The spellbinding music of Nina Simone is thrillingly recreated in American singer Karen Underwood’s hit solo show The Nina in Me which comes to the Town Hall for one night only next Thursday, March 5.
Karen Underwood is affectionately known in her adopted home of Cork as “the Chicago Diva”. Hailing from the Windy City, Karen always had a big voice, but her vocal talents were never encouraged due to a strict religious conservative home life and the pressures of academic achievement.
That all changed when Karen moved to Cork in 1997. One house party later, the obligatory sing-song broke out and Karen was hooked. She recalls the experience in epiphany-like tones, the moment when the reserved Chicago Karen faded and the diva Karen stepped up. A friend suggested she should give the singing lark a go, and she soon found herself performing at a club night. Her reputation as a charismatic vocalist grew steadily and as lead singer with Cork band The Flying Monkeys her vocal talents and her confidence exploded.
The producers of the band, Cartoon, happened upon the Chicago diva and soon they were collaborating in studio, with Karen providing the vocals on Cartoon’s first EP release with Brique Rogue. She also lent her writing talents to five tracks on the debut album.
Cork Opera House then commissioned Karen to write and perform The Nina in Me in the Half Moon Theatre in the summer of 2008. The critical and popular reaction was so enthusiastic that she was invited to return for additional performances in September and again in October. Karen is delighted to embark on a national tour of The Nina in Me.
In her one-woman show she sings Nina Simone’s songs and interweaves them with her own life story of growing up in a strict religious home in Chicago in the 1960s… the racial turbulence and repression she experienced in America… and her journey of self-discovery after moving to Ireland.
Karen will perform timeless Simone classics such as ‘Ain’t Got No’, ‘My Baby Just Cares for Me’, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, ‘Feeling Good’, and ‘Strange Fruit’. (”Her version of ‘Strange Fruit’ — that both beautiful and terrible song — is worth the admission price alone,” enthused The Evening Echo ).
The Nina in Me promises to be an unmissable treat for fans of the great Nina Simone. And chances are they’ll go away from the gig also being ardent fans of the remarkable Karen Underwood.
The Nina in Me is at the Town Hall, Thursday March 5 at 8pm. Tickets are €20.
