Karen Wright from Nelson, NH

Karen launched her musical career when a drummer friend persuaded her to sing at drunken jam sessions in a vinyl-siding warehouse. She writes original songs and arrangements and in 2005 founded the lounge-core duo "harmless" with jazz guitarist Stefan Abuan. She joined Murphy's Blues in 2006 and in 2008 played a mad physicist in the premiere of Michael Cohen's original musical "Transference." Karen started singing in high school but quit after a humiliating coffee-house performance during which she forgot almost all the words of a Carly Simon song. Now when she forgets the lyrics she just makes something up.