Vic Lewis Singin' The Blues CD

She was already one of the most discussed artists in the Americana movement. Her work stirred accolades in national media. She was tapped to open shows for Marc Cohn, Dan Fogelberg - and Bob Dylan. She wrote songs as weavers thread tapestries, her most vivid colors being a Southern feel, a churchy soulfulness in her vocals, and a way with words that bore comparison to literature as easily as to the best contemporary lyrics.

Yet she had one more line to cross, the one that lay between all that she had accomplished and Nashville, in some respects her spiritual home yet a place she had never recorded until this year. The result, Red River Flower, is a turning point in her journey, taking her closer to the sound toward which she has been working for years.

Again, it comes down to timing: the confluence between her creative growth and her decision to mark it by gathering some of her favorite collaborators, including producer Brady Blade and Americana legend Buddy Miller, along with guitarist Mike Henderson, steel and dobro player Al Perkins, keyboardist Phil Madeira, bassist Chris Donohue and backing singers Regina McCrary and Gayle Mayes - musicians whose empathy for DeMeyer's songs impresses nearly as much as the songs themselves. 'This album is closer to my heart than anything I've done before,' she insists. 'It represents my voice the best, and when you hear it more clearly then the lyrics have that much more meaning.

'Those who follow DeMeyer will recognize her artistry on this album while noticing as well that it has risen to a higher level. 'Being in Nashville affected me,' she says. 'When I'd worked before with Buddy, sometimes it was done by mailing music files back and forth. But to have him show up and be in the studio with me and the other players is a completely different experience.

'That's evident from the first notes of the track, 'Shepherd.