Griffith to kick off tour with stop at Buskirk

Singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith begins a tour of the Midwest at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

A musician with five Grammy Award nominations and collaborations with artists including Emmylou Harris, Frank Zigal and The Chieftains behind her, Griffith is soon to release an album of new songs, which the concert will feature.

Griffith’s style and new album features “folk-country melodies built around stories that aren’t afraid to tackle big subjects all delivered with the artist’s signature vocal style,” according to her official Web site.

She defines her style as “folkabilly.”

Griffith was born in Austin, Texas, and began performing at a young age. Her career began in earnest in the late 1970s and early 1980s with her first two independent recordings.

Since then, she has recorded 16 additional albums, including “Other Voices, Other Rooms,” which celebrated other songwriters and won a Grammy Award. She was the first to record Julie Gold’s Grammy Award winning “From a Distance” and has collaborated with dozens of artists.

Griffith’s new record “The Loving Kind” is politically outspoken and speaks to landmark events in the United States.

The title track has lyrics about an important 1967 court case that ended a ban on interracial marriage.

“Not Innocent Enough” addresses the death row case of Philip Workman, who was executed despite proof of his innocence.

These kinds of message-laden songs will be featured in the concert. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Buskirk-Chumley box office on Kirkwood Avenue.