Blue Mountain w/the High Strung + Andy Friedman and the Other Failures May 7, 2008

Blue Mountain is comprised of Laurie Stirratt (bass, vocals), Cary Hudson (guitar, vocals) and Frank Coutch (drums). The group formed in 1993 in Oxford, MS. Their music is a unique blend of twang, rock, gospel, country and bluegrass; original songs written in a traditional spirit, but with the hard edge of rock’n’roll. Blue Mountain released four full-length studio albums and one live record before disbanding in 2001. They re-formed in the summer of 2007. Their reputation for emotionally charged, energetic, raw lives performances still makes them a favorite on the touring circuit. Blue Mountain is gearing up for two new releases in July 2008: “Midnight In Mississippi” is all new material, recorded at Elmwood Recording in Dallas, TX, with Grammy-winning producer/engineer Stuart Sikes (Cat Power, The White Stripes, Loretta Lynn); and “Omnibus,” a collection of new recordings of their older material. Detroit’s own The High Strung will be starting their fourth annual National Public Library tour in June, so catch them at their last den-of-debauchery show before leaving the local rock’n’roll watering holes for more scholarly audiences. The show will feature some tunes from their new record, due out in September. Andy Friedman and the Other Failures are here on tour from hometown of Brooklyn, NY. Their song “Taken Man” was listed on the New York Post’s 207 Best Songs of 2007. The more astute among you may recognize Andy Friedman’s name as a cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine but his songs aren’t written for laughs. The group’s debut album explore issues of art, wild dreams and wanderlust. Friedman’s rough-around-the-edges folk music coupled with insightful lyrics have led to top music critics to refer to him as “a hillbilly Leonard Cohen.”

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