has been called "one of the era's finest and most thoughtful singer/songwriters."  She first appeared on the national folk scene in 1992 when she won the songwriting contests at The Kerrville Folk Festival and The Telluride Bluegrass Festival.  Since then she has released 10 cds, written a one-woman-show and her music has appeared in books and film.  She has taught songwriting, guitar and performance workshops at music camps for the past 15 years, including The Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and The Swannanoa Gathering.  She is the director of The Moab Folk Camp in Moab, Utah.

From the classic Peaceable Kingdom, through his syndicated parodies and “Ramblin’ Bob” songs to his award winning work with Modern Man, Rob Carlson has delivered a remarkable body of work as a singer, writer, comedian and producer.  Now with a new band, Benefit Street, Rob takes his song writing to new places that defy categorization.  With multi-string player Vin Pasternak, keyboard wizard Paul Payton, vocalist Beth Bradley and percussionist extraordinaire Marshal Rosenberg backing Rob’s guitar and vocals, Benefit Street serves up songs ranging from folk to country to pop, rock to rhythm and blues with satirical songs, reggae and a dash of Tex-Mex thrown in to spice things up.  Vin and Paul contribute songs as well, with every song original, every song different, and every song remarkable.  “Benefit Street is the band I always wanted to do,” says Rob. Modern Man was great fun, but it was almost entirely comedy.  With Benefit Street there’s an outlet for the serious songs as well and the musicianship to cover a range of genres.  I’m having a ball!”