Folk-Pop Icon joins Blues Legend for Aug. 20th Show in Rockport, Ma.
Jonathan Edwards & James Montgomery to take over the Shalin Liu Performance Center
JONATHAN EDWARDS (http://www.jonathanedwards.net) burst on the music scene nearly 40 years ago with the mega-hit “Sunshine,” a cheerful anthem of defiance written at the height of the Vietnam War era. Today he remains as original, energetic and relevant as he was all those years ago, with a voice as strong and memorable as ever.
JAMES MONTGOMERY (www.jamesmontgomery.com), named “the John Mayall of New England” by Peter Wolf. In 1970, while attending Boston University, Montgomery formed the James Montgomery Band. His inimitable (oh yeah, he majored in English) harmonica playing combined with his incredibly energetic live shows led to the band’s quick ascension on the New England music scene. Within two years, the James Montgomery band was among the hottest acts in Boston along with J. Geils and Aerosmith, and they were quickly signed to a multi-album deal with Capricorn Records.
These two legends will join each other on stage for the first time in the fantastic Shalin Liu Performance Center (http://www.rockportmusic.org/), a world-class 330 seat venue featuring a state-of-the-art concert hall with a two-story stage window with an unmatched panorama of the coastline. The center is unique in New England, combining intimacy, extraordinary acoustical quality, and a matchless natural setting, which attract and inspire artists and audiences alike.
Jonathan Edwards has played around the world for over four decades having stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, delivering songs of passion, insight and humor all rendered in a pure and powerful tenor.
He began his music career growing up in Minnesota, playing by ear on his piano and guitar. In his teens and twenties he became an integral part of the Boston folk music scene, playing with various mutations of bands and traveling all over New England. Soon he was opening for B. B. King and Allman Brothers Band and recorded his first album, Jonathan’ which featured the now legendary hit cut Sunshine.
A fierce proclamation of protest and independence set to deceptively upbeat music, Sunshine resonated with the thousands and thousands of frustrated and angry young men and women of the day. It was just at the time of the Vietnam War and Nixon. It was looking bad out there. That song meant a lot to a lot of people during that time especially me, Jonathan says. It got its start on a Boston radio station and quickly made its way to the top five on the national charts, earning him a gold record in 1971.
He has recorded 15 albums to date, including the award-winning children s album “Little Hands”; narrated and performed in the documentary series, “Cruising Americas’ Waterways”; starred on Broadway, and is currently completing a score for a major motion picture.
But it is his live concerts that have collectively drawn an audience of millions to hear not just a performer and songwriter, but a story teller whose music and charisma touch both the heart and the funny bone, connecting with fans of all ages.
Montgomery has recorded six albums, with his seventh about to be released. Montgomery has toured with many major artists, including Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, the Allman Brothers, Steve Miller and others. He has jammed on stage with B.B.King, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Jr. Wells, James Cotton, Charlie Daniels, Bonnie Raitt, Greg Allman, Laverne Baker, Patti LaBelle, and Peter Wolf among others, including an impromptu session with Mick Jagger at New York’s “Trax”. While growing up in Detroit he learned first-hand from the masters – James Cotton, John Lee Hooker, and Jr. Wells – at the legendary “Chessmate.”
But, as with Edwards, Montgomery’s high energy live shows, sprinkled with humorous anecdotes, buoyed by his direct, gritty singing, and combined with a rough-n-tumble style have garnered generations of fans and acclaim. He continues to be one of the most dynamic performers on the blues scene today.
Tickets $29-$49 are on sale now from the Shalin Liu Box Office at 978-546-7391 or online at www.rockportmusic.org