Susan Tedeschi

By Martin Huxley

Feb 29 2000

Since the release of her breakthrough album Just Won't Burn, Susan Tedeschi has performed as part of Lilith Fair and Farm Aid, and toured with Bob Dylan, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, John Mellencamp and the Allman Brothers Band. She's also won four Boston Music Awards, a pair of W.C. Handy Blues Awards, and a Grammy nomination as Best New Artist.

"I'm not hearing 'You play great for a girl' as much as before," states the 29-year-old singer/guitarist.

Tedeschi, whose clean-cut looks contrast her volcanic musical talents, grew up in the Boston suburb of Norwell, singing in church and local theater productions. After graduating from Boston's Berklee School of Music, she established herself on the local blues scene, self-releasing a CD, Better Days, and earning two consecutive nods as the Boston Music Awards' Outstanding Blues Act.

Tedeschi started as a singer, but eventually took up rhythm guitar and quickly progressed to her current status as an accomplished lead player. "I was never inspired to really play the guitar until I heard Magic Sam when I was around 22 or 23, followed by Jimmy Reed and Lightnin' Hopkins," she recalls. "It was like a huge window opened up in my head."

The artist, who's recorded two duets with Willie Nelson for his next release, recently began work on her next album. She insists that success won't sway her from her devotion to the blues.

"When it comes down to it, it's all about the song - not the singing, guitar playing or drumming," she concludes. "It's about people getting together and listening to each other, creating a mood, and, hopefully, raw emotion spilling out and making a story."