Robert Cray
Thursday, October 5th • 7:30pm
With Support From Edward David Anderson

Tickets:
$54 / $44 / $39 / $34

“Robert Cray is not only making music, he’s making history,” writes Guitar Player Magazine.  Over the past four decades, Cray has created a sound that rises from American roots, blues, soul and R&B, with five Grammy wins, 20 acclaimed studio and live albums that punctuate the Blues Hall of Famer’s career. On That’s What I Heard, Robert celebrates the music of Curtis Mayfield, Bobby “Blue” Bland, The Sensational Nightingales and more, alongside Cray’s own songs.

The tour is in support of the latest album, That’s What I Heard.  “Funky, cool and bad,” is how Cray describes the Grammy-nominated album, produced by longtime collaborator, Steve Jordan, who adds, “I thought, if we could get this thing that Sam Cooke used to have, the kind of sound that early Sam Cooke records had, that we could pull this off.”

Cray and Jordan go way back, having met during the making of the Chuck Berry documentary Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll, in 1987. They started working together in 1999, when Jordan produced the Grammy-winning Take Your Shoes Off, and the recent Grammy-nominated LP, Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm. That’s What I Heard is their sixth album. “Once you start working with Steve, it’s kind of hard to get away from him,” said Robert.  “Robert is just a great person besides being extraordinary talent,” adds Jordan. “People gravitate to his guitar playing first, but I think he’s one of the best singers I’ve heard in my life.  Not only because of his singing ability, but his interpretations. He’s such an honest soul in my opinion.”

Robert’s band features Richard Cousins (bass), Dover Weinberg (keyboards), and Les Falconer (drums/percussion).

 
About Edward David Anderson

Edward David Anderson is an American songwriter and veteran of the road who spent his formative years fronting the revered Illinois band Backyard Tire Fire. Known for infectious melodies and memorable messages he penned 9 releases for the band and played countless shows across the US and Canada.

His delivery in the live setting is dynamic and impactful showcasing a natural ability on banjo, acoustic/electric guitars and foot percussion. He defines his sound as Black Dirt Music. "Songs about people and places, about life and love and loss. It's roots music, cultivated in the fertile soil of the Midwest.”

EDA has been featured on NPR's World Cafe, has twice appeared on the nationally syndicated radio program Mountain Stage, as well as the PBS television show Sun Studio Sessions and has been in regular rotation on radio stations across the globe for two decades. Touring with the likes of Gov't Mule and Rev Horton Heat, playing high profile festivals from Mountain Jam in NY to High Sierra in CA and consistently releasing interesting studio recordings has garnered the gifted songwriter critical praise & a national audience. 
You can find him performing live as a solo artist and with his bands Backyard Tire Fire, Black Dirt Revival and Alabama Getaway. Learn More