Wed 9/1 @ 8PM
Local singer/songwriter/guitarist Joey Beltram has been around the Cleveland scene for nearly two decades. He fronted the poignant indie rock band Good Morning Valentine which released a pair of albums before he struck out under his own name(s), as Joey, the name he used on his 2013 album, Hey Washington, or Joseph Allen Beltram, the name he currently uses (there’s an electronic DJ/producer named Joey Beltram; don’t confuse them).
He’s been in and out of town over the years, popping up here and there between stints on the road. As his bio says, “For about 20 years, he’s been working away on his albums and putting himself on the road, traveling all over the United States, playing places of some notoriety and dives you’ve never heard of, making friends and gathering a small audience as he goes. For the last couple years, Joseph Allen Beltram has fully embraced this itinerant life, waving farewell to old haunts from the window of a conversion van, chasing a permanent state of motion. His latest trip has taken him all over the country, recording with old friends, writing new tunes, and playing old favorites for those growing audiences.”
Beltram is releasing a new album titled Your Man Alone that’s been in the works a while but only now is he able to celebrate its release with a live show. That’s happening Wednesday September 1 at the Beachland Ballroom, with J. Wolfe Mike Uva opening. It’s his first album since 2015’s N. Cali Turnaround. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door.
It has a somber, lonely folk-country tone that reflects a rambler cut off from familiar places. It’s a position reflected by folk-style singer-songwriters for decades, from Eric Anderson in the 60s to more recent lonesome ramblers such as Townes Van Zant. It’s downbeat but not despairing.
The tunes feel vast and empty, overlaid with Beltram’s hollow, mournful vocals, but many of them, including “I Don’t Miss You,” with its piano and accordion, the propulsive “Rider” and the last track “So” have surprisingly busy arrangements even if they don’t sound that way. Most of the tracks feel like they’re being sung at a distance from you, although “My Little Valentine,” with its soft female background vocal, is more intimate and casual. “So” contains what might be the perfect summing up of these ten tracks “I’m still standing so …” with its statement of endurance and uncertainly.
Listen and get the album here.
josephallenbeltram.bandcamp.com/album/your-man-alone