I just had a chance to listen to my friend, Claudia Nygaard’s new CD, Lucky Girl, all the way through and I just had to tell folks how impressed I was. I first became aware of Claudia’s music at several different Folk Alliance events over the years but I actually got to know her in the past few years when she began attending the International Western Music Convention and performing at various cowboy gatherings. She has quickly become not only my friend but also one of my favorite songwriters. She has a beautiful voice and she writes some the most honest and forthright songs I’ve ever heard. Her songs will make you laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time, and on occasion, she can make you feel a bit uncomfortable, but it’s all for the sake of the story. Her new album probably fits best in the Americana genre if you’re really into pigeon-holing things but she could have performed all of these songs on a zither and still knocked it out of the park (I don’t even know exactly what a zither is but I just like saying it). Her producer for this album was grammy-nominated veteran, Neilson Hubbard and he came through with a punchy, somewhat rock-oriented approach that works great. The title track, “Lucky Girl,” is killer and there’s really something for everyone. My favorite song is the one that will make everyone uncomfortable, as it should. I think it probably should become the anthem for the MeToo Movement. You just need to hear it. Another one I liked a lot was “Or Not.” You can pick your own favorites though, every single song is so well written. Buy this album and when Claudia comes to your town, GO OUT TO HEAR HER MUSIC! She puts on a great show, she’s a wonderful person and just an amazing songwriter. Here’s the link below to her website:
http://claudianygaard.com/index.html
