Based in the Philadelphia suburbs, folk artist Akire Bubar is an acoustic-oriented singer/songwriter whose influences range from Joan Baez and Judy Collins to Tracy Chapman and Dar Williams. Bubar, who is blessed with a big, full-bodied voice and an impressive range, is fairly unpredictable -- many of her songs have a tranquil, pastoral quality, although she can be bluesy or R&B-ish when she wants to. Born in the Cleveland, OH, area on January 18, 1973, but raised in the New York suburbs, Bubar became interested in singing folk when she was in her early teens. One person who gave Bubar a lot of encouragement was her stepfather, %Jim West, a fiddle player who introduced her to a lot of East Coast folk artists. Bubar moved to Philly in 1996, partly because she felt the area had a strong folk/acoustic music scene.
