Dana And Susan Robinson

Dana and Susan Robinson met at a house concert in Santa Clara, California in March of 2002. Sue was a grant writer for environmental non-profits in the Monterey / Santa Cruz area, and Dana, by then had been a full-time road warrior since he hit national folk circuit in 1995. Born in Oregon in 1961 and raised in the Bay Area of northern California, Dana spent his youth pouring over the lyrics of Dylan, the Beatles, and the English art rock bands of the 70s. At seventeen Dana took to hitchhiking between the western states, and playing in cafés and coffeehouses. This restlessness culminated in the 1985 with a trip to Europe to ride the trains and busk on the streets. Upon returning to America, Dana settled in Vermont where he built a cabin off the grid, owned a café and bakery, and discovered both the Northeast singer-songwriter scene and Appalachian mountain music. In 1994 Dana recorded his debut CD Elemental Lullabye, and with the help of Putumayo World Music made an appearance at Carnegie Hall. From 1995 to 2002 Dana toured the United States ceaselessly as a solo performer, and recorded three more albums: Midnight Salvage, The Trade, and Avenue of the Saints. During this time Dana received awards, accolades, and built a reputation as a road warrior, essayist, and journeyman songwriter. In 2001 Dana moved from New England south to Asheville, North Carolina to live amongst the thriving roots and traditional music scene. Born on Long Island then brought up in Vermont, Sue was raised in a musical family. Her father, a jazz trumpet player, used to host big band rehearsals in their basement, and the family “sing-around-the-piano” was a regular event. Sue received an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth in psychology, and a masters degree in public policy from Berkeley. A continual thread through her life however was the music she played: the piano, oboe, and Scottish-style fiddle. So when Dana put a guitar and banjo in her hands she naturally took to them. Their first recording together, Native Soil (2004), explores the traditional repertoire Dana and Susan first began playing together. Their follow-up recording, `Round My Door (2008), marks a return to Dana’s original songwriting with an emphasis once again on exploring the American landscape. Vermont based Singer-Songwriters who also love playing southern oldtime music and traditional English and Southern Mountain ballads.