Iris DeMent has established herself as a straightforward singer/songwriter with the ability to touch the heart and soul of an audience. Her songs, performed on piano and guitar, are punctuated by humorous anecdotes which intensify an audience's vulnerability to the gripping message of those songs.

Born in Paragould, Arkansas in 1961 and raised in Buena Park, California, Dement was the last of 14 children born to a highly religious family. Music was a thread that bound all the members of DeMent's family. Her father played country fiddle, while her mother -- who sang lead on the gospel-tinged tune "Higher Ground" on Infamous Angel -- dreamed of singing at the Grand Ole Opry. "There was constant music in the house," DeMent recalled. "Everybody in my family was involved in music in some way. All of my sisters sang and played piano and some played the guitar too. My brother, who lived at home, played guitar and wrote songs. It was his dream to be a country singer. My first recollections are the piano banging all the time, records playing, my mother singing and my brother walking around the house with a guitar slung over his shoulders." DeMent's earliest musical influence came from the gospel music that she heard at church and at home. "It's the one form of music that was consistently in my world from the beginning," she said. "I still sing those songs. I don't think I could separate what I do from that type of music, even on this record, even though it's plugged-in and has certain rock influences on some songs. Lyrically and in terms of what I try to do musically, there's no separating me from that. I still aim with my music for the response that those church songs evoked in my family and myself and the people around me."

DeMent's musical vision was shaped further by the songs of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash and Tom T. Hall. "People seem to have a hard time defining what I do," she said. "When I first started, people called it folk music and others called it bluegrass. I've heard 'country,' and now I'm hearing 'rock' with this record. It's all of those influences involved in what I've become. It seems like a natural thing."

DeMent first began composing songs at the age of 25. Honing her skills at open-mic nights, in 1988 she moved to Nashville, where she contacted producer Jim Rooney, who helped her land a record contract. She did not make her recording debut until 1992, when her independent label offering, Infamous Angel, won almost universal acclaim thanks to her pure, evocative vocal style and spare, heartfelt songcraft. Despite a complete lack of support from country radio, the record's word-of-mouth praise earned her a deal with Warner Bros., which reissued Infamous Angel in 1993 as well as its follow-up, 1994's stunning My Life. Her third LP, 1996's eclectic The Way I Should, marked a dramatic change not only in its more rock-influenced sound but also in its subject matter; where DeMent's prior work was introspective and deeply personal, The Way I Should was fiercely political, tackling topics like sexual abuse, religion, government policy, and Vietnam. In 1999, she collaborated with country man John Prine on his album, In Spite of Ourselves. DeMent recorded four duets with Prine that earned her a Grammy nod the following year.

DeMent has toured extensively in the United States and Europe to enthusiastic receptions. She has appeared in support of John Prine, Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin and Tom Petty. Her television and radio appearances include The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Conan O'Brien Show, Austin City Limits and A Prairie Home Companion.