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Marc Cohn w/ Randall Bramblett
January 26, 2020 @ 7:30 pm - 11:59 pm
Marc Cohn
After winning a Grammy for his soulful ballad “Walking in Memphis,” Marc Cohn solidified his place as one of this generation’s most compelling singer-songwriters, combining the precision of a brilliant tunesmith with the passion of a great soul man. Rooted in the rich ground of American rhythm and blues, soul and gospel and possessed of a deft storyteller’s pen, he weaves vivid, detailed, often drawn-from-life tales that evoke some of our most universal human feelings: love, hope, faith, joy, heartbreak.
Cohn followed up his platinum-selling debut with two more releases in the 1990s, at which point Time magazine called him “one of the honest, emotional voices we need in this decade” and Bonnie Raitt declared, “Marc is one of the most soulful, talented artists I know. I love his songs, he’s an incredible singer, and I marvel at his ability to mesmerize every audience he plays for.”
Raitt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Graham Nash and Patty Griffin all made guest appearances on Cohn’s early records for Atlantic as his reputation as an artist and performer continued to grow. In 1998, Cohn took a decade-long sabbatical from recording, ending in 2007 with Join the Parade. Inspired by the horrific events following Hurricane Katrina and his own near fatal shooting just weeks before, Parade is his most moving and critically acclaimed record to date.
About his album Listening Booth: 1970, a collection of reimagined classics from that seminal year in music, Rolling Stone said, “Cohn has one of rock’s most soulful croons – a rich, immediately recognizable tenor that makes these songs his own.” In late 2014, Cohn released “The Coldest Corner in the World,” the title song to the documentary Tree Man and his first original song released in more than seven years.
On March 25, 2016, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his platinum-selling debut album, released Careful What You Dream: Lost Songs and Rarities along with the bonus album Evolution of a Record, featuring never-before-heard songs and demos dating back to years before his debut album and the Grammy award that followed.
Marc’s momentum continued into a busy and fruitful 2017, which he spent in part on the road with the legendary Michael McDonald, garnering critical acclaim across the U.S. His writing talent was also drafted for work with a roster of American music greats including soul survivor William Bell, who won his first Grammy at age 78 with Marc’s help; Marc co-wrote a solid half of Bell’s celebrated album This is Where I Live, including the passionate opening cut “The Three Of Me.” The album revived the sound of Stax soul’s golden age, when Bell had first cut his teeth as an artist, and which had influenced Marc Cohn so powerfully – in its way, completing a circle and letting Marc give back to one of the originators of the sound that shaped him.
Marc revisited another corner of American music’s rich heritage with the Blind Boys of Alabama on the Grammy-nominated song “Let My Mother Live,” and also worked with David Crosby on the album Lighthouse. As powerfully influenced by the singer-songwriter tradition as he is by the legacy of soul and gospel, working with the ‘60s icon was a project that got right to Marc’s creative core.
Moving forward, he continues to do what he does best: infuse American music with both a fresh perspective and a reverence for its deep roots.
Randall Bramblett
Juke Joint at the Edge of the World is the eleventh studio release from esteemed singer-songwriter Randall Bramblett, a multi-instrumentalist musician with a career spanning four decades. Highly sought-after for his creativity as both a collaborator and skilled touring sideman, the legendary Georgian’s talent has earned him the respect of his peers and many of rock’s finest luminaries. While having shared stages with artists such as Steve Winwood, Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers and Widespread Panic, among others, it’s Bramblett’s own career as frontman where his artistry is truly on full display.
Deep into his self-described second act of his solo career, Bramblett aims to recreate the literature of the blues with music about nowhere people in nowhere lands. Conjuring equal parts Tom Waits, William Burroughs, and hallelujah chorus, his music again comes alive with this new collection of songs. With a commitment to the story of his characters and the necessary mutation of music, Bramblett has kept his solo career as fresh as the day it began.
This evolving engine of creativity is due, in large part, to the familiarity and bond shared with his bandmates.
“Juke Joint at the Edge of the World is a record that reflects the freedom that my bandmates and I have found in the last few years of playing together.” With an approach that he calls out for being “less analyzing and more fun,” it gently balances the technical prowess along with the passion held in the hearts and hands of each musician.
Moving with mellow evenness and jazzy dissonance, Juke Joint at the Edge of the World impressively combines elements of soul and funk, marrying profound lyrics with toe-tapping melodies — a union which was inspired by Bramblett’s many trips through southern music clubs. “Some of the places we play are like the old juke joints where people dance and shout. From these people and places we find the energy we need to be free to shake the music up.”
An integration of his own history as well as an integration of sound, Juke Joint at the Edge of the World rides in the wake of Bramblett’s previous release, the darkly soulful Devil Music, and finds, especially in its lyrics, a sort of kinship with its older brother. The songs on Devil Music were inspired by addiction, redemption, black music, and gospel and these same themes appear in Juke Joint at the Edge of the World, ringing with clarity and light, an illuminated manuscript in the hands of a fevered storyteller. But this record has more of a live in-the-studio feel to it. “The music is a little freer this time, rooted more in the soul and R&B dance music I grew up listening to and playing. The songs will take you places that make you dream and dance.”
Songs like “Pot Hole on Main Street” feel like an excerpt from one of Bukowski’s more autobiographical pieces while the transporting, deeply sensory “Mali Katra” feels like a scatter-brained dream rich with symbols portending doom or ecstasy. The deep, twisting vortex of nightmare; the dizzying climb towards salvation; and the long, gnarled streets of poverty and affliction are the paths this record travels, finding light to fill the darkness, and darkness to drown the light.
Bramblett’s solo career began in the 70’s with a pair of albums on Polydor Records. Joining the rock-jazz fusion group Sea Level he wrote/co-wrote a number of the group’s songs, including the Billboard single “That’s Your Secret.” Bramblett was approached by Traffic co-founder Steve Winwood in 1988 and spent the next 16 years touring in his band. It was on the road that he wrote new material with reinvigorated confidence and inspiration. Teasing his listener with unexpected humor while fleshing out fully lived-in characters with human ambition and godly stature, Bramblett continued his storied career with a continual pageant of reinvention and true conviction.
All shows are 21+ unless otherwise specified. Any tickets suspected of being purchased for the sole purpose of reselling can be cancelled at the discretion of Rams Head/Eventbrite.