Colleen McFarland
The youngest of nine children, Colleen grew up in a three bedroom, one bathroom house on the outskirts of Jennings, Missouri, singing whatever music her parents, and one brother and seven sisters played on the radio and family turntable. After getting her 'feet wet' as a soloist in church weddings and at school, Colleen became a professional entertainer at the age of fifteen, performing throughout the Midwest in local bands and orchestras. Writing music at an early age, her voice and songs reflect the influences of her Midwestern roots, and artists like Neil Young, James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Marty Robbins.
After paying her way through college by various odd jobs, scholarships and musical gigs, Colleen graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in music performance from the University of Missouri in St. Louis. She moved to the Northeast to further her singer-songwriter career, and performed at many venues including the Tin Angel, The Point, The Lansdowne Folk Club, and The Bitter End, while also performing in coffee shops and at festivals, including the Newton Colony/XPN Music & Arts Festival in Collingswood, NJ featuring The Mavericks, and Lucinda Williams. She has shared the stage with Freedy Johnston, Kim Richey, Jeff Black, Jeffrey Gaines, Lucy Kaplansky, Frank Black (Pixies), and Entrain to name a few.
Colleen recorded and co-produced two independent cds, Speaking In Rhymes, and Three Miles From Odessa which received airplay on many college and independent radio stations, and worked as a voice-over talent and jingle singer, recording commercials and industrial spots for Nike, Fox Television, Polygram Video, and was the featured soprano for Bernard Herrmann's (of Alfred Hitchcock fame) post-mortem Opus 6.
Moving to Nashville in 2003, Colleen has performed solo and with her band at 3rd & Lindsley, The Bluebird Cafe, Borders Books & Music, The Basement, Douglas Corner, The French Quarter Cafe, and The Family Wash. Colleen also sings with several Nashville bands including Soul Food, led by guitarist/pedal steel player Pete Finney (Dixie Chicks/Patty Loveless) featuring Jen Gundermann on keys (Last Train Home/Jayhawks), Ken Coomer on drums (Wilco) and Dave Jacques on bass (Emmylou Harris/Patty Griffin). Colleen also frequently joins guitarist Reeves Gabrels (David Bowie's Tin Machine) singing blues and funk at the Family Wash. Colleen's 2007 summer tour in Europe, included performances in Germany, England and Norway. Her show with Norwegian songwriter Peter Nova at Pub Ampfield in Gjovik, Norway was voted best concert of 2006 by Frode Hermanrud, journalist for Oppland Arbeiderblad.
Colleen licensed two of her songs to Universal Studios in January of 2006 for the dvd release of the television series Northern Exposure and recently signed a licensing deal for film and television with Universal Studios along with Grammy nominated co-writing partners John Mattick and Rodney Lawson of Crew 22 Productions. Her songs can be heard on radio stations across the country including WRLT in Nashville, WXPN in Philadelphia, and as far away as Paris, France, on NSEO “Keep It Country”. Colleen was also picked for Best of Show 2006 for "The Miller Tells Her Tale", a popular Americana internet radio podcast from Edinburgh, Scotland, and her songs have also been featured on BBC Radio 2 with Bob Harris and Bryan Burnett of BBC (Brand New Country).
Colleen recently released her third cd "Beautiful Lie" to rave reviews worldwide, featuring stellar performances by touring musicians with Brooks and Dunn, Rascall Flatts, and Sara Evans. Colleen was recently featured as the 'Critics Pick' in the Nashville Scene for the August 2006 issue, Performing Songwriters top 12 DIY picks for November 2006, and 'Beautiful Lie' received four stars in Maverick Magazine's November '06 issue by Alan Cackett in the UK.
Colleen is recording new material for her next cd with guitarist/co-producer/engineer Thomm Jutz. Guest musicians include Thomm Jutz on guitar (Nanci Griffith/Mary Gauthier), Lorne Rall on bass (Amazing Rhythm Aces/Lucinda Williams), Dave Jacques on horns, Rich Malloy on drums (Rod Picot/Amelia White), and Peter Nova on keyboards, and organ.