Iris Dement
b. 1961, Arkansas, USA. A singer/songwriter from the rural regions of Arkansas, DeMent was a latecomer to music, making her initial impact in 1992. Born the youngest child of a family of fourteen, she spent her youth waitressing and typing in her home near Kansas City, Missouri. Her early influences included gospel, Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash, but she was 25 years of age before she began to write her own songs. Soon after she was picked up by the small Boston folk label, Rounder Records. Surrounded by accomplished players such as Al Perkins and Jerry Douglas, her debut album, INFAMOUS ANGEL, was an acclaimed, acoustically-based country folk set, that mixed her homespun vocals and charming lyrics to great effect. An original talent, her rave notices resulted in a recording contract with Warner Brothers in 1993. Great things are expected in the future.