Ferron, born Debby Foisy, is a Canadian folk singer/songwriter and poet. In addition to being one of Canada’s most famous folk musicians, she is one of the most influential writers and performers of women’s music, and an important influence on later musicians such as Ani DiFranco, Mary Gauthier and the Indigo Girls.

Ferron’s rough-hewn voicing, chewy phrasing, and poetic songwriting have brought many favorable comparisons, including Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen (cf. Stephen Holden 1994). One wit aptly summed up Ferron’s legendary status by calling her “the Johnny Cash of lesbian folk singing” (Bett Williams 2000). The reviewer Al Kaufman (2008) put the well-meaning comparisons to rest, finally, when he wrote, “Ferron is much more than the answer to the trivia question, ‘What if Bob Dylan had been born a Canadian lesbian?’ For one thing, unlike her nasal counterpart, Ferron’s voice is rich and beautiful. Yet like Dylan, Ferron is a poet who is able to convey emotion without becoming maudlin, and beliefs without edging toward the pedantic. Like the great artist that she is, she paints a picture and has the listeners derive from it what they will, based on their own personal experiences.” “Ferron … is a real salt of the earth singer who approaches her art with both sleeves rolled up, ready to dive in. She walks her talk with heart exposed and performs with a courage and commitment that few other artists ever muster. The songs don’t sound composed and sung as much as they feel wrung from the sweat and toil of hard fought experience. In Ferron’s world, the contents of her songs appear as if they’re lived out on the canvas of her life and not just inside the confines of her art…when she sings, no one can miss the gravity and weight inferred by her commanding alto voice” (Heselgrave 2008).

http://www.ferrononline.com