Two Headliners for the Price of One
John Gorka and Eliza Gilkyson at AMSDConcerts
by Richard Cone
Once again, AMSDConcerts, who just had their 8th Anniversary and are fast closing in on 500 shows, presents two headliner acts in the same bill, singer/songwriter John Gorka, who Rolling Stone Magazine called “the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement,” and Eliza Gilkyson, about whom the Austin Statesman said “Her songwriting has a Dylanesque-quality as her tunes burst with edgy lyrics and poetic imagination. With a knowing eye on the past … she is making folk music for the 21st Century, and it’s a delightful thing to hear.”
Gorka has 11 studio albums beginning in 1987 with “I Know,” and including 1991’s fantastic “Jack’s Crows,” 2001’s “The Company You Keep” and his latest release, “So Dark You See,” widely praised as some of his best work. He also wrote and sings the song ‘I’m From New Jersey,” which if he performs it at his AMSDConcerts show might take on new meaning in light of the popularity, understood or not, of MTV’s “Jersey Shore.” “There are girls from New Jersey, who have that great big hair…they’re found in shopping malls, I will take you there…” Think Snooki.
Eliza Gilkyson has a huge body of work, going back to 1969’s debut disc “Eliza 69’” now out of print, and all the way to 2011’s “Roses at the End of Time,” with a total of 19 releases. She released only four albums in her first 20 years in the business, but since 1992’s “Through the Looking Glass” she’s rarely missed a year releasing a new album, sometimes two in a year. She also recently collaborated with John Gorka and Lucy Kaplansky, two of her Red House Records label-mates, on the album “Red Horse.” Tickets for the September 30th Gorka/Gilkyson show are on sale online at www.amsdconcerts.com and are $22, or $47 for the dinner package, which includes a bountiful Italian dinner at nearby DeMille’s.
Category: Entertainment
