Artist's Website: Cris Williamson

Cris Williamson has spent six decades changing the face of popular music. Born in Deadwood, South Dakota, and in the wilds of Wyoming and Colorado, she cut her first album at 16 for a small label three local listeners pooled their money to start. She later put music aside to earn her degree and teach school, before returning to it for good.

In 1975, the then-twenty-something former schoolteacher recorded The Changer and the Changed for her brainchild, Olivia Records — the first woman-owned, woman-focused record company — and became the cornerstone of what came to be known as "women's music." That album remains one of the best-selling independent releases of all time, and her song "Song of the Soul" is still sung around campfires and in places of worship by people who may not even know her name.




Bonnie Raitt has said “Hearing Cris' music was like hearing honey dripped on a cello,” adding that “Cris has been a whole lot of women's heroes — including mine.”




Now with 34 albums to her name and an Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award on her shelf, Cris continues to tour the acoustic circuit, having headlined festivals from Newport to Vancouver and sold out three shows at Carnegie Hall. Her new release, Breathing Room — her 34th album — arrives October 16, and Cris returns to Jonathan's to celebrate its release.


Photo credit: Irene Young