CALENDAR

DOORS @ 7:30 / SHOWS @ 8PM, UNLESS POSTED OTHERWISE 

• Fri

  27

  Dec

  2024

  Freedy Johnston • Chris Maxwell Dec 27

  7:30 Doors 8:00 Music $15.00 suggested donation

  

  Freedy Johnston is one of those rare singer-songwriters who counts critics among his biggest fans — and whose heroes consider him a peer. Not bad for a self-proclaimed “geek in glasses who never left his room.” In 1994 Rolling Stone named Johnston the ‘Songwriter of the Year’, describing him as “A master storyteller, (who) sketches out full-blown tragedies in a few taut poetic lines.” Adding, “He joins that elite cadre of songwriters—Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Elvis Costello—whose brilliant pop compositions turn magical with the addition of a defiantly idiosyncratic singing voice.”

   

  His new album, Back on the Road to You, is a return to grace for this gifted songwriter. It embodies the sound of an American original, reminding us that he is still considered one of the best songwriters of his generation.

   

  Veteran singer-songwriter, acclaimed guitarist, and Clio-award-winning composer Chris Maxwell’s new album, Nothingland, illuminates a troubled, recognizable world. Nothingland marks a departure from Maxwell’s previous two releases. The lauded, autobiographical Americana pair Arkansas Summer (2016) and New Store No. 2 (2020) comprised a return to the singer-songwriter realm after nearly twenty years as one half (with drummer/DJ Phil Hernandez) of record production/composer team Elegant Too, best known for their work on multi-Emmy-winning Bob’s Burgers. (Also Inside Amy Schumer, Silver Linings Playbook, as well as writing and producing for other artists such as They Might Be Giants, Yoko Ono and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.) It was the 2007 birth of his son that motivated Maxwell to re-assume the mantle of songwriter, harkening back to his days working with legendary producer Jim Dickinson in 80s power-pop band The Gunbunnies, and Grammy-nominated, art-damaged 90s NYC combo Skeleton Key.