The incomparable Joe Crookston will return to Sundilla on Friday, October 13. Showtime at the AUUF is 7:30. Admission at the door will be $18, but advance tickets are just $15 and can be found at Spicer’s Music, Blooming Colors, and online at sundillamusic.com. And employees of Auburn University and Auburn-Montgomery can take advantage of TigerPerks and pay just $15 at the door.
Artful, intense, and often transcendent…imaginative, and extremely engaging… If you love a moving song and magical madness, Joe delivers it all…the music, the lyrics, the energy, and the passion for exceptionally well written songs. Joe Crookston loves his audience, and it shows. Songwriter, guitarist, painter, fiddler, slide player, eco-village member and believer in all things possible. Named 2016 Folk Alliance International Artist-in- Residence and signed to Tamulevich Artist Management along with John Gorka and Peter Yarrow.
Joe Crookston was born and raised in rural Ohio, with Hungarian roots, Polkas Polkas…and eastern European food. A little bit of Gypsy soul in this guy…Whether it’s his hypnotic guitar sound, bubbling banjo, or short story lyrics, his music draws from his urban adventures and his rural Ohio roots, exuding a remarkable timeless quality. Haven’t seen him perform?? It’s never too late to rectify that problem, and it’s guaranteed that you’ll be glad you did.
In 1987, The Kent State Folk Festival changed his life. After hearing Harvey Reid and the Horseflies at the festival, Joe sold his electric guitar, bought a steel string and never looked back. He’s a fiddler and a pretty darn good percolating clawhammer banjo player to boot…
He has performed throughout the US, at Folk Festivals, Coffeehouses, venues… There is not a navel gazing break-up song to be found anywhere…”Go see this man perform”…his audience rapport, musicianship and playful stage presence is intense, mesmerizing, and unforgettably dynamic.
Inspired by Woody Guthrie, Joe was awarded a year-long grant (2007) from The Rockefeller Foundation to travel around the State of New York, interview local residents, gather stories and write songs based on his experiences. His project is called Songs of the Finger Lakes.
Joe Crookston has shared festival stages with the likes of Livingston Taylor, The Subdudes, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, and Tim Reynolds, John Gorka, and many others. Victory Music Review says: “Joe’s songs are powerful, simple, distilled lyrical paintings weaving together cycles of life and decay, cycles of joy and pain, and eventually they thread the needle through all of us…” He is a commanding, charismatic performer. Be glad Joe’s one of the good guys, because otherwise, he’d be dangerous.
If you know Joe, then you know that one of the best gifts you can give someone is to tell them “Come to a Joe Crookston show.” Mystical, historical, and humorous roads, twisting through vivid cinematography. His songs are like short 4:00 films; they are visual, artful and human. Brooklyn in July, Oklahoma towns, rattlesnake tails, turbary thieves, Galway heather, meter maids and drunk roosters. At the end of the night, you’ll leave inspired.
Whether he’s picking his 48 Gibson, weaving through lap slide songs or looping his fiddle, he will draw you in. It happens every time. Watch a YouTube video. It’s good, but it’s not the same. You gotta come to a show. With unwavering courage to be himself, he is literate, poignant and hilarious.
Joe Crookston will be performing on Sundilla on the notable date of Friday, October 13. So this particular Friday the 13th is a day of extraordinarily good luck, because we get the chance to hear Joe Crookston in concert. Miss that chance, though, and consider it a very unlucky day indeed. Don’t be unlucky; join us at the AUUF at 7:30. Admission at the door is $18, but you can get advance tickets for just $15 at Spicer’s Music, Blooming Colors, and online at www.sundillamusic.com. And employees of Auburn University and Auburn-Montgomery can take advantage of TigerPerks and pay the advance price at the door. Free coffee, tea, water and food will be available, and attendees are invited to bring whatever food or beverage they prefer.