Sat 6/21 @ 7PM
Probably only a handful of diehards from the original Americana era (although they didn’t call it that then) have a clear recollection of guitarist Steve Katz’s time in the ’60s blues and folk scenes. He performed with a couple of influential although not hugely successful groups — the Even Dozen Jug Band and the Blues Project — staples during the eye-blink run of freeform radio.
If rock fans know his name at all, it’s probably as co-founder/guitarist of Blood, Sweat & Tears, whose meteoric chart success in the early ’70s launched a minor crazy for horn rock. After their mid-’70s breakup, Katz went on to become a producer, record company executive, and photographer. But he hasn’t done much performing until recently.
That’s why his appearance at the Unity Center of the Heights (2653 S. Taylor Rd., at Fairmount Blvd. in Cleveland Heights) should be a rare treat. In his shows today, Katz works stories about his career and all the people he’s interacted with over the years into his set as he performs the songs he helped make famous.
He’s a most appropriate headliner for this benefit concert. It’s a fundraiser of the Unity Center’s newly created Steve Katz Music Scholarship for underprivileged children.
Joining him will be a Cleveland-based ensemble that evokes the folk scene of the ’60s, Long Road.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 day of show.
unitycenteronline.org/Steve_Katz_at_UCH.html
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118