Susan Cattaneo continues her residency at Union Tavern on May 16, with the final show scheduled for June 13. — Photo by Nate Dow

By Blake Maddux

In addition to being a professor at Berklee College of Music for almost 20 years, Susan Cattaneo has released five albums of what her website’s bio describes at “New England Americana with a twang.” In 2018, she received a Boston Music Awards nomination for Americana Artist of the Year, won the CT (Connecticut) Folk Festival Songwriting Competition, and was a finalist at the Kerrville (Texas) New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters.

On April 18, Cattaneo played the first show of a Union Tavern residency that will resume on May 16 and do its third and final gig on June 13. Cattaneo’s sextet The Big Loud Band will be joined at each of the performances by a guest artist. In April, it was Magen Tracy. This month, it will be Cosy Sheridan and her partner, Charlie. In June, it will be four of Cattaneo’s fellow female singer-songwriters.

Cattaneo recently spoke by phone to The Somerville Times about how the residency came about, how it will proceed, and what she hopes to accomplish with it.

The Somerville Times: How did you get the idea for this residency?

Susan Cattaneo: For the past five years, I’ve been working with this great group of musicians, The Big Loud Band. We do shows probably once every three months, and I’ve really been thinking that I would like to have had a place where we would do a monthly gig and really develop our sound as a band. When you play every three months, it’s very difficult to create any momentum because you’re not playing enough with each other. Luckily, the Union Tavern needed somebody for a residency. So far, it’s been really awesome!

TST: What does The Big Loud Band sound like?

SC: Imagine [Bruce Springsteen’s] E Street Band but with a girl. (laughs) That is what I’m trying to recreate. Because what I love about the E Street Band is that some of those players are talented solo artists in their own right and they’re all competent masters of their instruments and their trade, and my band is like that. They all have solo careers on the side, and yet we all come together and we’re terrifically supportive of each other. I really love to give them the chance to shine because they’re just incredibly talented.

TST: How is this residency unique among the many in the Boston area?

SC: One of the things that for me has been an issue and important cause is the fact that while Boston has a very vibrant and wonderful music scene, I still think that it needs to do some work in incorporating women musicians as headliners and hosts of residencies. I think there’s one other woman-fronted residency in town, and I think it’s Ali McGuirk’s First Fridays at Bull McCabe’s. And that’s it. All the rest are men.

TST: What is the setup for each of the shows?

SC: The way that the residency is working is that the night begins with my full band, then we do a middle set that features a local or national female musician who does like four songs. Then my band finishes out the night. And hopefully there’s also collaboration between that female musician and my band. My band will play on that woman’s songs and then hopefully we’ll bring her in at the end to do a song together.

TST: Who was the guest for the first show and whom will it be in May and June?

SC: Our first guest was Magen Tracy. This month’s guest is Cosy Sheridan. Magen Tracy is kind of Americana, definitely on the rock side, piano player. Cosy Sheridan is a folk performer, beautiful acoustic guitar player, and she plays with her partner, Charlie. They do wonderful things together, so they’re going to be a duo. In June, I thought it would be fun to kind of change it up a little bit, so we’re going to do an acoustic in the round with all women. It’s going to be featuring Danielle Miraglia, Jenee Halstead, Lisa Bastoni, Samantha Farrell, and me.

TST: In which ways are the guest artists similar to or different from one another?

SC: I don’t think they are similar. I think they’re all different. I’m not curating a show that has a specific sonic identity. It’s not going to be all blues or only young folky singer-songwriters. I’m interested in booking women who are trying to write great songs in whatever genre that happens to be.

TST: What do you hope to achieve with this residency?

SC: The first thing is I want to showcase The Big Loud Band. I really want to highlight and showcase these fabulous musicians that I get to work with. Secondarily, but equally importantly, I want to highlight and showcase some of the amazing women that I have met in this community and in communities outside of Boston.