Singer-songwriter extraordinaire Jeff Black returns to Sundilla for the first time in half a decade; since that last appearance he has accumulated more CDs, more songs, and more stories, so be sure to join us on Friday, February 27, for what is sure to be a special evening of music. Showtime at the AUUF is 7:30; admission is $12 at the door, and advance tickets are just $10 and can be found at Spicer’s Music, Mama Mocha’s Coffee, and online at this very site.
It’s the truth behind what an artist does and the way they choose to do it that defines their art. And while the ways in which audiences get their music has changed, the reasons why a certain kind of artist makes music have remained the same. Call it an uncompromising commitment, an inspired motivation, or just the need to share with and connect to those who listen. For Jeff Black, it is his life’s work that has driven him to build a career like few other singer/songwriters in the business. Boston’s WUMB listeners voted Jeff Black as one of the top 100 most important Folk artists of the last 25 years.
Black’s songs have earned GRAMMY recognition, radio chart-topping stats and numerous BMI awards. Although flying below the radar as a performer himself, he has been recognized by NPR as a musical pioneer in the digital age and his catalog of critically acclaimed albums continues to grow. Composing music for film and television, his credits include numerous indie-film soundtracks and a repertoire of songs cut by artists as diverse as Alison Krauss & Union Station, Waylon Jennings, Sam Bush, BlackHawk, Dierks Bentley, Jon Randall, John Oates, and Jerry Douglas. Black has forged a reputation as a true folk troubadour entertaining audiences globally for over three decades. A master songwriter and performer in the tradition of the great storytellers, his passionate, soul driven live performances of songs from his vast catalog are not to be missed.
The words other people have written about Jeff Black should be far more persuasive than anything we could say, so read some of these comments:
“Say on your venue wish list is: Waylon Jennings, Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Sam Bush. Say you could book the lot of them for one night, in one entertainer. Jeff Black. Book Jeff with his guitar, banjo and harmonica, rent him a keyboard, then sit back and smile.”– Miner Seymour, Old Settler’s Inn
“Jeff Black has the troubadour quality of a Steve Goodman, the poetic dignity of a Bruce Springsteen, and the outer-fringe edge of a Townes Van Zandt. We kid you not.” –The Boston Globe
“Some would call it heresy, but there are those who say that Steve Earle learned a lot from Jeff Black.”
“His words and voice hold down center stage with a craft so deeply in the artistic pocket that it obscures anything outside” — No Depression
“The tradition of an artist delivering songs that are damn near perfectly crafted and filled with the wisdom of the ages.” –Jedd Beaudoin | PopMatters
“His voice has great dramatic range. When he’s hitting it hard, it’s a little like Springsteen, but a lot more like one of my favorites, Kevin Gordon. On the ballads, he may remind you more of Harry Chapin, Marc Cohn, early Elton John. But that’s just his vocal sound, not his songs. His songs are deep and wide, they’re all his own, and he’s unto himself in this realm. Although he is a sky high craftsman, these are heart and soul compositions.”
“As a pure profession, songwriting is somewhat hard to understand. Even though Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Steve Earle, et al are surely masters of the craft of marrying melody and verse, we probably view their art through the prism of what we know of their personas, making the songs resonate all the more if we identify with what they project. Harder to comprehend is the songwriter who is perennially behind the scenes, writing songs for other artists and apparently never seeking to break through or have people hail them as undeniable genius. Jeff Black is one them.”
So if you’re keeping track, you know that Jeff has been favorably compared to: Waylon Jennings, Tom Waits, Randy Newman, Sam Bush, Steve Goodman, Bruce Springsteen, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Harry Chapin, Marc Cohn, Elton John, Kevin Gordon, and Bob Dylan. That’s quite a list… but those who are already familiar with Jeff and his music know that he doesn’t need those comparisons; just being “Jeff Black” is plenty, all by itself.
So come see why we are head over heels excited about the return of Jeff Black to Sundilla. Join us at the AUUF on Friday, February 27, at 7:30. Admission at the door is a way-too-cheap $12, but you can get advance tickets for an even more ridiculously low $10 at Spicer’s Music, Mama Mocha’s Coffee, and online at this very site.