Marie Beer, that is. Boulder singer-songwriter Marie Beer is a home-grown gem - a writer with intelligence and a musician of quiet subtlety whose politics is layered into her music like flecks of flavor rather than in a dull dollop, like so many others in these parts.

Beer's voice is sensual, her lyrics are, well, lyrical, and that's saying something these days. If references are your bag, she's somewhere between Tori Amos, Tom Waits and Carol King - with maybe a little of Leonard Cohen thrown in for good measure.

She's also well-trained, having been educated at Michigan's prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy and Julliard's School for Dance. She's a lifetime student of classical piano, and it shows in her performances.

Her first release, 1997's "The Underworld" was self-produced and recorded, but since then she's teamed up with Wil Masisak, producer of Dan Bern, on the 2000 release "Cherry Tree." Touring for that record took her across the country.

She's also produced "The Garden," a stripped-down album of acoustic work, and this summer she opened for both Joan Armatrading and Crosy, Stills and Nash in local concerts, so it seems that another Colorado Beer is gaining popularity.

As Beer works on her new album, "13 Moons," you can catch her Sunday night, August 24, 8:00 p.m., with Maya Dorn at Trilogy Wine Bar in Boulder.