Drive-By Truckers come to Richmond's The National

Hailing from Athens, Georgia, Drive-By Truckers have been playing their own brand of Southern Rock to adoring fans for over a decade. They recently released their tenth album The Big To-Do to critical-acclaim and it has become their highest chart success to date. Over their career they have collaborated with such musical greats as Booker T and Betty LaVette and recently toured with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Don't miss them when they come through Richmond for two special shows: Friday, October 29th and Saturday, October 30th.

Kris Kristofferson comes to Newport News this November

Kris Kristofferson returns to the essentials of his finely honed craft on his New West album Closer to the Bone.
Like the master singer-songwriter's 2006 New West bow This Old Road, the new album is produced by Grammy Award winner Don Was. The previous collection - Kristofferson's first recording in almost a dozen years - was hailed by critics as "one of the finest albums of his storied career" (Rolling Stone), "a stripped-down stunner" (Esquire), and "a return to his best work" (Q).Kristofferson says, "I like the intimacy of the new album. It has a general mood of reflecting on where we all are at this end of life."

Much like its predecessor, Closer to the Bone is a deftly observed, honestly executed work about love, separation, loss, and mortality. The subject matter ranges from the musician's family ("From Here to Forever," "The Wonder") to Kristofferson's late friend Johnny Cash ("Good Morning John").
Was views the new album as a sort of sequel to its much-acclaimed predecessor: "The recording conditions were a little more controlled, but it's based around Kris singing and playing guitar, and nothing was to get in the way of that. If anything got in the way of it, we pulled it out. I think the two albums are completely of a piece. I love This Old Road. There's something really immediate about it, and really profound. I personally think this is a better record, overall. It's the songs."

Some of the album's songs were penned relatively recently, while others Kristofferson had never managed to successfully record. He laughs when he recalls a previous attempt to cut "Good Morning John" with Willie Nelson - like Cash and Kristofferson a member of the country supergroup the Highwaymen -- on harmony vocals: "I got to that line where I say, ‘I love you, John,' and Willie sang, ‘He loves you, John.' I said, ‘C'mon, Willie, you can say, ‘I love you, John.' I guess it embarrassed him. Anyway, we ended up not putting it out then."
While the recording of Closer to the Bone doesn't entirely replicate the off-the-cuff methodology of This Old Road - which was tracked with surround-sound equipment in a single session in the lounge of a Hollywood studio - the new album, made at the Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, aimed for the same earthy simplicity.

Friday, November 5, 2010, 8:00pm

JoAnn Falletta, Conductor
Julian Schwarz, Cello

This is Beethoven at peace, amid his beloved nature, which echoes and animates every measure of his Symphony No. 6, the "Pastoral" Symphony. Also, teenage cello phenomenon Julian Schwarz will perform Haydn's joyous Cello Concerto in C.

Friday, November 5, 2010, 8:00pm

JoAnn Falletta, Conductor
Julian Schwarz, Cello

This is Beethoven at peace, amid his beloved nature, which echoes and animates every measure of his Symphony No. 6, the "Pastoral" Symphony. Also, teenage cello phenomenon Julian Schwarz will perform Haydn's joyous Cello Concerto in C.

Sunday, November 7, 2010, 7:00pm 

Amy Grant embraces fans with a heartfelt singer-songwriter style, mixing elements of pop, folk and country. Conventional wisdom says Amy put Contemporary Christian music on the map: she was the first Contemporary Christian artist to have a platinum record, the first to hit #1 pop and the first to perform at the Grammys. Yet perhaps her greatest accomplishment was to open the door for other artists to sing about faith and soul and family. With that, her legacy as one of the most influential artists is assured.

Sunday, November 7, 2010, 7:00pm 

Amy Grant embraces fans with a heartfelt singer-songwriter style, mixing elements of pop, folk and country. Conventional wisdom says Amy put Contemporary Christian music on the map: she was the first Contemporary Christian artist to have a platinum record, the first to hit #1 pop and the first to perform at the Grammys. Yet perhaps her greatest accomplishment was to open the door for other artists to sing about faith and soul and family. With that, her legacy as one of the most influential artists is assured.