Upcoming Events at 191 Toole
Description
Greg Brown The Rialto Theatre Presents 21+
Event Details
About this Event
Greg Brown was born in the Hacklebarney section of southeastern Iowa and raised by a family that made words and music a way of life. His seasoned songwriting, storytelling, and music are deeply rooted in that place. He moves
audiences with warmth, humor, a thundering voice and his unpretentious musical vision.
His mother played the electric guitar, his grandfather played the banjo, his grandmother was a poet, and his father was a Pentecostal preacher. Greg’s youth was spread across a map of the Midwest as they moved between churches (and
even denominations), but music was always a staple. Gospel and hymns, classical, hillbilly, early rock and roll, country, and blues coalesced into a simmering stew of sound. Greg studied classical voice and piano as a child and also sang with choirs and in state competitions. At six he took up the pump organ and at twelve he learned the basics of guitar from his mother (who was also an English teacher—so books and poetry were always around the house).
At 18, Greg won a contest to play an opening set for singer Eric Andersen in Iowa City, who then encouraged him to head east. Moving to New York, Greg landed a job at Gerdes Folk City in the Village running hootenannies. Next he tried Portland, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but after a few years he moved back to Iowa. He recorded a couple of albums on his own (44 & 66 and The Iowa Waltz), then began working on the renowned national radio show A Prairie Home Companion and touring nationally. After Greg teamed up with Bob Feldman in 1983, they rereleased Greg’s first two albums under the name Red House Records -- the beginning of the now legendary folk/roots label that has released nearly all of Greg’s 27 albums.
In 1985 Greg released In the Dark With You, an acoustic classic. In 1986, he set poems of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience to music on a critically acclaimed album of the same name. One Big Town (1989) earned Greg his first Indie Award for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year, as well as a rave review in Rolling Stone. Dream Café (1992) was also a huge critical success. The Washington Post called it an “unassuming triumph,” and in the opinion of Z Magazine, it rivaled Bob
Greg Brown was born in the Hacklebarney section of southeastern Iowa and raised by a family that made words and music a way of life. His seasoned songwriting, storytelling, and music are deeply rooted in that place. He moves
audiences with warmth, humor, a thundering voice and his unpretentious musical vision.
His mother played the electric guitar, his grandfather played the banjo, his grandmother was a poet, and his father was a Pentecostal preacher. Greg’s youth was spread across a map of the Midwest as they moved between churches (and
even denominations), but music was always a staple. Gospel and hymns, classical, hillbilly, early rock and roll, country, and blues coalesced into a simmering stew of sound. Greg studied classical voice and piano as a child and also sang with choirs and in state competitions. At six he took up the pump organ and at twelve he learned the basics of guitar from his mother (who was also an English teacher—so books and poetry were always around the house).
At 18, Greg won a contest to play an opening set for singer Eric Andersen in Iowa City, who then encouraged him to head east. Moving to New York, Greg landed a job at Gerdes Folk City in the Village running hootenannies. Next he tried Portland, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but after a few years he moved back to Iowa. He recorded a couple of albums on his own (44 & 66 and The Iowa Waltz), then began working on the renowned national radio show A Prairie Home Companion and touring nationally. After Greg teamed up with Bob Feldman in 1983, they rereleased Greg’s first two albums under the name Red House Records -- the beginning of the now legendary folk/roots label that has released nearly all of Greg’s 27 albums.
In 1985 Greg released In the Dark With You, an acoustic classic. In 1986, he set poems of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience to music on a critically acclaimed album of the same name. One Big Town (1989) earned Greg his first Indie Award for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year, as well as a rave review in Rolling Stone. Dream Café (1992) was also a huge critical success. The Washington Post called it an “unassuming triumph,” and in the opinion of Z Magazine, it rivaled Bob
