Country’s Katie Armiger feisty and flirty
BY TERRY LONCARIC Contributor October 25, 2012 8:10PM
Rising country singer Katie Armiger performs at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts Nov. 2.
Katie
Armiger Trio
8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2
James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts, College of Lake County, 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake
$20-$25
(847) 543-2300
Already sophisticated and torchy, 21-year-old country singer Katie Armiger draws from a deep well of inspiration.
Armiger performs her feisty, flirty and heart-aching tracks Nov. 2 at College of Lake County’s James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts.
Accompanied by her band, the Katie Armiger Trio, the young Texan has been on fire ever since she broke onto the country music scene at age 15.
After competing with 150 young singers and winning the title of “Houston’s Best Country Singer,” Armiger recorded her first tracks in Nashville. She collaborated with Mark Oliverius, a producer who worked with Joe Diffie and Lorrie Morgan.
Her signature tunes include “17 in Abilene,” the quintessential road song, “Insanity,” a song she wrote on a paper plate and “Better in a Black Dress,” an assertive song about female sexiness.
Armiger believes country music is more of a philosophy than a sound. “I would say I see country music as a kind of theme,” she said. “All of the songs tell a story, whether it’s sad or happy. That feeling of ‘connecting’ is what country music is all about.”
Armiger is already being compared to old-school, heart-and-soul singers like Martina McBride and Sara Evans. She said she is flattered by the comparisons. “You listen to all those people who came before you, and you try to take notes,” Armiger said. “I try to convey confidence in my music. I try to show vulnerability, too, and what it means to be open to your emotions. A lot of my music is written from a female point of view.”
Armiger’s third album, “Confessions of a Nice Girl,” recorded on the independent Cold River Records label, blends life stories with fetching grooves and an underlying sexiness.
“My music is a little bit of everything,” she said. “It’s traditional, it’s pop, it’s country. For me what’s great about being on an independent label is you have more opportunities to choose your material and shape your image.”
With support from her band, Armiger wants to keep surprising fans and herself. “When you write songs, you get to open yourself up to things you might not have thought about,” she said. “Our fans have been supportive from Day 1. We always try to bring our fans into our world and hope they get it.”
