Owen Returns to The Metropolitan Room 3/25 - 4/4

Judith Owen, the Welsh singer-songwriter who continues to garner praise from discerning critics, begins an exclusive, two-week engagement at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, for two weeks beginning March 25.

Owen, who previewed her current show over two nights at the venue last September, performs seven shows from Wednesday March 25 to Saturday April 4, all at 9:45pm.

Owen and her trio perform songs from her new album "Mopping Up Karma," released worldwide in January by her label, Courgette Records, as well as highlights from her other recordings. The seeds of the album are a set of recordings that were going to be her major-label debut ten years ago. She made them with star producer Glen Ballard (Anniel Lennox, No Doubt, Dave Matthews), whose discovery of Owen performing in the Hollywood club Luna Park led to her signing by the Capitol boutique Java Records. Owen began writing and recording with Clifton Magness (Avril Lavigne) and Ballard. When the company's presidency changed hands, Owen was nearly left to languish. She decided to go it alone, record new albums and release them independently. Now a decade later she has returned to the "Mopping Up Karma" tracks and transformed them - with newly recorded vocals, remixed tracks and more - to create a new album.

Owen will also include songs from her other two widely praised albums "Happy this Way," and "Here." While chosing "Happy This Way" as a one of the 10 Best Albums of 2007, The Boston Globe's Joan Anderman said, "she's been accurately described as the female Randy Newman, but there's one big difference: Owen's voice is gorgeous." Stephen Holden of The New York Times has written, "By turns romantic and brashly witty [Owen] suggests a fusion of Joni Mitchell (personal subject matter), Annie Lennox (vocal quality) and Burt Bacharach (melodies)."

In recent performances Owen's notable collaborators have included Harry Shearer (her husband) and Richard Thompson with whom she just toured in the U.K. as a featured vocalist in his much-discussed "1,000 Years of Popular Music."

"Mopping Up Karma" performs 7 times: Wednesday through Saturday March 25, 26, 27, 28, and Thursday through Saturday April 2, 3, 4. All shows are at 9:45pm. Owen's music charge is $25. For reservations call 212/206-0440. Rated "Best of New York" by New York Magazine, the Nightlife and Bistro Award-winning Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, celebrates its third anniversary in May. www.metropolitanroom.com

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