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Austin singer/songwriter Slaid Cleaves returns to Nevada County for a
concert a Saint Joseph's Cultural Center on Saturday.
Slaid Cleaves' music is marked by both the quirky blend of isolated eccentricity and steely resilience of his Yankee upbringing and the weathered soul of Texas — the state he has called home for over a decade.
First registering on the national folk scene by winning the Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk competition in 1992, Cleaves released his national debut “No Angel Knows” in 1997, following a string of self-released albums and many nights logged in folk clubs as both a performer and a soundman.
On his new recording “Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away,” Cleaves returns with an album whose quiet beauty belies lyrics of deep resignation.
Just as Springsteen's anthems can obscure his bite, Cleaves presents his songs with an offhandedness that, on the surface, offsets the despondency of his words.
The angst of love's vulnerability, the political, social and economic polarization of a new gilded age, and the human misery of war are just a few topics covered. Cleaves sings with a warmth that infuses an element of hope in the crushing blows he delivers. Is there hard-won pain or only a clever couplet in singing “Every man is a myth, every woman a dream / Watch your little heart get crushed when the truth gets in between”?
First registering on the national folk scene by winning the Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk competition in 1992, Cleaves released his national debut “No Angel Knows” in 1997, following a string of self-released albums and many nights logged in folk clubs as both a performer and a soundman.
On his new recording “Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away,” Cleaves returns with an album whose quiet beauty belies lyrics of deep resignation.
Just as Springsteen's anthems can obscure his bite, Cleaves presents his songs with an offhandedness that, on the surface, offsets the despondency of his words.
The angst of love's vulnerability, the political, social and economic polarization of a new gilded age, and the human misery of war are just a few topics covered. Cleaves sings with a warmth that infuses an element of hope in the crushing blows he delivers. Is there hard-won pain or only a clever couplet in singing “Every man is a myth, every woman a dream / Watch your little heart get crushed when the truth gets in between”?
Know and Go
Who: Paul Emery and St. Joseph's Cultural Center present
What: Austin Singer/Songwriter Slaid Cleaves When: 8 p.m. Saturday Where: Saint Joseph's Cultural Center, 410 South Church Street, Grass Valley Tickets: $20, available at The BriarPatch, (530) 272-5333, The Book Seller, (530) 272-2131, Yabobo, (530) 478-9114, Cherry Records, (530) 823-2147, Brown Paper Tickets, 800-838-3006, online at www.stringsconcerts.com. |
