Shawn Colvin writes powerful songs about heartache and loss, and she happens to have a lovely voice that adds a pretty punch.
Last year Colvin celebrated the 20th anniversary of her “A Few Small Repairs,” which included her hit “Sunny Came Home,” a catchy song about a kind of triumphant act of destruction. Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of her debut solo album “Steady On.”
Colvin’s songs tell candid stories with emotional intelligence, sturdy melodies and a phrasing that feels right at home inside each of her little worlds. Colvin sometimes sounds like a more acerbic Sheryl Crow. She can bring to mind Rickie Lee Jones and Steve Winwood, too.
But Colvin has her own emotional register. There’s a poignant darkness to Colvin’s songs. She has a knack for taking covers and turning them into stark and somber re-interpretations with a life of their own. Listen to her saxophone-less version of Gerry Rafferty’s inescapable ‘70s hit “Baker Street” or her aching take of the CCR classic “Lodi.”
Shawn Colvin performs at Infinity Hall, 32 Front St., Hartford, on Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. $44 to-$163. 866-666-6306 and infinityhall.com