Jonathan Edwards was part of a "super deluxe edition" of Local Spins Live.
Singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards isn’t afraid to speak his mind on stage or in his songs.
Starting with his Vietnam War-era hit, “Sunshine,” in the early 1970s, the singer has long figured that musicians have a responsibility to express their views in their art at times – whether it’s expressing the beauty of “the sun beaming down through the branches” (“Surrounded”), the interconnectedness of the world’s inhabitants (“This Island Earth”), taking a blues romp (“Crazy Texas Woman”), or commenting on the growing ranks of the unemployed (“Everybody Works In China”).
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Edwards talked specifically about that song (written more than two decades ago by pal Henry Gross), recording his first studio album in 14 years, performing live more than four decades into his career, and, yes, expressing his political views while “living on the edge of the establishment” as my special in-studio guest earlier today on Local Spins Live on News Talk 1340 AM.
After playing a sold-out show at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up on Tuesday, which the singer called a terrific experience, Edwards returns for a second “Pin Drop” concert at the intimate venue tonight – and once again, it will be standing-room only. (Call 616-678-3618 for information.)
Check out the full podcast of my interview with Jonathan here, along with some video snippets from that in-studio appearance below. (A raspy Edwards decided to hold off on performing a song on the air to preserve his voice for tonight’s show. He did get quite a kick out of hearing commercials for a hemmorhoid cream and conservative commentator Mike Huckabee during a break: “Huckabee and hemmorhoids,” he said, shaking his head.)
As a special reward for readers, the first four people who post a comment here and sign up for Spins on Music email alerts will receive a free copy of Edwards’ latest album, “My Love Will Keep.”
And return to Spins on Music Thursday when I’ll spotlight Nicholas James Thomasma performing a Bob Dylan tune in-studio with fiddle player Clouds from his Bandwagon band, a little preview to the 5th annual Bob Dylan Tribute Show at Founders Brewing Co. on Saturday.
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
