Biography
Oh Susanna serves as the performing moniker for Canadian singer and songwriter Suzie Ungerleider, whose alt-country style favors stark, haunting balladry that has drawn comparisons to Gillian Welch. Born in the United States, she relocated with her family to Vancouver during childhood, where exposure to diverse recordings fostered a particular affinity for the Rolling Stones. At Concordia University she pursued studies in history while hosting a campus radio program, experiences that sharpened her growing engagement with American roots music and prompted her to begin composing country-folk songs of her own. Her debut appearance under the Oh Susanna name occurred in 1995, at which point she held a position as a library clerk, and two years later she issued a self-titled seven-track EP on her independent Stella label. The dark, frequently morbid character of her storytelling earned her recognition as Canada’s top unsigned artist in a national contest; that same summer she gained further attention through select Lilith Fair dates before joining Veda Hille and Kinnie Starr for the Scrappy Bitches Tour across Canada. Square Dog Records released her first full-length effort, Johnstown, in 1999, extending the gothic preoccupation with murder ballads and the shadowy corners of folk and country traditions. A milder, introspective mood characterized Sleepy Little Sailor, issued on Catamount in 2001 and promoted through extensive live appearances. Two years afterward she aligned with Nettwerk, refining her folk-inflected approach for a self-titled album that appeared in September 2003. Subsequent releases included the well-received Short Stories in 2007, Soon the Birds in 2011, and Namedropper in 2014, the last of these showcasing original material written expressly for her by several of Canada’s leading songwriters. Her seventh studio album, A Girl in Teen City, arrived in 2017.
Albums
