New Riders of the Purple Sage
Thurs,March 11, 2010
German House Theater
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $20 advance / $25 door
The New Riders of the Purple Sage, signed to Columbia Records by Clive Davis, released its eponymous first album in September 1971 to widespread acclaim. In the next 11 years the band toured and released over 12 albums, selling over 4 million records.
NRPS began as a part-time spin-off from the Grateful Dead when Jerry Garcia (pedal steel guitar), Phil Lesh (bass) and Mickey Hart (drums) teamed up with John Dawson (guitar, vocals) and David Nelson (guitar). Although early live appearances were viewed as an informal warm-up to the main attraction, the group quickly established an independent identity through the strength of Dawson's original songs.
By 1970 Dave Torbert had replaced Lesh, and Spencer Dryden, formerly of Jefferson Airplane, had joined as the group's permanent drummer. Garcia remained in both The Dead and The New Riders until he found himself overcommitted, at which time Buddy Cage replaced him and the classic NRPS lineup was born. Original NRPS bass player Dave Torbert and drummer Spencer Dryden have passed away, co-founder John Dawson Passed away in 2009 due to ongoing health problems. His considerable talents will be missed but his songs and musical legacy will live on. Before he passed he had given his blessing and was excited to know his music is being heard live again by a whole new generation of fans.
The new lineup vows to keep the NRPS spirit and tunes alive by taking them to fans everywhere. The band recently teamed up with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and released it's first CD in twenty years to rave reviews, Where I Come From (Woodstock Records).
Support from the Park Avenue Band
Bill Welch Band
Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Downstairs at the German House
7pm-10pm
Tickets available March 3rd - $10 advance / $15 door, available through Ticketmaster or at The Keg (downstairs at the German House)
"Roots" CD release party to benefit H.O.P.E., a Rochester-based non-profit outreach organization serving the people of Haiti through medical, educational, economical and social programs.
The Bill Welch Band’s focus is original music, composed by the group’s leader, Bill Welch. The music has a soulful and inspirational message and is accented by jazz, gospel and Latin sounds. The group plays many local festivals and charity events and has shared the stage with national acts such as Edwin McCain, Dave Koz, Patty Larkin, Michael Civisca, and Lou Gramm of Foreigner.
Appropriately named, ‘Roots’ showcases some of the best music from the band’s earliest years together, recorded in front of a live audience. Never recorded before, these songs may be new to some of the band’s newest fans, and reminiscent to their oldest fans.
Pre-concert Dinner:
A special limited menu pre-concert dinner will be available at The Keg. Come for dinner and keep your reserved table for the concert. Advance reservations necessary, can be made by calling The Keg, 585- 473-5070.
Post-concert Show:
Following the CD release concert, the Bill Welch Band will be joined on stage by other musicians for a special Bill Welch and friends jam.
Delbert McClinton
Friday, March 26th, 2010
German House Theater
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $35 advance / $40 door, on sale 2/26
The venerable Delbert McClinton is a legend among Texas roots music aficionados, not only for his amazing longevity, but for his ability to combine country, blues, soul, and rock & roll as if there were no distinctions between any of them in the best time-honored Texas tradition.
A formidable harmonica player long before he recorded as a singer, McClinton's career began in the late '50s, yet it took him nearly two decades to evolve into a bona fide solo artist. A critics' darling and favorite of his peers, McClinton never really became a household name, but his resurgence in the '90s helped him earn more widespread respect from both the public at large and the Grammy committee.
Support TBA
Taj Mahal
Sunday, May 9th, 2010
German House Theater
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $50 advance / $55 door, on sale 2/10
This will be a seated show
For more than 30 years, Taj Mahal has delighted fans with his effortless and eclectic blending of musical styles. He is a master of finger-picking country blues, bluegrass banjo, slide guitar, southern blues, soul, and R&B, reggae, music of Hawaii, the Caribbean, and beyond, and more. His influences and abilities are seemingly endless and his energy to share and perform is equally as deep. Emerging from the folk music scene of the early 1960's, Taj established himself as an artist who knew no boundaries. Along the way, he played a pivotal role in the mid-'60s blues revival and went on to make his mark in the worlds of rock, soul, world, contemporary blues and even soundtracks. Always looking forward with an understanding of and respect for the past, Taj Mahal has made not a just a career, but a life of searching out and exploring new musical territory.
