Welcome to the Deborah Silverstein Website
Deborah is a lifelong singer-songwriter, recording artist, visual artist and newly minted musical playwright. She was a founding member of the Boston-based New Harmony Sisterhood Band, whose album, And Ain’t I a Woman, now resides in the Smithsonian Folk Life Collection. Her subsequent solo release, Around the Next Bend, on the Flying Fish/Rounder label, was nominated for the Boston Music Awards Folk Album of the Year. Her song, “Draglines,” about strip mining in her native Western Pennsylvania Appalachian Mountains, became an environmental anthem, recorded by numerous folk artists, both in the US and abroad. In addition to her solo work, Deborah sang for many years with an all-woman a capella quartet, Taproot, recording two CD’s containing many of her compositions; and Shirella, a women’s ensemble performing gospel influenced Jewish music. Her final Boston stint was with her Band of Erics who backed her on her 2016 solo album, Precious Time.
In the winter of 2021, Deborah and her husband Jim, moved to Asheville, NC to be near their adult children.
Prior to making the move, Deborah focused her attention on the composition of a full length musical drama, Riveted, which too has found a home with Asheville’s Magnetic Theater Company. Magnetic selected Riveted as part of their New Play Development Program. A staged reading and full production are now in process.