Greg Klyma’s constant wanderings bring him back to Sundilla on Thursday, April 25. Showtime at the AUUF is 7:30. Advance tickets are just $15 and can be found at Spicer’s Music, World Cup Coffee, and online at sundillamusic.com; admission at the door will be $20. We’ll have free coffee, tea, water and food, and you are welcome to bring whatever food or beverage you prefer.
“Constant wanderings” might not be as accurate a description as it was the last time Greg played Sundilla; back then he really did live in his van as he traveled from gig to gig. Since then the Buffalo-born troubadour has settled in Boston, though he still spends most of his time on the road. Call him “road-tested,” or “a relentless songwriter.” Greg Klyma is keeping the American folk tradition alive with his enduring themes, articulate and amusing stories, and populist ideals. He rolls in off the road, pulls out a guitar, and proceeds to take us back to the basics: family, love, gratitude, and laughter.
Another apt descriptor is “genre diversity,” which shouldn’t come as a surprise from an artist well studied in American music. “Old school country, classic rock, and singer-songwriter folk are three styles of music that I love. I love to listen to ’em. I love to play ’em,” he says, “my wheelhouse finds me standing in the long shadows of Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Tom Petty, and Mick & Keef, to name a few.”
His birthdate puts him squarely in the middle of Generation X, but Greg Klyma is an old-school troubadour. His enduring themes, articulate and amusing stories, and populist ideals make him one of those rare young artists who is carrying the torch of Woody and Ramblin’ Jack. He rolls in off the road, pulls out a guitar, and proceeds to take us back to the basics: family, love, gratitude, and laughter. It’s the timeless art of the true troubadour, keeping alive the American folk tradition.
Greg Klyma has been living on the road performing music full-time since August 1998. Traveling from the Rust Belt to FEMA villages with guitar and mandolin in hand, capturing the stories of the people he’s met and seen for over a decade, Greg has honed his songwriting and storytelling while developing a show that lands somewhere between the worlds of Steve Earle and Steve Martin – it’s literate, witty, visual, sometimes comical and forever building on tradition while seeking its own voice.
“Greg Klyma is a home-cooked meal and a vaudeville show in a fast food karaoke world. He is beyond definitions of style and arbiters of cool. He is precisely who he is, no additives or fillers.”
– CJ Watson (www.cjwatson.com)
“He spins meandering tales on a long loved acoustic that bring us to that point where we realize the glass is half empty and half full at the same time.” – Performing Songwriter Magazine, June 2004
“He’s the real deal, singing about stuff that matters.” – Sing Out! Magazine
“Witty, down home troubadour.”- Christopher Gray, Austin Chronicle, TCB, March 4 – 10, 2004
A “singer/songwriter with (an) Arlo Guthrie-esque voice (who) writes socially conscious ballads and acoustic-guitar ditties thick with hippie happiness that assume audiences are both smart and able to laugh.” – Mountain Xpress, Asheville, NC
“An artist to watch as he follows inspirations and seeks to put his own spin on them”
– No Depression, Sept-Oct 1997
“Steve Earle (if he did acid instead of crack)”- Creative Loafing, Charlotte, NC, Vol. 15, #39
“I always find my self reaching for big pointless words nobody wants to hear like ‘colloquial’ when I try and describe Greg Klyma. Truth is, Greg was that neighbor kid you got to mow your lawn or run errands for you cause you knew he was friendly, down to earth and trustworthy. And even though this seasoned road dog lives basically out of his van most of the year, he never strikes you as having been beaten down by the long miles, late-night radio preachers and truck stop coffee. It’s Greg’s boy-next-door personality that makes his high plaintive voice seem less “High and Lonesome” and more like “Hi, how ya doin'”- Butch Ross, Philadephia, PA (www.butchross.com)
“Greg Klyma has a down home approach to his songwriting with much of his material focusing on storytelling. They will take you on a journey from times long ago, into dreams one may hope to have of the future.” – Lea at the Evening Muse in Charlotte, NC
“He puts his heart, soul and right foot into every song.” –Jonathan Byrd
“Greg Klyma is a true professional… We treasure each and every visit to our venue.”–Joe Ables, The Saxon Pub
“Being on stage with Greg Klyma is like taking a gun to a knife fight.” –Tom Bianchi
“The stories blend seamlessly into songs, evoking a flavor of Mark Twain, Woody Guthrie, and David Sedaris.” –Sarah Craig, Caffe Lena