Bobby Long coming to StageOne
Fairfield, CT – British singer-songwriter Bobby Long returns to the road this summer for a combination of solo acoustic shows and a series of dates at which he will be backed by a band for the first time since arriving on American shores just over a year ago. Long will stop in Fairfield for a show at StageOne on Thursday, June 17th. The show starts at 7:30 and doors and bar open at 7:00.
Long, who has been working on his recording debut album backed by studio musicians, has been anxious to bring this new dynamic to his live appearances and is looking forward to giving his hauntingly personal songs added depth and dimension.
Signed to ATO Records in April, Long has been making his self-financed studio debut under the helm of producer Liam Watson, who won a Grammy® for his work on Elephant by The White Stripes. They began recording at Watson’s analog Toe Rag Studios in London during Long’s short breaks from his hectic 2009 touring schedule – Bobby played 160 headline shows in seven months in seven countries.
Meanwhile, Bobby’s independent CDs, sold exclusively at his shows, have earned critical acclaim of their own. Selections from DIRTY POND SONGS, the 10-song collection he recorded in his London apartment, have made their way onto AAA radio playlists in the U.S., becoming the catalyst for his inclusion on NPR’s “World Café” national broadcast in April and his live performance at the Non-Commercial Radio Conference (Non-Comm) in Philadelphia on June 3. The Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune, in a recent show preview, wrote: “…’Dirty Pond Songs,’ musically, is a revelation – both in its simplicity and strength of songwriting. Most of the album is occupied simply by Long, his gentle, steady acoustic guitar strum and lonesome harmonica. But, Long holds enough talent to keep fans’ attention without any extravagant bells and whistles.”
Long’s live performances have been receiving more notice as he carves out strongholds in U.S. markets that have welcomed him back repeatedly. Until now, it was just him and an acoustic guitar, but that has never left his audiences wanting. As Jambase described a recent live performance: “The majority of the catalog builds off relatively simplistic chord progressions, but he shows a remarkable knack for adding color via accent notes with his unorthodox two-fingered picking attack and construction of fuller, brighter chords than the standard singer-songwriter fare.” Another writer for jitzul.com summed it up: “…just with his voice and his guitar, he fills the space and commands the stage. His voice was made to hear live and it never waivers.”
Adding the band will allow Bobby to stretch out a bit. “I’m looking at the shows with a band as another chapter in this adventure,” says Long. “I played guitar in a band when I first started performing music, but it was before I wrote my own material. It will be an exciting experience for me to add fresh elements to my songs like I was able to do when I was recording the album.”
For tickets please visit www.fairfieldtheatre.org.
