Iris Dement

Iris Luella DeMent was born on January 5, 1961, in Paragould, Arkansas, the youngest of 14 children. Raised in a Pentecostal household, her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was three. Early exposure to country and gospel music significantly influenced her. Despite an early stage fright experience, she began writing songs at age 25, realizing her calling. Her debut album, “Infamous Angel,” was released in 1992 on the Rounder-Philo label, exploring themes of religious skepticism, small-town life, and human frailty. Her song “Our Town” gained wider recognition when it was used in the final episode of CBS’s “Northern Exposure” in 1995. “Let the Mystery Be” from the same album was featured in the film “Little Buddha” and later as the musical theme for the HBO series “The Leftovers.”

DeMent continued her career with “My Life” in 1994, an album dedicated to her late father, which earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Her third album, “The Way I Should” (1996), showcased her most political work, addressing topics such as sexual abuse and government policy with protest songs like “Wasteland of the Free.” Throughout her career, DeMent has collaborated with numerous artists. She sang four duets with John Prine on his 1999 album “In Spite of Ourselves” and appeared in the 2000 film “Songcatcher,” contributing to its soundtrack.

In 2004, DeMent launched her own label, Flariella Records, named after her mother, and released “Lifeline,” an album of gospel songs. Her rendition of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” from this album was later used in the Coen brothers’ film “True Grit” (2010). After a 16-year hiatus from original songs, she released “Sing the Delta” in 2012, followed by “The Trackless Woods” in 2015, an album inspired by Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. DeMent received the Americana Trailblazer Award in 2017 acknowledging her enduring influence.