Tue May 14
David Evans has been performing country blues (vocal and guitar) since 1962, having learned directly from many Southern blues musicians of an older generation. Much of this learning was gained in the course of field research on the country blues tradition, beginning in 1965. Evans is Professor of Music Emeritus at the University of Memphis and has taught on a visiting basis at the University of Mississippi and at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. He is the author of Tommy Johnson (1971), Big Road Blues: Tradition and Creativity in the Folk Blues (1982), The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to Blues (2005), and Going up the Country: Adventures in Blues Fieldwork in the 1960s (2022, co-authored with Marina Bokelman), along with many other publications, and he has produced over 50 LPs and CDs of his field and studio recordings of blues, gospel and folk music. He has won two Grammy Awards for “Best Album Notes.”
Evans’ first musical partner was the late Alan Wilson, who went on to become a member of the blues-rock group Canned Heat. Evans is a member of the Mephis-based Last Chance Jug Band that since 1989 has recreated the sounds of that city’s jug band tradition. He has presented country blues guitar workshops and lectures at many venues in the U.S. and abroad, often in conjunction with concert and festival appearances. In 2019 he released an instructional DVD on the blues guitar style of Tommy Johnson, published by Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop.
Evans has recorded Match Box Blues (Inside Sounds ISC-0514, 2002), Needy Time (Inside Sounds ISC-0532, 2007), Live at Alte Post (Blind Lemon BLR-CD1203, 2012), Under the Yam Yam Tree (Blind Lemon BLR-CD1401, 2014), and Lonesome Midnight Dream (Blind Lemon BLR-CD1801, 2018) and has tracks on anthologies released in Germany, Venezuela, and the United States. The Last Chance Jug Band released a CD, Shake That Thing! (Inside Sounds ISC-0501, 1997), featuring Evans on vocals, guitar, and kazoo. Hes also played guitar on records of Jessie Mae Hemphill and Hammie Nixon.
Showtime: 7 pm ET/6 pm CT/5 pm MT/4 pm PT/12 am GMT
In-person seats: $20 / $10 full-time students with valid ID
Attendees receive a link to the recording to view for one week.
Advance sales end 1 hr before showtime; remaining tickets may be purchased at door.
Streaming Cost is $15
The link will be revealed 15 minutes before the show
and will remain active through May 21