Upcoming shows – Chicago, St Louis, Detroit…

A whole bunch of cool shows coming up in the next month or so…

Monday, May 20th, I’ll join Robbie Fulks to play Bob Dylan’s “Street Legal” album. Some we’ll play like the record, some he’s re-arranged. I’m playing lead guitar! Read Robbie’s posting about the album and the show at his website. The Hideout, 5/20/2013 7pm – 9pm

Sunday, June 2nd, I’ll reunite with Alton Smith (piano, accordion, vocals)  and Colby Maddox (mandolin, fiddle, vocals) – two of the most talented musicians I know – for a set at Martyrs. We’re 3rd on the bill – headliner Derek Fawcett celebrates the release of his new CD. Alton, Colby and I played back in March at the Old Town School of Folk Music and it was a great night. Here’s us singing “It Makes No Difference” by The Band.  Martyrs 6/2/13 show begins at 7, we play at 9pm.

Saturday, June 8th, Dolly Varden is out of our minds excited to be part of this amazing bill on the final night of Twangfest in St. Louis: The Bottle Rockets, Marshall Crenshaw, and us. Crazy. The show is in the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill. Everything you need to know is at Twangfest headquarters.  Twangfest, 6/8/13. Showtime is 8pm

Friday, June 21st: Dolly Varden returns to the Trinity House Theater in Livonia, Michigan. It’s been a while since we’ve played at the Trinity House and we’re really glad to be coming back. A beautiful small theater in an old church. Very near both Detroit and Ann Arbor. 6/21/13, doors open at 7:30, show begins at 8pm.

Saturday, June 22nd: Dolly Varden returns to our favorite Chicagoland venue: SPACE in Evanston! This will be an EARLY SHOW – no support act, just us – “an evening with Dolly Varden”. Get your tickets now because this show will sell out. 6/22/13 doors: 6pm, show: 7pm

Monday, July 8th, back at the Hideout with the amazingly gifted Robbie Fulks, this time just the two of us singing songs we both like. 7pm showtime.

I’ll see you there!Steve

 

 

Back at Simon’s April 7th!!

simon's poster

spring!

It has been a long time since I wrote anything here. A lot has been going on – mainly the new Dolly Varden album, “For A While,” which I’m quite happy with and which has been getting some really wonderful reviews. Here’s one from Blurt that was particularly nice. The album was released January 22nd with a big sold out release concert at City Winery in Chicago on January 19. In early February Diane and I traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland and Belfast, Northern Ireland, for a handful of shows. Here’s a video of us singing “Saskatchewan to Chicago,” one of the songs from the new album, in Belfast. I recently played a show with Alton Smith and Colby Maddox, two of my favorite Chicago musicians. We did a bunch of 3-part harmony songs. It was great and we’re gonna do it again soon. Below is a video of us singing The Band’s, “It Makes No Difference,” shot by Jim Summers using an app that makes it look like an old home movie. Thanks, Jim! It just might be my all-time favorite song. Look, I know I’m not Rich Danko, but what a joy to sing this song with these two amazing musicians. Not a lot of songwriting has been going on through all this activity but I am slowly but surely moving back into writing mode and do plan to record new songs in the next few months.

Next up: Dolly Varden plays a show at one of our favorite places, Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn, on Saturday, March 23rd. Dolly Varden will play first at 9pm. AND I will be back at Simon’s for the annual birthday show – this year it will be Sunday, April 7th. The line-up will be me, Frank Rosaly on drums, Jason Roebke on bass, Alton Smith on keyboards and vocals, and Diane Christiansen, too. It’s free and it starts at 9pm.

I hope to see you soon!
Steve

 

New Dolly Varden album, “For A While,” available now

cover-For A Whle

Hey! I’m super excited about this new album. I think it might be the band’s best work to date. It’s available on itunes, Amazon, Spotify, and most anywhere music can be found legally. You can also buy the CD direct from the band at the Dolly Varden online store. You can preview one of the songs, “Saskatchewan to Chicago,” on the music player over there on the right.

Dolly Varden at City Winery and the return of the Jesus Christ Trio

Dolly Varden will celebrate the OFFICIAL release of our new album, “For A While,” on Saturday, January 19th at City Winery Chicago. Jenny Bienemann, who just released a beautiful new album, will open the show. It’s gonna be a good one. Advance tickets highly recommended. Doors open at 6pm and the show starts at 8. I’ve added a song from the new Dolly Varden album to the music player here on this page – a song called “Saskatchewan to Chicago.”

In other news… I’m excited to announce the return of the Jesus Christ Trio: Robbie Fulks, Diane Christiansen and myself singing songs about Jesus.. country gospel, bluegrass, spirituals, and, of course, “Jesus Dropped The Charges.” We sure hope you can join us. It was really really fun last year. The show will once again be at the Hideout in Chicago on Mon Dec 3rd at 7pm. Advance tickets at the Hideout’s website.

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