Shawn Colvin in concert at Telluride’s Opera House 12/27

25 Dec Shawn Colvin in concert at Telluride’s Opera House 12/27

Her latest release, "Shawn Colvin Live,"  was nominated for a Grammy for best Contemporary Folk Album. Shawn Colvin appears live at Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House on Sunday, December 27, 8 p.m.

Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota, a small college town just south of Sioux Falls. At age 10, she picked up her brother's Harmony four-string guitar and bought the plain vanilla Mel Bay chord books. At 13, she confiscated a classical gut instrument her father meant to give her mother. Colvin's first recording session occurred in high school, when she was also singing the role of Anna in "The King and I." She made her first public appearance on campus at the University of Illinois at age 15.

As a teen, discovering Joni Mitchell proved to be life-changing. The gifted poet and great guitarist became Shawn Colvin's role model and helps explain the artist's own heartfelt, direct-from-her-soul-to-yours solo style, delivered by a muscular guitar with lots of intricate finger picking and percussiveness.

In the 19 years since the release of her debut album, Steady On, Shawn Colvin has won three Grammys, released eight albums, and maintained a non-stop international touring schedule. Colvin recently signed a deal with Harper Collins Publishers to write a memoir, an extension of the intimate and often funny stories she weaves into her live concerts.

For a concert preview, watch Shawn Colvin on You Tube.