| Information for Blue Dogs & Shawn Mullins |
| Category: | Concert |
| Promoter: | The Neighborhood Theatre |
| Description: | Blue Dogs were formed in Charleston, SC, in 1987 by lead singer/guitarist Bobby Houck and bassist Hank Futch, who had known each other since childhood and played together in college. Drummer Greg Walker came along later, joining the band in 1993. At first, the Blue Dogs were acoustic-oriented and played a lot of bluegrass and country covers. But in the early '90s, they went electric and shifted their focus to roots rock, country-rock, and Southern rock; the artists who have influenced the electric version of the Blue Dogs range from the Wallflowers and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers to Little Feat and John Cougar Mellencamp. Shawn Mullins vibrant new album, honeydew (released March 11th on Vanguard Records) is teeming with humanity hobos, railroad workers, traveling salesmen, homeless troubadours, fearful old people, youngsters yearning to escape from a dead-end existence, and several generations of family members, living and dead. Theres a ton of heartache in this record, and a ton of hope as well, as Mullins explores the dark corners of contemporary existence while also delving back into the past, capturing vivid pictures of his native Atlanta and the surrounding South in a voice of plainspoken eloquence and uncommon genuineness. This richly interwoven, character-driven work is at once the most panoramic album of Mullins distinguished career and the most intensely personal. |
| Featured Artists |
| Blue Dogs | The Blue Dogs are an earthy, down-home roots rock/country-rock/Southern rock band from South Carolina. The twangy, very Southern-sounding Blue Dogs were formed in Charleston, SC, in 1987. The Blue Dogs' first album came out in 1991, when they released Music for Dog People on their own Black River label. That album was followed by 1993's Soul Dogfood and 1995's Street Theater, both of which are also on Black River. While those three releases were full of cover songs, the Blue Dogs' fourth album, The Blue Dogs (which was produced by John Alagia and came out in 1997) marked the first time that one of their albums contained nothing but original material. In 1998, the band recorded its fifth album, For the Record, a live CD that was followed by a studio effort titled Letters From Round O (which was produced by Cracker's David Lowery in 1999). The Blue Dogs' seventh release, Live at the Florence Little Theater, was recorded in 1998 but didn't actually come out until 2002. For the Blue Dogs, personnel can change from one album to the next; a Blue Dogs album (either live or studio) will typically include core members along with what could be called an extended family of fellow Southern musicians. | |
| Shawn Mullins | Shawn Mullins, a singer-songwriter specializing in folk rock/alternative music. He is best known for the 1998 single, "Lullaby," which hit number one on the Adult Top 40 and was nominated for a Grammy Award. He released a series of indie albums with friends from the Atlanta music scene before signing to Columbia Records. Mullins has a big, soulful voice. He's capable of writing big, soulful songs, too. But he can also capture the tiny details. There's a lot of sky and earth in his music. A lot of shadow and light. He is currently supported by Vanguard Records, a record label that has based it's foundation on the roots of americana music. Shawn's new album, honeydew (released March 11th on Vanguard Records)includes the usual suspects from his live full band appearances: Gerry Hansen, Clay Cook, Patrick Blanchard and Peter Stroud. Shawn's musical accomplishments include a dozen self-produced records, two number one charting songs, grammy nomination and thousands of live performances. One of his favorite accomplishments was the decision of the Austrailian Olympic Team to use his song Shimmer as their anthem. |
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