CONTACT:
Andrew Seraphin
The Wilbur Theatre
Seraphin@TheWilbur.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
David Bromberg Band Comes to The Wilbur
WHAT: On Friday, June 12th, 2015, David Bromberg Band is coming to The Wilbur in Boston’s historic Theatre District.
“The reason man created stringed instruments. David touched them with a lover’s fingers and they moaned that true love right back at him. Wood and wire and flesh spoke.” –Jerry Jeff Walker on David Bromberg
You can tell a lot about a person from the company he keeps. Bob Dylan, The Beastie Boys, George Harrison, Emmylou Harris, Doc Watson, John Hiatt, Jerry Garcia, Reverend Gary Davis, Dr. John, Pete Seeger, John Prine, Phoebe Snow, Jerry Jeff Walker & Mississippi John Hurt have all recorded, played with, or shared the same orbit with the remarkable yet modest performer David Bromberg.
Born in Philadelphia in 1945 and raised in Tarrytown, NY, “as a kid I listened to rock ’n’ roll and whatever else was on the radio,” says Bromberg. “I discovered Pete Seeger and The Weavers and, through them, Reverend Gary Davis. I then discovered Big Bill Broonzy, who led me to Muddy Waters and the Chicago blues. This was more or less the same time I discovered Flatt and Scruggs, which led to Bill Monroe and Doc Watson.”
Bromberg’s sensitive and versatile approach to guitar-playing earned him jobs playing the Village “basket houses” for tips, the occasional paying gig, and employment as a backing musician for Tom Paxton, Jerry Jeff Walker and Rosalie Sorrels, among others. He became a first-call, “hired gun” guitarist for recording sessions, ultimately playing on hundreds of records by artists including Bob Dylan (New Morning, Self Portrait, Dylan), Link Wray, The Eagles, Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson, and Carly Simon.
An unexpected and wildly successful solo spot for 600,000 listeners at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival in Great Britain led to a solo deal with Columbia Records, for whom David recorded four albums. His eponymous 1971 debut included “The Holdup,” a songwriting collaboration with former Beatle George Harrison, who also played slide guitar on the track. David also met the Grateful Dead and wound up with four of their members playing on his next two albums.
Bromberg’s range of material, based in the folk and blues idioms, continually expanded with each new album to encompass bluegrass, ragtime, country and ethnic music, and his touring band grew apace. By the mid-’70s, the David Bromberg Big Band included horn-players, a violinist, and several multi-instrumentalists, including David himself. Among the best-known Bromberg Band graduates: mandolinist Andy Statman, later a major figure in the Klezmer music movement in America, and fiddler Jay Ungar (who wrote the memorable “Ashokan Farewell” for Ken Burns’ PBS documentary, “The Civil War”).
With the release of the Grammy-nominated Try Me One More Time, his 2007 solo return to the studio, David continued his musical revitalization, playing shows on his own, with the David Bromberg Quartet, and reunions of the David Bromberg Big Band. In 2010, spurred by a suggestion from John Hiatt that David come to Hiatt’s Nashville studio to ‘mess around’, David came up with the idea for Use Me – an album featuring friends like John Hiatt, Levon Helm, Los Lobos, Tim O’Brien, Vince Gill, Widespread Panic, Dr. John, Keb’ Mo’ and Linda Ronstadt. Each guest artist either wrote or selected a song and then produced David’s recording of their suggested tune, thereby fulfilling David’s request to ‘Use Me’. Partially detailing the proceedings, filmmaker Beth Kruvant directed the compelling film documentary David Bromberg; Unsung Treasure which has been making the rounds at film festivals.
In 2013, content with the balance of both his violin business and performing career, David was ready to record with his live band. Enlisting old friend Larry Campbell (three-time Grammy-winning producer for the late Levon Helm and multi-instrumentalist with Bob Dylan) and engineer Justin Guip, David and his group entered Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY, in March 2013. Enlisting some of Helm’s recording and touring musicians for additional instrumentation, the David Bromberg Band emerged twelve days later with Only Strictly Mad, a return to his genre-bending albums of the Seventies and Eighties. Bromberg fans find blues, bluegrass, gospel, folk, Irish fiddle tunes, pop and English drinking songs happily coexisting as only they can on a David Bromberg album.
For tickets and more information about The Wilbur and other great events visit https://wilburboston.wpengine.com.
WHEN: Friday, June 12th, 2015 – 8:00 PM
COST: $35.00 – $55.00
WHERE: The Wilbur | 246 Tremont Street | Boston, MA 02116 | 617.248.9700
TICKETS: Visit www.wilburboston.wpengine.com, or call the box office at 617.248.9700
About The Wilbur:
Celebrating 100 years, The Wilbur, nestled in Boston’s historic Theatre District, is the premiere destination for comedy and music in Boston, MA. Built in 1914 by The Shubert Brothers, The Wilbur opened in 1915 and was named for The Shubert Theatre’s manager A.L. Wilbur. Recently revitalized by former Comedy Connection owner Bill Blumenreich in July of 2008, The Wilbur has become a first-class venue showcasing A-list comedians and musicians. A Comedy Central verified venue, the theater has attracted the best of the best in comedy including Aziz Ansari, Louis CK, Kevin Hart, Katt Williams and Jim Gaffigan. They also boast award-winning musicians from all genres such as Boyz II Men, Lauryn Hill, Lyle Lovitt and Smoky Robinson. Offering an intimate show setting, The Wilbur provides the perfect environment for enjoying comedy sensations and chart topping artists in the heart of Boston’s historic Theater District.
The Wilbur is located at 246 Tremont Street in Boston, MA. For more information, please visit www.wilburboston.wpengine.com, or call 617.248.9700.
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