Second Cup Café: Shawn Colvin

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin visits Second Cup Café to play songs from her new album "These Four Walls."

Colvin has built her career slowly over the years, starting out performing live in her hometown of Carbondale, Illinois, as a teenager. Later she moved to Austin, Texas, where she performed western swing.

After moving east, Colvin found gigs performing in an off-Broadway show, and singing backup for artists like Buddy Miller and Suzanne Vega.

In 1989, Colvin released her debut album, "Steady On" for which she won a Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy.

Her next two albums, "Fat City" and "Cover Girl" earned her more Grammy nominations, but it was her fourth album, "A Few Small Repairs" that brought her mainstream attention.

That album contained Colvin's biggest hit single, "Sunny Came Home," which won both Record of the Year and Song of the Year Grammy awards in 1998.

Colvin has also acted on television with appearances on "The Larry Sanders Show," "Suddenly Susan" and "The Simpsons."

"These Four Walls" is Colvin's first studio set since 2001's "Whole New You." The album was produced by her longtime collaborator, John Leventhal. In addition to the original songs on the album, Colvin performs two cover songs, Paul Westerberg's "Even Here We Are" and the Bee Gees' "Words."

Colvin wraps up a 22-city U.S. tour on Nov. 14 in New York.