Claudia Nygaard’s captivating storytelling overflows from her songwriting into her live performance. With a voice like amber honey, and a twinkle in her eye that makes the entire audience feel she is sharing a secret with them alone, she takes them on an emotionally fearless journey with stories that expose a rare vulnerability and tenderness one moment, then a quick wit and an outlandish, irreverant sense of humor the next. Her songs move from heartfelt to humorous and from scrappy to sensual, and all the while the stories she tells in between them are as entertaining as the songs themselves.

A former Nashville Music Row staff songwriter and a winner of numerous awards including the Kerrville, TX Folk Festival songwriting competition, Nygaard has learned her craft well.  Her latest CD “Let The Storm Roll In” rose to the coveted #1 position on the Cashbox Roots Country Chart and #8 on the Folk DJ Chart – with every one of her self-penned compositions receiving airplay. The album received glowing reviews from the press that included five stars from Americana benchmark “Maverick” magazine. The legendary Folk music magazine “Sing Out” claimed her songs “rival the likes of Guy Clark or Ian Tyson”. (See “reviews” below)

Claudia performs solo, as a duo with highly acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Moe Dixon (guitar, uke, banjo, doboro, and cello), and as a trio (adding upright bass) for larger venues. She is also part of the hilarious package show “Funny Folk” available for larger venues and performing arts centers.

Claudia Nygaard has performed at over 200 fairs and festivals in the United States and 9 foreign countries. Endorsements from merchandisers attest to her strength as a guitarist, and she was chosen one of the Emerging Artists of 2009 by the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.