Guy DavisNikki Matteson and the RueMatesDue to circumstances beyond the Cedar's control, the Guy Davis concert scheduled for March 28 has been cancelled. If you are a ticket holder, please contact The Cedar (612-338-2674 ext 0) for a refund. A bluesman for our times. The music of Guy Davis is steeped in the language of his forebears, and pays tribute to the greats of the genre, including Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson, Son House, Skip James, and more contemporarily, Taj Mahal. Yet, Guy breathes new life into these deep blues roots, and melds his forceful interpretations of the classics with a growing catalog of his own brilliant originals--many of which are clearly destined to become classics in their own right. Through his dexterous slide, dobro and fingerpicked guitar, a sprinkling of banjo, a torrent of harmonica, and a voice that can bark and growl and murmur softly without missing a beat, Guy needs no accompaniment. And then there are the stories. Guy can tell you stories of his great-grandparents and his grandparents, their days as track linemen, and of their interactions with the infamous KKK. He can also tell you that as a child raised in middle-class New York suburbs, the only cotton he’s picked is his underwear up off the floor. He's a musician, composer, actor, director, and writer. But most importantly, Guy Davis is a bluesman. The blues permeates every corner of Davis' creativity. Throughout his career, he has dedicated himself to reviving the traditions of acoustic blues and bringing them to as many ears as possible through the material of the great blues masters, African American stories, and his own original songs, stories and performance pieces.

As Davis says, "Yes, the old songs may be about black folks eating chicken and eating watermelon but nonetheless they are strong songs of survival. Of surviving brutally hard times and it's that which we celebrate by performing the blues." The need for such music is as great today as it ever was.

“Davis never loses sight of the blues as good time music, the original forum for dancing on top of one's sorrows. Joy made more exquisite, of course, by the sorrow from which it springs.” (Dave Marsh)

"Nikki Matteson & Rich Rue are a creative singer-songwriter duo who produce a rocking, high-energy good time, reminding you that rock'and'roll came before the electric guitar. They jump into a sea of music and come out with their own sound: blues, folk and psychedelic, forming and reforming. Since they're an acoustic act they fall more easily into a blues and folk classification. Their energy during live performances is reportedly reminiscent of [1960's music with adaptations of songs done by the likes of] Janis Joplin and the Rolling Stones." --Pulse magazine, Mpls

Tickets on sale now from Cedar Ticketline (612-338-2674 ext 2), Cedar outlets, or online at Ticketweb.

$18 advance

$20 day of show

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