Cam Penner Spins Road Stories On 'Gypsy Summer'

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:00:00 +0000

When your grandfather is a bootlegger and your family runs an illegal small-town roadhouse, you must have a lot of stories to tell. Cam Penner does, and he tells them in his music. The Canadian singer-songwriter's latest album is titled Gypsy Summer.

Penner grew up in a small Mennonite community in Manitoba. When he was 18, he followed a group of friends down to Chicago and ended up staying for a year, living on a local commune. It was there that he first started working in shelters for the homeless, a habit he would maintain for years to come.