustic music venues and festivals to play for diverse causes, from Seattle's Bend-it! Queer Youth Arts Festival to benefits for the West Coast Feminist Health Alliance, NOW (National Organization of Women), the Green Party, Sacramento Peace Action and many others.

But what shines through most, as anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Roberta perform can attest, are her energetic live performances; and with her colorful presence and outspoken exuberance, she has drawn comparisons to the aforementioned DiFranco, as well as guitarist Leo Kottke
and beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Although she can be found playing many shows solo, she is often accompanied by one or both members of her acoustic band (although they are not always wearing dresses), The Roberta Chevrette Trio, featuring Ken Burnett on mandolin and harmonies and John Bellizia on banjo and percussion.

VISIT WWW.ROBERTACHEVRETTE.COM FOR MORE INFO, MAILING LIST, TOUR SCHEDULE AND MORE.