Karyn Ann & Tai Shan - be better - Kulturhaus Kresslesmühle

Karyn Ann

Soul American Artist

With a voice that’s equal parts church bell and bourbon barrel and a gut-punching grit reminiscent of Bonnie Raitt or Grace Potter, Portland-based singer-songwriter Karyn Ann has been charming audiences across the US and beyond for over a decade with her fresh and timeless blend of Soulful Americana. A seasoned performer and skilled songwriter, Karyn Ann has been nationally recognized at such festivals as the Great River Folk Fest (WI), Rocky Mountain Folks Festival (CO), Red Ants Pants Music Festival (MT) and the Tuscon Folk Festival (AZ). Ann's latest single "Be Better" is a heart-felt roots-rock Americana track with soulful vocals, bluesy guitar and a warm full-band groove reminiscent of Susan Tedeschi and Patty Griffin. It's a song to remind us all to be kinder to ourselves and to eachother.

Tai Shan

Combining the vintage soul of “Bonnie Raitt with the lyrical poignancy of Joni Mitchell,” Nashville-based, award-winning songwriter Tai Shan’s seventh studio album Wildfire Moon (August 2024) has been hailed by LA Weekly as “simply stunning.”

Known for her magnetic live performances, Tai has toured extensively across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, sharing her breezy, road-trippin’ tunes described as “infectious and impossible to sit still to.” She has performed for audiences as varied as Pope John Paul II and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and graced iconic stages including Nashville’s Bluebird Café.

A critic’s darling and a songwriter’s songwriter, she is a two-time Kerrville New Folk Finalist and the recipient of the grand prize from both the Rocky Mountain Songwriting Festival and the John Cirrillo Scholarship Fund.

Awards:

Kerrville Folk Festival - New Folk Finalist 2024 and 2025
Winner of the Rocky Mountain Songwriting Competition 2025
Winner of the John Cirillo Scholarship 2025
2nd Place Winner of the Corpus Christi Songwriting Competition
Josie Award - RISING STAR OF THE YEAR
SONGWRITER ACHIEVEMENT with the Josie Awards
USA Songwriting Competition Finalist
Jane Titland Memorial Songwriting Contest Finalist
Jack Straw Cultural Center Grant Recipient

Foto: Julia Varga