Mary Gauthier

Country-noir singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier's life is the stuff of a colorful novel: A high-school dropout, she endured stints in jail and detox before hitting culinary school, founding a popular Boston restaurant and then selling it when her musical career took off in the late '90s. Her brushes with the dark side have always colored her candid depiction of the downtrodden but dignified characters that populate her albums—but you can expect to be truly moved by the songs from her new album, The Foundling, which tells her life's story directly, and with warmth and humor.