Jt Nero & Allison Russell (from Po' Girl) December 18, 2010

JT Nero - CD release tour for "mountains/forests" with special guest Allison Russell (of Po' Girl)
 
A Comfy Couch Concerts Presentation - Saturday Dec. 18 8 pm
Newport Furnishings
52504 Grand River Ave.,Wixom, MI
248-910-4941
stevenjohnson@michiganfolklive.com
 
 
 Ask JT Nero, and he’ll claim that he learned doo wop songs and spirituals from Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal on the back of the Harlem Globetrotter bus in the late 70’s, and that his father played for the Washington Generals, who traveled with the Globetrotters, losing nightly while serving as comic punching bags. JT will also tell you that his  beliefs about the absurdity of life and the inevitability of loss were formed in these years.  

Ask others, and they will describe - however it came to be - the sense of loss, absurdity and  beauty in Nero’s music. Critics describe it as "slinky, vulnerable and reverent of the Memphis soul of yore," and Nero himself as "on the verge of breaking big-time." (Chicago Tribune) Or, a "show stealer with his amazing R&B voice and off-hand stage commentary."  (Festivalpreview.com - Kate Wolf 2010 review) As a singer, he's " a superb crooner and an equally powerful soul singer, able to belt out a lyric or etch it with the delicacy of Venetian glass, whilst evoking Curtis Mayfield one moment and Sly Stone the next." (All Music Guide) Nero delivers "Greenwich Village-style busker soul, caught between two generations of tragic Buckleys" (Chicago Reader), and, put another way, "soul-music injected variations on the pop-folk, singer-songwriter theme." (Santa Barbara News-Press)

JT has spent much of the last year touring solo and collaborating with Canadian roots champs, Po’ Girl. He also fronts the Chicago-based rock n’ soul collective, JT and The Clouds, of late described as "Sly Stone soul meets Gram Parsons heartbreak" (Albuquerque Arts), "near flawless and certainly not short on soul” (Austin Music Magazine), "a mix of soul-pop, rhythm and blues review, and the Rolling Stones" (Lucky Dice-Netherlands), a "9 out of 10" (Americana UK), and possessors of “a rare vision” (the Onion-AV Club)

"mountains/forests" is Nero's second solo CD, and was recorded with members of Po' Girl and The Clouds, in a cabin in northernmost Wisconsin.  On tour, Nero will be joined by Po' Girl's Allison Russell and percussionist Mikey “Lightning” August. In the words of Nero, the trio is poised to "absolutely explode your mind and spirit, then rebuild them with love and gentle care."

Steven Johnson promoter of the Comfy Couch concerts asserts " When JT Nero's soulful voice and inspired songwriting is combined with Allison Russell's and Mikey August's cozy harmonious amalgam of jazz, Americana/roots string music and European folk, the result will just blow our patrons away, a concert not to be missed"

For more information visit:
http://www.jtandtheclouds.com
http://www.pogirl.net

All concerts start at 8:00 pm.
Doors open for advance ticket holders at 7:00 pm.
Tickets sold at door (if available) at 7:30 pm.

You are welcome to bring a beer, wine or other beverage to enjoy during the concert!

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