Article Contributed on: 8/25/2009 10:12:23 AM
Swallow Hill Music is thrilled to welcome back original award-winning singer/songwriter Chris Smither on Friday, October 9 at 8 p.m.
After coming on the radar in 1970 with the well-received debut album
I'm a Stranger Too! and the similarly lauded 1972 followup,
Don't It Drag On, Smither didn't release another record for more than a decade. "Everybody has good patches and bad patches," he says. "I was basically drunk for 12 years, and somehow I managed to climb out of it; I don't know why. Why did I get well when so many other people don't? It had nothing to do with any virtue on my part; if I were Christian, I'd call it grace. I just got lucky."
Smither's latest release,
Leave the Light On, stands as the quintessence of his life's work while throwing in some new wrinkles that reflect where he's been and what he's encountered since the last time around. The work finds Smither once again in a contemplative mood, examining his thought processes from struggling to distinguish between self-deception and truth to seeking the most fundamental kind of closure.
One of the songs on the album, "Origin of the Species," was named #42 of the 100 Best Songs of the Year 2006 by
Rolling Stone. Named as 2007's Outstanding Folk Act by the Boston Music Awards, it's easy to see why the
Associated Press proclaims "Smither is an American original, a product of the musical melting pot, and one of the absolute best singer-songwriters in the world."
Recently Smither was included in the book,
Amplified (Melville House), a collection of 15 short stories by some of today's most compelling performing songwriters, including Robbie Fulks, Mary Gauthier, Jon Langford, Maria McKee and Rhett Miller.
Time Out Chicago's review of
Amplified says: "Veteran Boston folk singer Chris Smither opens the collection with the best story..."
September of 2009 will also see the release of his newest studio album,
Time Stands Still, through Signature Sounds Recordings (and on Shock Records in Australia). The album, produced by David Goodrich, is due in in stores September 29 and features a whole batch of new songs as well as a few fantastic covers.
Alt-country songwriter Jeffrey Foucault will open the show. Foucault's latest album, a tribute to John Prine entitled
Shoot the Moon Right Between the Eyes, has been called "one of the best albums of the year" by critics.
Tickets are now on sale at
www.swallowhillmusic.org (now with no processing fees) or by calling (303) 777-1003 x2. Discounts are available for Swallow Hill members. Buy in advance and save! Swallow Hill Music Association is located at 71 East Yale Avenue (just off Broadway) in Denver.