Beth Nielsen Chapman Joins NYU Steinhardt as Artist-in-Residence

Singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman—whose work has been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Faith Hill, and the Indigo Girls—will be the NYU–Americana Music Foundation Artist-in-Residence for Spring 2026. Chapman will work with and perform for students, faculty, and alumni during a three-day residency April 13 through 15.

A joint effort of NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development and the Americana Music Foundation, the program aims to spotlight Americana music’s heritage, preserve its legacy, and ensure its future. The artist-in-residence program began in 2021–22 with Rosanne Cash and has included bluesman Taj Mahal, Brandy Clark, and Joe Henry, among others.

Chapman’s residency is bookended by two public evening performances April 13 and 15 in NYU’s intimate Provincetown Playhouse. Both will be livestreamed.

“Beth Nielsen Chapman's life and work embody something we believe deeply at Steinhardt—that creativity is not a luxury but a lifeline, and that the arts have an unmatched capacity to carry us through the hardest of human experiences. Her songs have accompanied people through grief, illness, and the search for meaning in ways that no other form of expression quite can,” says Jack H. Knott, the Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of Steinhardt. “We are honored to welcome her to NYU Steinhardt as our 2026 Americana Music Foundation Artist-in-Residence and proud that we continue to be a place where artists of her stature come to share not just their music, but the wisdom behind it.”

In a career spanning more than four decades, Beth Nielsen Chapman has recorded 15 albums and written seven No. 1 country hits, including “Strong Enough to Bend” (Tanya Tucker), “Nothing I Can Do About it Now” (Willie Nelson), and “This Kiss” (Faith Hill), which earned a Grammy nomination and was ASCAP’s Song of the Year.

Her debut album, Hearing It First, was released by Capitol Records in 1980, and her latest, CrazyTown, came out in 2022. Chapman was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2016, became an ambassador of the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation in 2019, and has been featured on National Public Radio’s storytelling series, The Moth. She has taught master classes at universities around the world, including the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) in Glasgow and the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

“The opportunity to bring an outstanding practitioner of the art and craft of song like Beth to our community is a testament to our invaluable partnership with [Executive Director] Jed Hilly and the Americana Music Foundation,” says Phil Galdston, music professor and director of songwriting.

In addition to teaching and meeting with students and faculty, Chapman will participate in Words & Music, a conversation with Galdston, on April 13 at 8:00 p.m. at the Provincetown Playhouse, 133 MacDougal Street. Guests must RSVP at the Words & Music event page or they may view the Words & Music livestream.

She returns to the Playhouse on April 15 at 8:00 p.m. for Garden of Song: Beth Nielsen Chapman and Students in Concert. RSVP for Garden of Song or watch the Garden of Song livestream.