Guy Davis On Tour From Boston To Canada and Back

By Stephen Pate –  Guy Davis, is just beginning a year-long tour that takes him from Cambridge & Boston on April 4th and 5th, to Halifax, NS  April 7th, Charlottetown, PE April 8th and points beyond. I’ll list the tour cities and dates below.

Fans of country blues will get a rare and up close chance to be entertained by one of best the country blues artists alive today. Guy Davis is also an accomplished songwriter who can bring out genuine emotions. His repertoire goes from Bob Dylan to Mississippi John Hurt and Willie Dixon’s R&B classic “Little Red Rooster.”

Guy Davis has renewed the great tradition of country blues from Mississippi to the Texas haunts of Lightning Hopkins. He plays an awesome delta slide, with several other rhythmic blues styles, along with banjo and harmonica. He makes it all seem so easy and effortless.

Guy’s music has a toe taping groove.  While I was writing this and listening to Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train, his latest CD, my wife started tapping her feet. “Is that who we’re going to see,” she said with enthusiasm.

Although the tour page doesn’t say it, the local promoter Back Alley Music told me Fabrizio Poggi, his accompanying harmonica player, will be on the tour. The pair was recorded, a few days ago by Music City Roots. There is an obvious connection with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, who were excellent country blues musicians, Like Guy Davis.

“The Blues” is one of those amorphous and elusive genre labels created by record companies that we are stuck with. Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee sang anything people would pay to listen to, including show tunes and pop music. In the end their success came from catering to white folk music audiences who wanted the blues. I think of the blues as a style and file all music alphabetically, except classical.

I’ve been a Guy Davis fan for the past two decades. The first time I saw him live he blew me away with his delta blues guitar playing and singing. What I really dig is he is authentic and eschews the blues clichés such as a phony southern accent.

Guy Davis is also a great storyteller and his song introductions are genuine and affecting. He does have an acting background that makes him comfortable in front of an audience. One thing I recently learned was that Guy Davis was a protegé of Pete Seeger and see’s his singing as carrying on the folk tradition.

His intro “Wish I Hadn’t Stayed Too Long” refers to his mother’s recent death while he was on the road, very touching.

Watch his videos and try to get out to see him. It will be a night to remember.  Space is limited in Charlottetown where we are going so pre-purchase of tickets is recommended. @ Back Alley Music

Catch up with his latest CD’s on Amazon or iTunes. They’re all worth repeated listening.

Guy Davis Tour

Tour page link.