WHEN: Tuesday June 7, 2016
DOORS: 7pm | SHOW: 8pm
GENRE: rock / singer/songwriter
AGES: all ages
SEATING: seated general admission
TICKETS: $17 adv. / $20 d.o.s. / $30 VIP (guaranteed seating in 1st three rows!)
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James McCartney:

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Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter James McCartney has remained fiercely dedicated to his musical vision of melding smart hooks and feral alt-rock with the grandeur and spiritually centeredness of psychedelic music. Now, he issues the sharpest entry of his vision, the majestic The Blackberry Train engineered by Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Pixies and PJ Harvey).

“It’s all been an evolution,” James says. “This set of songs definitely has a harder edge, but it’s a continuation of the last album. The main thing for me is to not conform or compromise.”

James’ panoramic artistry is inspired by such diverse musicians as Kurt Cobain, The Smiths, Radiohead, PJ Harvey, The Cure, The Beatles, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, and Hank Williams. His fingerprint aesthetic has earned him plaudits from Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and The Daily News. He’s earned a strong following the old fashioned way, through tirelessly touring the US, Europe and the UK, and playing bigger and bigger shows with each go around.

The Blackberry Train is an epiphanic co-mingling of aesthetics. James sought out the distinct audio stylings of Steve Albini to conjure a grungier sensibility. He welcomed the engineer’s gifts for capturing music with a raw clarity, and Steve Albini’s reputation for not impinging on an artist’s vision. The results make for an eclectic album with fastidiously crafted songs documented in the studio with glorious purity.

“I like the music to have elements of the avant garde, psychedelic, and be just a little against the grain,” James reveals. “But in the end, it’s about having as much emotion as possible for me, musically and lyrically. It’s all about the music being cathartic, heartfelt and true.”

The Blackberry Train manages to be both diverse and cohesive. The album opens invigoratingly with the jangling rocker, “Too Hard” and closes with the stately and aptly named folk song “Peace and Stillness.” Between these bookends, highlights include the rough-edged and urgently melodic “Unicorn,” the anthemic “Peyote Coyote,” and the soulful ballad “Prayer.” One very personal song is the winsome and reflective “Waterfall” which was inspired by memories of his mother.

This summer and fall James will embark on extensive tour dates in the U.S. Thinking ahead, James says: “I just want to keep on going, keep working, and improving as a songwriter. I’d love to feel that I realized my full potential both as a person, and as a songwriter. That feels like a great, fulfilling goal to shoot for. Making a lot of music, and striving for more depth artistically–those are my goals.”

Pierce Edens:

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Based in Asheville, NC, Pierce Edens and The Dirty Work have been mainstays in the SouthEastern roots music scene for several years, and now the band is back again with the release of Pierce Edens and The Dirty Work, LIVE. In collaboration with Sound Lab Studios, the band recorded two nights at The Lexington Ave Brewery in Asheville in full Dolby digital surround sound in high definition on multiple cameras. Distilled now into both CD and DVD formats Pierce Edens and The Dirty Work, LIVE shows the band in their most raw, intense, and revelatory release to date and releases nationally on Tuesday, December 10, 2013.

Singing, performing, and recording for several years, the songs of Pierce Edens resonate from a calling sparked within him to share a story. It’s a story inspired by old-time tunes, a rock and roll fever, and the downright rural, gritty mountain life of his upbringing. It doesn’t seem to matter whether he is singing a haunting, foothill-influenced ballad with a modern Americana twist, or writing a 21st century stomp-and-clap that calls back to the Appalachian churches, it all gets entangled in his unique storytelling.

“There are few who can touch Edens as a singer or as a songwriter,“ says Bold Life’s Robin Tolleson. “He’s blessed with a soulful, resonant growl that seems to mix Johnny Cash, Eddie Vedder and Citizen Cope.” It’s an eclectic mélange of sounds exemplifying the fact that this man can’t be contained by any one genre; he’s an American musical anomaly.

“Asheville’s Pierce Edens heard old-timey mountain music until his teens; that’s when he was steeped in punk and grunge. Both inform his music. His shadowy baritone has a dark, jazzy canter reminiscent of Tom Waits, while the percolating strings below it veer from bluegrass to closing-time cabaret,” says Indy Week. “The punk manifests in the rebellious free-spirited nature of ‘Montana’ as Edens demands, ‘Don’t speak, don’t think, just take my hand and come with. We can work out the details later, if we work them out at all.’”

Along with Pierce Edens’ lead vocals and acoustic guitar, The Dirty Work includes Matt Smith (pedal steel and electric guitar), Jesse James Hongisto (upright bass), Dane Rand (drums and percussion), and Jim Aaron (Harmonica). Special guest musicians on the DVD include Jacob Rodriguez (saxophone) and Justin Ray (trumpet).

Sound Lab Studios is an Asheville-based media production company that is a partnership between More Chi Films and Golden Manatee Productions. The footage was directed and edited by Peter Lutz; produced by Adam Johnson & Peter Lutz, with audio recording & mixing by Adam Johnson and front of house sound by Sean Mack. Greg Herman for the album artwork and digital motion design. For more information about Sound Lab, please visit http://www.soundlabstudios.com/

More information about Pierce Edens and his tour dates can be found at www.pierceedens.com.