Wed 11/27 @ 9PM
Joseph Arthur has been on an amazing journey since he was a teenage bass player out of Akron, playing behind local blues guitar prodigy Frankie Starr back in the ’80s.
He relocated to Atlanta in the early ’90s where he honed his singer-songwriter skills. So he was ready when he was discovered by an A&R rep from Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records, which release his debut, Big City Secrets, in 1997.
He recorded one more album for the label before moving on to various indie labels. The prolific chameleon performer, now based in Brooklyn, has a combined 20 albums and EPs in his catalogue, including his latest, The Ballad of Boogie Christ, funded by a Pledge Music campaign and released in June
He’s said it’s about “a fictionalized character loosely based on my own journey.” The template clearly references David Bowie’s 1972 breakout album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.
Boogie Christ is the culmination of a set of songs he’s been working on for years that traces his circuitous musical journey and life challenges. A key song “King of Cleveland” draws upon Arthur’s early years on the Northeast Ohio blues bar circuit.
He’s come a long way since then. When he’s not busy making his own personal music, he’s involved in side projects with musicians like Ben Harper, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, and George Harrison’s song Dhani Harrison.
It should be a triumphant homecoming when he returns to Akron for a show at the Tangier Cabaret.
Tickets are $20-$25.
Photo by Rene Boduc