Dan Bern

Iowa native Dan Bern arrived in 1997 with his self-titled debut and joined the ranks of artists such as John Prine, Elliott Murphy, Steve Forbert, and Loudon Wainwright III who had previously shouldered the “new Dylan” tag. Armed with acoustic guitar, a set of sharp, witty, and insightful songs, and a vocal approach that echoed the source, he left the Midwest for Los Angeles and quickly disrupted the city’s folk circuit. From there he moved through clubs and festivals across the country, drawing steady attention that led Sony Records’ Work Group subsidiary to offer him a contract. Work then issued his strong 1996 independent album Dog Boy Van, which had been recorded before the signing, later that same year. The official follow-up, Fifty Eggs, produced by Ani DiFranco, reached stores in March 1998, while the independent two-CD collection Smartie Mine appeared before year’s end. No longer based in the Midwest, Bern established residence in New Mexico in early 2002. Fleeting Days arrived the following spring. The politically charged EP My Country II surfaced in 2004, and the full-length Breathe followed in 2006.