Saturday, May 25, 2013
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Listen to Cheryl Wheeler and you'll be struck by the purity and strength of her voice. From time to time, there's a hint of Tracy Chapman, a glint of Joni Mitchell, but it's all Wheeler -- sweetheart of folk festivals around the world since she struck out on her own in the 1980s after getting her start with Jonathan Edwards' band.
Besides her own albums, including the 2003 career-spanning compendium Different Stripe, the prolific Wheeler is known in songwriting circles for penning country hits "Addicted," recorded by Dan Seals, and "Aces" for Suzy Bogguss. Garth Brooks has taken Wheeler tunes on tour. When and if Wheeler ever hangs up her hat, she will have wonderful memories of her singing career, like the time she opened for Doc Watson at the Newport Folk Festival.
But Wheeler is still going strong and her voice shows no signs of fatigue. Next weekend, locals will get a rare chance to hear Wheeler live in Colorado Springs while supporting a worthy local cause, the work of the Women's Resource Agency.
WRA helps local women with no income (some one-third of its clients) and low-income women accumulate the tools needed for self sufficiency; runs InterCept, an abstinence education program targeting high-risk adolescent in 8th through 12th grades; and supports Dress for Success, a program that provides appropriate work and interview apparel for women entering the job market.
The benefit concert will be preceded by a silent auction. All proceeds benefit the work of WRA.
-- Kathryn Eastburn
capsule
Cheryl Wheeler fund-raiser for the Women's Resource Center
Friday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m.
Silent auction at 6 p.m.
Benet Hill Center, 2577 N. Chelton Road
$25; Call 471-3170.
