Joan Osborne will perform at Orient, the club above the Bull and Buddha in Poughkeepsie, this Saturday night, August 6 at 9 p.m. In a career that spans 15 years, Osborne cemented her reputation as a top-tier soul singer in 2002 with a turn in the acclaimed documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown, followed by a tour with legendary Motown backing band the Funk Brothers. In 2003, Osborne toured with the Dixie Chicks and then surprised audiences for two years as the lead singer for the Dead. Since then, Osborne has graced varied stages, from the Grand Ole Opry to Lincoln Center (in an acclaimed performance accompanied by New Paltz native Keith Cotton).

In writing songs for her new album Little Wild One, which will be released on September 9, Osborne fell under the spell of two poets. “The album’s opening track, ‘Hallelujah in the City,’ is a riff on the idea of the city as a spiritual place,” says Osborne. “This idea comes up in Walt Whitman’s and Allen Ginsberg’s poetry: the concept that the shared bond of humanity of all the citizens, all their interactions, adds up to a unique environment of the soul.”

“Sweeter than the Rest,” one of the album’s tracks, takes a reference from the Whitman poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry. “‘Sweeter’ was written about a man who no longer speaks to me, but who continues to haunt my thoughts and dreams,” Osborne explains. “The old Brooklyn ferry landing is now a park with a beautiful view of lower Manhattan, and this man and I went there one night after walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and climbing on its cables.”

The album marks the reunion of Osborne with Rick Chertoff, Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian, the writing/producing team who worked on her debut, the five-million-selling breakthrough album Relish, which was nominated for six Grammy Awards.

Bobby Long will be the opening act this Saturday night. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show begins at 9. Tickets are $40 general admission, and can be purchased at http://ssl.radiowoodstock.com. For more information on Orient, log onto www.orientpoughkeepsie.com.