With his unmistakable and unique voice, talent that can not be learned, and a spirit which keeps him in a state of perpetual artistic growth and evolution, Taj Mahal has always, and will always play music that he loves. For that, he continues to pull fans, new and old, from every conceivable walk of life and continues to open our eyes to all that the art of music can be.
Support TBA
Leo Kottke
Tues, May 18th, 2010
German House Theater
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $30 advance / $35 door
This will be a seated show
Leo Kottke, one of the most important and influential acoustic steel-string fingerstyle guitarists of the 20th century.
Leo has had a prolific career, delivering 19 studio records, four live records, six compilations and at least four movie soundtracks. He has jammed and recorded with a wide range of musicians, from Chet Atkins to Procul Harum to the Violent Femmes. He has won the Guitar Player magazine annual readers poll as best folk guitarist for four years in a row, from 1974 to 1978. Leo has also influenced an entire generation of acoustic guitarists -- including such fingerstyle innovators as the late, great Michael Hedges, Preston Reed, Peppino D'Agostino and Don Ross, to name just a few.
Support TBA
Reverend Horton Heat w/ Cracker and Split Lip Rayfield
Wed., May 19, 2010
German House Theater
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $25 advance / $30 door
Recently, the Reverend Horton Heat, aka Jim Heath, had something along the lines of what he calls an epiphany.
He's a little tired of being taken so seriously-well, maybe not seriously, exactly, but you get the idea-and lately he's noticed that some of his funnier, country-tinged songs were his biggest crowd pleasers. Besides, being entertaining is what this is all about, right?
So, ladies and gents, roll your smokes up in your sleeve and hold on to your cowboy hats, it's time to take a trip back to a time before slick, over-produced country became the norm-a time when outlaws wrote songs about being without a pot to piss in-or at least about psycho exboyfriends and deadbeat girlfriends that spend your paycheck faster than you can say Lone Star.
Cracker, the group that veritably introduced brash irreverence and irony into alt-rock, are back and in top form on their 429 Records debut, Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey.
This rich new trove of sharp-witted songs showcases a bristling, late 70’s – early 80’s power pop punk aesthetic which hits as hard as it did at the band’s formation 17 years ago. Eight albums (one platinum and three gold) and a barrel full of anthemic hit songs later, Cracker endures, using their ability to weave decades of influences into an album that is seamlessly riveting.
Split Lip Rayfield just might be the damnedest thing you’ve ever heard. The unique quartet from Wichita, Kansas, reaches deep into the greatest traditions of American music to find something completely new. Simultaneously bluegrass, western, honky-tonk and hell-bent garage rock, Split Lip Rayfield doesn’t precisely fit any of these categories. Combining expert musicianship with a happily primitive aesthetic, cogent observations of modern middle America with a goofball wit and white trash gusto, Split Lip Rayfield is a category unto itself.
Shawn Phillips
Friday, May 21st, 2010
Downstairs at the German House
Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
Tickets $20
"Shawn Phillips is one of most fascinating and enigmatic musicians to come out of the early '70s singer-songwriter boom. The mere fact that he was a musician as much as a singer and songwriter made him stand out, and helped him attract a dedicated following. His refusal to shape his music -- which crosses between folk-rock, jazz, progressive, pop, and classical -- to anyone else's expectations has allowed him to hold onto a large and dedicated cult following, without ever achieving the stardom that his talent seems to merit.......
With 15 albums behind him since the mid-1960s, Phillips has a following, in America, Europe, and Japan, and he has performed at different world music festivals. A cult figure whose peers include Van Dyke Parks and, perhaps, Leonard Cohen (though Cohen's public profile is enhanced by his following, as an established poet and author, in the literary community), he remains an enigmatic figure on the music landscape. His work remained sufficiently in demand in the 1990s, however, to justify a best-of compilation from A&M in 1992 that included notes by Phillips and one new song. In 1998, eight of his LPs were re-released via the Wounded Bird label. " ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
Note: This event is Downstairs at the German House.