Acclaimed raconteur Ray BONNEVILLE STRIPS HIS BLUESY AMERICANA DOWN TO
ITS ESSENTIALS AND STEEPS IT IN THE HUMID GROOVES OF THE SOUTH,
creating a compelling poetry of hard living and deep feeling. His
ninth release, At King Electric, delivers more than his trademark grit
and groove. Songs such as “The Next Card to Fall” and
“Codeine” gleam with intimate narratives of characters reaching
for hope and wrestling with despair. Rich guitar and harmonica lines
resonate over spare but spunky rhythms, while BONNEVILLE’s deep,
evocative voice confesses life’s harsh realities. Jim Withers
(Montreal Gazette) describes his sound as “folk-roots gumbo… a
languid Mississippi Delta groove, seasoned with smooth, weathered
vocals and a propulsive harmonica wheeze.” Whether performing solo
or fronting a band, playing electric or acoustic guitar, BONNEVILLE
ALLOWS SPACE BETWEEN NOTES THAT ADDS POTENCY TO EVERY CHORD, lick, and
lyric. Thom Jurek (Allmusic.com) remarks, “With darkness and light
fighting for dominance… he’s stripped away every musical excess to
let the songs speak for themselves.” Often called a “song and
groove man,” BONNEVILLE HAS LIVED THE LIFE OF THE ITINERANT ARTIST.
From his native Quebec, he moved to Boston at age twelve, where he
learned English and picked up piano and guitar. Later, he served in
Vietnam and earned a pilot’s license in Colorado before living in
Alaska, Seattle, and Paris. Six years in New Orleans infused his
musical sensibilities with the region's culture and rhythms. And then,
a close call while piloting a seaplane proved pivotal: After two
decades working as a studio musician, playing rowdy rooms with blues
bands, and living hard, BONNEVILLE’s lifetime of hard-won experience
coalesced into an urge to write his own music. Ray recorded his
first album, On the Main, in 1992. He’s since released nine albums,
earned wide critical and popular acclaim, and won an enthusiastic
following in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His awards include a
prestigious Juno, the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy, for his 1999
album, Gust of Wind. In 2012, Ray won the solo/duet category in the
Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge. His post-Katrina
ode, “I Am the Big Easy,” earned the International Folk
Alliance’s 2009 Song of the Year Award, placed number one on Folk
Radio’s list of most-played songs of 2008, and was recently covered
by Jennifer Warnes for the BMG label. Other notable artists who have
recorded his songs include Ronnie Hawkins (“Foolish”) and Slaid
Cleaves (“Run Jolee Run”). Ray has shared the bill with blues
heavyweights Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Dr. John, J.J. Cale, and Robert
Cray, and has guested on albums by Mary Gauthier, Gurf Morlix, Eliza
Gilkyson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and other prominent musicians. He has
performed at renowned venues around the world, including South by
Southwest, Folk Alliance, and Montreal International Jazz Festival,
and plays over 100 shows per year across the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
When not on the road, he resides in Austin, Texas.
https://raybonneville.com/ [https://raybonneville.com/]
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17/11/2019 Last update