SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Kathy Mattea and David Bromberg are each set to perform on the South Orange Performing Arts Center stage at interesting points of their careers.
After spending decades refusing to be categorized as an artist — long before that concept became the norm — Bromberg will take the SOPAC stage Thursday, May 11, after recently releasing his first album dedicated to one musical genre and aptly titled “The Blues, the Whole Blues and Nothing but the Blues.” Meanwhile Mattea, who achieved great success as a traditional country artist, is now exploring a new acoustic sound on her “Acoustic Living Room: Songs and Stories” tour.
And though some fans might prefer to hear Mattea’s usual country style when she comes to SOPAC on Saturday, May 6, the “Acoustic Living Room” tour promises to be an experience unlike any typical concert.
“My goal is to have people feel like they’ve been sitting in my living room and listening to stories and songs,” Mattea told the News-Record in an April 20 phone interview, adding that she hopes by the end of the concert “we feel a little more connected to each other.”
The decision to move in a different musical direction came after Mattea decided she needed a break from touring. So she took approximately six months off and started experimenting with acoustic music at her home with guitarist Bill Cooley, who will perform with her in South Orange. During that time, the Grammy-winning singer said she and Cooley tried out songs she never thought she could perform, challenging each other while having fun in the process. In the end, they arrived at a set of material they thought was good — but they would never know for sure until they performed it before a live audience.
Thus the “Acoustic Living Room” tour was born, and Mattea said audiences have so far been connecting with the songs she plays. The experience has been immensely enjoyable for the her, too.
“It’s been really fun to just sort of blow up the box and not really have an agenda except to explore,” Mattea said, pointing out that acoustic music allows for the musical spontaneity that she cherishes.
Mattea did not want to reveal too much of what she will be performing, but she did indicate that many of the selections may not be familiar to her country fan base. One such number is Mary Gauthier’s “Mercy Now,” a folk song she is not aware of any other country singer recording. Another is the bluesy “Chocolate on My Tongue,” by the Wood Brothers, a number she said has become an audience favorite despite the fact that she never thought she would do it live before embarking on the tour.
In fact, the songs have been so well-received that Mattea is now recording them for a new album, which she said will likely be released in 2018.
But longtime fans need not worry — Mattea will not exclusively play new material at SOPAC. She said she will definitely play her hits because they are such a big part of her life, even taking on new meaning since she first recorded them. She said “Where’ve You Been” was originally about her husband’s grandmother, but the song has developed a more visceral feel for her since her own mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Likewise, she said she sometimes feels she is singing “Love at the Five and Dime” for the first time when listening to the lyrics and discovering new interpretations.
Then there is “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” a classic she finds appealing on many levels.
“‘Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses’ is like your favorite pair of jeans — it’s just comforting,” Mattea said. “And that song for me is like a celebration. This song marked a lot of other people’s lives, and it lived for them. So we all sing it together, and then each of us brings what that song meant to us into this moment. I always feel like with that song I’m celebrating what a song can do.”
Unlike Mattea, Bromberg does not know what he will play at SOPAC. The Grammy-nominated artist said he prefers to go onstage without a set list so he can choose songs based on the energy of the audience. But he said he will undoubtedly play some songs off the David Bromberg Band’s latest album, which was a long time coming.
Bromberg explained that a few years ago he had approached producer Larry Campbell with the idea of doing a more homogenous record than his usual output, but Campbell said he preferred to do a traditional Bromberg album consisting of songs from multiple genres. After releasing 2013’s “Only Slightly Mad,” however, Campbell suggested doing an album focusing exclusively on blues music. Bromberg liked the concept.
Yet despite being a strictly blues release, “The Blues, the Whole Blues and Nothing but the Blues” offers a variety of material just as one would expect from the multi-talented artist.
“Rather than restricting ourselves to only Chicago blues or only Delta blues or only Piedmont blues or only jazz blues or only swing blues, we did a little of everything,” Bromberg told the News-Record in an April 21 phone interview.
Bromberg’s latest album features two original songs and 11 covers, many of which have been played by the performer in the past. One of the covers is the traditional number “900 Miles,” though his version is unlike anything blues aficionados have heard before. He said he wanted to do a Howlin’ Wolf tune, but he decided that all the blues great’s music had been covered to death. So he played “900 Miles” in the style of Howlin’ Wolf, making for an arrangement as unique as if it were an original song.
Even with such variety and atypical versions of songs within the album, “The Blues, the Whole Blues and Nothing but the Blues” marks a departure for Bromberg, who made a name for himself in refusing to be classified by any particular genre. That was unheard of in the 1970s, when artists were expected to focus on a particular style. But he did not care.
“I didn’t see any reason why I shouldn’t do whatever I wanted,” Bromberg said. “It wasn’t easy because the record store didn’t know what bin to put my records in, and the record companies didn’t know what radio stations and magazines to advertise in. So it was tough for them. I just played what I played. I left them the problem.”
That willingness to experiment garnered Bromberg a number of famous fans, which led to collaborations with the likes of Bob Dylan and Ringo Starr. It also earned him the nickname “The Godfather of Americana” — Americana being the term now used to describe music that does not easily fall into the realms of folk, country, rock, blues or any other similar genre — with which Bromberg has no issue. After all, he joked, “I’ve been called much worse things than that.”
Of course, Bromberg’s style of music has attracted a devoted following through the years. Many of his fans will likely be in attendance at SOPAC to hear him with his quintet, just as they did the previous three times he came to South Orange. And if they have not ordered their tickets already, he urged them to do so because they will not want to miss out.
“We’ll have a fun time,” Bromberg said.
To order tickets for Mattea’s or Bromberg’s SOPAC concerts, call 973-313-2787 or visit http://www.sopacnow.org/kathy-mattea/ and http://www.sopacnow.org/david-bromberg-quintet/.
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