There are so many places these days around the Denver area to see any group or single artist play and the Soiled Dove seems to be one of the more prominent venues. I've found that most musicians playing at 6pm on a Saturday are usually a warm up act, trying out new material or just giving the soundboard people some work. I was pleasantly surprised to see on a recent hot Saturday evening that the Soiled Dove was packed to hear a singer songwriter who was far from being a warm up act. In fact later, there were more people "above the dove" on the roof than downstairs for the following band. Peggy Mann is an artist with a collection of talented musicians that were assembled from Colorado and New Mexico for this release concert. Her Americana styling has most of its roots in folk and country rock with a bit of the blues thrown in for good measure. The backing musicians were strong and flawless. There were a good number of people from Grand Lake where Peggy Mann plays regularly during the summer at the Gateway Inn. There were many others however that were from the front range to see her. A strong following to say the least and I discovered why. She has great songwriting skills that remind me of painting a picture with words much like Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon can do so well. She has performed at Swallow Hill and certainly her music seems to be right in pace with other talented performers honing their craft at this famous music hall. I found it refreshing to hear lyrically adult themes about a son-in-law getting ready to be part of a new family, the daughter leaving home, or reminiscing about the years that have gone by from the winter days packing up the car in Chicago and seeing the grandparents around the holidays in Minnesota. She even wrote about people she knew like a gentleman in attendance with a big gorgeous cowboy hat with the weathered face, jeans and boots and described him as he might be featured in an airline travel magazine about a cowboy in Colorado. Peggy described him so well, but it seemed to be more than those specific instances. She wrote these songs so that we could easily identify with the people described in them and relate it to our own lives. It is hard in this day and age to find songs so vivid in detail and so accessible to our own adult lives. Peggy is clearly a performer that has earned and will have a larger following after hearing this new release. "Connections" is the name of her album and I can hear the connection in my own life as well as my friends lives in her music. Maybe we are too busy to run around like teenagers hopping into a VW bus and going on tour with her, but it is great that Peggy is out there writing songs that we can connect with as we go down life's highway... Reviewed by Brian Thompson Production of Special Effects Impulse Theatre And DJ with 99.5 The Mountain