Fred Eaglesmith January 11, 2008

Fri Jan 11 Fred Eaglesmith, Katy Moffatt & Andrew Hardin 8 PM, $18 adv / $20 dos, Ballroom all ages. Presented in conjunction with WKSU FM 89.7.

Fred Eaglesmith was born, as he sings in Indian Motorcycles, "in the springtime of the '57 Chevy." Growing up on a series of farms in southern Ontario, Eaglesmith recalls spending his childhood in two places: working on the farm, or going to church. He started writing and playing music, influenced by Elvis and the sounds of roots music drifting into Ontario from far-away radio stations. He bought his first guitar with $12 he'd earned doing farm chores. By age sixteen, Eaglesmith had left home, hopped freight trains out west and made his way back east to the farms of southern Ontario. His original songs are populated with people he has been and has known: tried-but-true blue-collar guys, tired cowboys, young boys in love, bare-knuckled farmers, heartbreakingly good women, beautifully bad women, lonesome good guys, bravura bad guys Friday-night criminals and everyone in between. Eaglesmith won The Juno Award for Best Roots and Traditional Album - Solo, is winner of the Canadian Independent Music Award and was a finalist in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition for his song, "Alcohol and Pills." Two tribute albums of Eaglesmith's work have been recorded, and Fred and regularly scores on critics' top ten lists on both sides of the border, in Europe and in Australia, and on Americana and Roots charts. His most recent CD, Milly's Cafe, reached the Americana top 10 in 2006. Since first hitting the road in 1996, Fred Eaglesmith and his amazingly versatile band have received critical acclaim from almost every major and minor newspaper in Canada and the US. Eaglesmith is also accompanied by one of the most devoted fan bases since The Grateful Dead. "Fredheads" faithfully trek thousands of miles to participate in one of Fred's fests, and to hear the outstanding alt-country and roots artists who share bills with Eaglesmith. A Fred Eaglesmith show features a mix of passionate, funny and moving music, ridiculously funny comedy, honest tears and poignant observations all at once. Eaglesmith's commentary on affairs -- current ones as well as those of the heart -- is hilarious, uproarious, and provocative, as are his plainspoken zen observations. As one reviewer said, "It takes a jaded soul to leave a Fred Eaglesmith show unaffected." Katie Moffatt is a true veteran of the music industry, a songwriter and player whose work has put in the company of such folks as Dave Alvin and Rose Flores; she's appeared in several country music-related movies; she's been covered by Janie Frickie and Hoyt Axton (and it's always a compliment when another songwriter covers your songs!) heck, she's even outsold Garth Brooks in the UK! Hardin played progressive country in California in the mid-seventies, major-label rock with the Dingoes from Australia on A&M Records, and hard-core blues with ex-John Lee Hooker partner Eddie Kirkland. Andrew was working as a cab driver in New York City in 1980 when he met Tom Russell, who was also driving cab. Russell picked up Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter one evening, which led to a gig opening for Hunter at the Lonestar Cafe in New York. Russell and Hardin formed a band shortly thereafter, and began touring locally and internationally, eventually playing all over the world and recording over twenty albums. Andrew Hardin and Tom Russell performed as an acoustic duo from the early 90's through 2005, appearing at major music festivals in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and joining tours with Nanci Griffith and John Prine.

Official Website: http://www.beachlandballroom.com/