Andru Bemis & Daniel Dowell at MCC Library
If the creek don't rise, Andru Bemis will return to MCC to perform his intimate style of American folk music at Loman C. Trover Library next Thursday (March 6th), at 7:00 PM. The event is free to the public and light refreshments will be served.
If you haven't heard him yet, you can get a taste here: http://groundvinyl.com/andrubemis.php?page=music
Here's some video: http://andrubemis.com/blog/?p=72
I'll be opening up for him, so if you want to hear songs about goats and driving fast, make sure you get there on time.
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The songs of Andru Bemis are spiritually descended from an era when music was made and played to express one's deepest emotions while entertaining the neighbors. His are songs of faith, spirit, patience, and hope in the midst of an uncertain, troubled world. Andru's dynamic voice shifts effortlessly between Woody Guthrie's plaintive bellow and the spine-chilling intimacy of Iris DeMent. His delicate guitar work and impossibly fast banjo style tie seamlessly with his lyrics and phrasing to make each performance and album unforgettable.
"... the ability to play such a beautiful song is a rare gift, and a power of which I can only dream."
- Garrison Keillor
"The voice of Andru Bemis is pretty and ravaged, sounding as though 50 Appalachian winters have run him ragged. His fingers are nimble on a guitar and like lightning on a banjo. He's traveled more than 20,000 miles making music on his own, usually singing into a 60-year-old microphone salvaged from somebody's barn. He's got a Woody Guthrie kind of bellow and a John Prine kind of keen, both of which he's taking around the country right now, as he tours by train, in support of his new album Singer. If you only heard his voice and never saw his face, you'd never believe that this modern-folk, Midwestern miracle of music is only 25 years old ..." - Glenny Brock, Birmingham Weekly
"... Bemis expresses sadness and joy with each chord. He tells stories in a unique, bittersweet way that sticks in your mind like long goodbyes at the train station." - Diana Satruc, Tipp-C
"... Describe his music as folk or bluegrass- Bemis calls it po'folk. Arlo, Van Ronk, early Dylan weave in and out of his original material- but to pinpoint him is impossible. His songs are deceptively simple with an earthy, intimate feel." - Bob Felberg, Phantom Tollbooth
Daniel Dowell was raised in Muhlenberg County by a hippie and a biker. He grew up listening to BB King, Conway Twitty, Jimmy Swaggart, Queen, and Lipps Inc. He has played with two bands, Double O Zero and Bears in America, and reached the height of his career while busking in Nashville with a borrowed guitar.