ASCAP recognizes New Orleans’ songwriting on Friday December 5th and Saturday December 6th, at the New Orleans Songwriters’ Festival.

New Orleans, LA (RushPRnews) 14/11/2008 – New Orleans’ honored vocalist and songwriter Susan Cowsill will join master songwriter Jimmy Webb, (By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, Up Up And Away, Macarthur Park), on Friday December 5th and Saturday December 6th, at the New Orleans Songwriters’ Festival. The sponsor of this event is The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), which has been representing songwriters, composers, and publishers since its inception some 80 years ago. The purpose of the New Orleans Songwriters Festival is to promote interaction between New Orleans and Louisiana-based writers and writers from around the world. “Any excess Songfest operating funds will be donated to benefit New Orleans and Louisiana-based musicians,” says organizer Bud Tower.

Susan Cowsill made her initial mark on pop culture with The Cowsills. During Susan’s decade with New Orleans’ roots-pop super group The Continental Drifters, her personally charged songwriting graced three widely acclaimed albums and a decade’s worth of riveting performances. Susan’s vocal talents have supported recordings from artists as diverse as Dwight Twilley, Nanci Griffith, and Carlene Carter. The Bangles and Hootie and the Blowfish cover her compositions.

Susan Cowsill’s critically acclaimed 2005 album, Just Believe It, will be re-released, remastered, and remixed  in early 2009. Rolling Stone claimed Just Believe It offered “the hardy, heartbreaking sound of a bar band angel.” The Washington Post concurred, “As good as Cowsill’s voice is, her smart emotional songwriting is her biggest asset.”

Jenny Brooks, Mary Gauthier, Mark Stephen Jones, Jim McCormick, Ralph Murphy, Cassandra Wilson, and Zachary Richard will also make appearances at the New Orleans Songfest.

The schedule of events follows:
Friday 12.05.08: 8:00pm-12:00pm – Open Mic (location: Blue Nile)
Saturday 12.06.08: 2:00pm-3: 45pm – CD Release Party – Jenny Brooks (location: Louisiana Music Factory)
2:00pm-3: 45pm – CD Release Party – Mark Stephen Jones (location: Louisiana Music Factory)
3:00pm-5:00pm – Songwriters Round Cowsill/Gauthier/McCormick/Murphy (location: Blue Nile)
8:00pm-10: 30pm – Jimmy Webb/Zachary Richard/Cassandra Wilson (location: House of Blues)

Cowsill will not slow down after Songfest. Early in 2009, Susan begins studio work on her new album, set for release in spring of 2009. Meanwhile the New Orleans’s favorite continues a busy tour schedule, with regular dates in New Orleans including the critically acclaimed Covered in Vinyl (CIV) series at Carrollton Station every month.

Susan Cowsill’s anthem to survivors of hurricane Katrina, Crescent City Snow, has become a worldwide phenomenon and is featured on play lists from Australia to Los Angeles. The anthem to searching for home, recovery from tragedy, and a place “where I know who I am,” is in the final stages of video production at LCN-Louisiana Super Station in Houma, Louisiana. [http://www.lcntv.com/]

Cowsill also appears on a benefit CD, Congo’s Angels, with Grammy winner and fellow New Orleans artist, Irma Thomas. The Democratic Republic of Congo is in the throes of the worst humanitarian crisis of modern times.

“I wanted to join fellow women songwriters to express solidarity with the women of Congo, who are subjected to unspeakable violence on a daily basis,” Cowsill said.

To contact Susan Cowsill, email Canewoman LLC, or call 218.831.5008. Or, email Russ Broussard at russbroussard@yahoo.com.