With a blend of rock/folk/pop, Langhorne Slim opens a series Thursday that will now also feature Los Lonely Boys, Pokey LaFarge, Margo Price and Marc Cohn. Read the Langhorne Slim interview, get series details.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thursday’s Langhorne Slim concert is the first Acoustic Cafe Folk Series show of the 2016-2017 season at St. Cecilia Music Center, which today announced the lineup for the rest of the series. Americana/folk/jazz artist Pokey LaFarge will perform on Feb. 9, Texas trio Los Lonely Boys will play an acoustic show on March 14, country soul singer Margo Price makes a tour stop on April 6, and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Marc Cohn wraps up the series on April 13. Scroll to bottom of story for more information and tickets.
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Nashville singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim never gave much thought to how he first began in music or what first inspired him.
He just always knew he needed to do something, staying active rather than just sitting still.
And he certainly is very grateful the opportunity came along.
“This life is full of emotion; I am just glad I had this outlet,” he said.
Using his signature folk, rock and pop blend to impress crowds across the country, including festivals such as Lollapalooza and South by Southwest, it’s safe to say this outlet of music and songwriting has served him well so far.
Having recently relocated to Nashville, he just last year released a critically acclaimed album, “The Spirit Moves,” with his band, The Law.
This close group of men he calls brothers has been with him through a lot and his drummer Malachi DeLorenzo has been with him for more than a decade. He recounts the many times his band managed to cram an unimaginable load of instruments, amps and gear into his grandmother’s Toyota Camry, and hitting the road to their next gig.
“In life, you find your people – your family – and something like that is for sure worth having,” he said.
On Thursday, Langhorne Slim comes to Grand Rapids to kick off a national solo tour. The show also represents the launch of the 2016-2017 Acoustic Café Folk Series hosted by syndicated radio show host Rob Reinhart at St. Cecilia Music Center, which also today announced four more concerts in the series: Pokey LaFarge on Feb. 9, Los Lonely Boys (acoustic) on March 14, Margo Price on April 6, and Marc Cohn on April 13.
Thursday’s show begins at 7:30 p.m.; tickets are $25 and $30. Get tickets online here.
Thursday’s show is also one of the first concerts to be held in the newly renovated venue in downtown Grand Rapids. The $2.4 million in upgrades include new seating and sound system in Royce Auditorium, along with a refurbished lobby and box office. (Read a Local Spins story about the renovation and take a video tour online here.)
CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE IN ‘AN OPEN-HEARTED WAY’
Following the tour, Langhorne Slim heads to northern California to work on a new solo album, simply for the love and the joy of making music. “That’s how we all start,” the Pennsylvania native told Local Spins in a phone interview earlier this week.
He admits falling prey to the pitfalls of the business aspects of the industry on more than one occasion, but said he looks forward to essentially hitting reset, returning to the core of his songwriting journey. “It’s good to remind yourself why you started in the first place,” he said.
Langhorne Slim draws upon influences from a wide range of genres and artists – from early blues to country to folk, for example – but would rather not be defined by or confined to one particular genre, so as not to limit the palate of music he uses in his songwriting. (Check out a video of his song “Changes” below.)
“Raw, dirty, soulful … that’s what I see,” he said. “That’s what motivates and inspires me.”
This real style of storytelling and songwriting is exactly how he also tries to live his life.
“I try to connect with people in an open-hearted way,” he said. “Yes, you can get hurt, but you put yourself closer to the source that way. I try not to protect myself from that.”
He also feels very deeply about his connection to the audience.
“We can turn off to each other, and harden our hearts – but at great cost,” he said. “Music, visual art, film… these are powerful. They can help us come together, and embrace our humanness. This is always a big aspect of it for me.”
THE REST OF THE SERIES
Thursday’s concert marks the kickoff of another season of the “Acoustic Cafe” Folk Series that St. Cecilia sponsors in partnership with syndicated radio show host Rob Reinhart.
• The 2016-2017 series will continue on Feb. 9 with St. Louis-based Pokey LaFarge, who incorporates early jazz, ragtime, country blues, Western swing and more into his music, along with storytelling. It’s earned him numerous awards.
• Grammy nominated “Texican” trio Los Lonely Boys will deliver an acoustic performance to St. Cecilia Music Center on March 14. The blues- and roots-driven brothers are known for their live shows and have started to add elements of reggae, baroque pop and rustic acoustic textures into their music.
• Margo Price, an up-and-coming country soul sensation from Nashville, will perform on April 6. She was named “Emerging Artist of the Year” by The Americana Music Association in 2016.
• Grammy Award-winning folk-rock singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, best known for his 1991 ballad, “Walking in Memphis,” will play the series on April 13.
Concert tickets can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or by visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE in Grand Rapids. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.scmc-online.org.
A post-concert “meet-the-artist” reception with a cash bar will be offered to all ticket-holders giving the audience the opportunity to meet each artist and obtain signed CDs of their releases.
VIDEO: Langhorne Slim, “Changes”
Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC