Date/Time
07/20/2016
7:30 pm
Location
Valhalla Tahoe
Three great California songwriters share the Valhalla Boathouse Theatre stage!
Blackie Farrell – Blackie Farrell might not be a household name, but among his peers he’s no unsung hero. His songs have been recorded and performed by artists ranging from Leo Kottke, Tom Russell, Robert Earl Keen, Dave Alvin and Michael Martin Murphy, to Bill Kirchen, Commander Cody, Ray Campi, Jerry Lee Lewis, Asleep at the Wheel, and Chris O’Connell. Writing his first song at the age of 13, Blackie was inspired by the music he heard blasting from car radios and local music clubs in Oakland, California – everything from Jimmy Reed, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and John Lee Hooker to Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, and Marty Robbins. It was their gritty story-telling that influenced him. At his core, Blackie is a story-teller, cutting a straight line right through life’s jagged edges, not smoothing them over but illuminating their points. Some haunting, some heroic, his tales stick to your bones and conjure up lost spirits and the longings of a well-worn heart.
Randall Lamb – Influenced by Cisco Houston, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams and those of the troubadour tradition–not stardom bound, but passing through and maybe bound for glory—Randall writes and performs his own songs. His songs have been recorded by the folk duo of Steve Werner and Fur Dixon. One song, “Can The Rich Get To Heaven?” received an honorable mention at the 2006 Woody Guthrie Folk Festival Songwriting Contest. “The songs don’t stray far from 3 chords and the truth,” Randall says, “….simple truths and existential blues. Randall Lamb has opened for Steve Werner and Fur Dixon, Bill and Kate Isles, Small Potatoes and I See Hawks in L.A. He has closed for Ramblin’ Jack. He has recorded four CDs, Coffee Drinkin’ Music, Can The Rich Get To Heaven?, Back On My Feet and Out Beyond the Great Beyond.
Richard March – As a songwriter/storyteller, March is a modern day throwback to the melodic, progressive country music stars of several decades ago when folks like Mickey Newbury, Kris Kristofferson and Glen Campbell were regularly heard on radio and seen on evening television. Richard is a Sacramento Area Music Award (SAMMIE) winner for Outstanding Male Vocalist, received a Best of Sacramento award from Sacramento Magazine for best local Americana artist, and was awarded Best Locally Produced Album in the Sacramento News and Review’s 2007 “Best of” issue. Richard can be heard on NPR’s Blue Dog Jams and has been heard on Air America as well as other various outlets in California and Oregon, has made several local television appearances, and is considered to be at the forefront of the Americana scene in the Sacramento area. In June of 2013, Richard took a break from the ‘performing’ life to fulfill his longtime dream of serving overseas as a Peace Corps volunteer. He was sent to Motta, Ethiopia where he completed a very challenging, and rewarding 27 month service using music to support his teaching of English to both teachers and students.