Sat 6/29 @ 8PM
Long tall Marcia Ball was something of a regional secret until she was nearly 40, known primarily to audiences around her native state, Texas, and the state where she grew up, Louisiana.
It wasn’t until the mid-late ’80s and early ’90s that she began to connect with a nationwide audience for a rollicking boogie-woogie roadhouse piano playing and bluesy, personality-packed vocals via a series of recordings on the folk/Americana Rounder label and extensive touring.
Now 64, Ball continues to tour and record — and it’s no accident that so many of her releases are live recordings. It’s onstage that the high-energy performer really shines, backed by her lively four-piece band.
As her bio accurately puts it, “The simple mention of a Louisiana or Texas roadhouse conjures up images of a crowded dancehall filled wall-to-wall with rabid music fans rocking to a hotter-than-hot band playing a smoldering blend of swampy R&B, jumping blues and heart-wrenching ballads. Pianist/vocalist/songwriter Marcia Ball brings that spirit to every concert she plays and every song she records.”
Oddly, her show at the Beachland Ballroom is being promoted as a “primarily seated” show. And while her songwriting is vivid and varied and rewards careful listening, her music does make you want to move.
At the Beachland her opening act will be ex-Faces/Small Faces keyboard player Ian McLagan who has been making music from an Austin, Texas, base for nearly two decades.
Tickets are $25.