Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Genetic Advantage

Some people have songwriting in their DNA. Jen Chapin does — her late dad is the ’70s folkster known for “Cat’s in the Cradle” — but you wouldn’t connect the two based on their musical styles. Chapin and her band — husband and acoustic bassist Stephan Crump and guitarist Jamie Fox — lend soulful and sultry jazz vibes to urban-folk numbers that often come with a heaping side of storytelling. Also an activist and educator, Chapin muses about big-city life and social-justice issues in introspective songs at the Big Picture Theater & Café on Saturday and the Skinny Pancake in Montpelier on Sunday.