As a young man from Meridian, Mississippi, Steve Forbert traveled to New York City and played guitar for spare change in Grand Central Station. He vaulted to international prominence with a folk-rock hit, “Romeo’s Tune,” during a time when rootsy rock was fading out and the Ramones, Talking Heads and other New Wave and punk acts were moving in to the public consciousness. Still, critics raved about Steve’s poetic lyrics and engaging melodies, and the crowds at CBGB’s club in New York accepted him alongside those acts. “I’ve never been interested in changing what I do to fit emerging trends,” Forbert observes. “Looking back on it, I was helping to keep a particular American songwriting tradition alive at a time when it wasn’t in the spotlight.”
The Van Lears open the show at 8:30pm.
$20 Adv – $25 Door
Doors @ 7:30 PM
Steve Forbert’s 1978 debut album proclaimed the singer-songwriter Alive on Arrival and indeed, the artist made a strong impression with a set of personal, sometimes gentle, musical reflections on life and love. Forbert departed Mississippi for New York City in the mid-seventies and managed to carve out a niche in the vibrant club scene of the day, playing famous venues like Gerde’s Folk City and even CBGB’s. That heady period was captured on Alive on Arrival and on Forbert’s 1979 follow-up, Jackrabbit Slim.
Rolling Stone contributing editor, David Wild, recently wrote that "now or then, you would be hard-pressed to find a debut effort that was simultaneously as fresh and accomplished as Alive on Arrival . . . it was like a great first novel by a young author who somehow managed to split the difference between Mark Twain and J.D. Salinger.”
Producer, John Simon, renowned for his collaborations with The Band and Leonard Cohen, shepherded Forbert's second release, Jackrabbit Slim, to success. Forbert credits Simon with helping him nail “Romeo’s Tune” for the Nashville-recorded album, and the song became the artist’s only Top 20 U.S. hit. (It peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.)
Though further chart success has eluded Steve Forbert, he’s continued to write particularly insightful songs and has grown an impressive legacy. His most recent studio album was 2012’s Over with You. He’s received a Grammy nomination, seen his songs performed by Keith Urban, Rosanne Cash and Marty Stuart, and even appeared opposite Cyndi Lauper in her music video for “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Forbert continues to tour, both solo and with his band, and has a string of upcoming dates scheduled both in the United States and abroad.
The Van Lears are brothers Andrew and Trey Bentley who are from the mountains of North West Georgia. Currently working with platinum producer Ted Hewitt (Rodney Atkins) recording their debut album. The brothers write with well known writers, such as Steve Bogard, writer of George Strait’s “Carried Away”; Bob Regan, writer of “Your Everything” for Keith Urban; and Josh Osborne, writer of "Merry Go Round" for Kacey Musgraves and “Come Over” for Kenny Chesney. Trey and Andrew got the name "The Van Lears" after hearing Loretta Lynn's album "Van Lear Rose" produced by Rocker Jack White. Like the album, combining Rock and Country, Andrew and Trey naturally developed their love of Rock and Country to form a sound that could only be defined by calling themselves "The Van Lears."