The Third Thursday Concert Series, presented by Side Hustle Productions, will feature the Craig Gerdes Band with special guest Dustin James Clark this Thursday at The Big Chill, 910 Higdon Ferry.
Admission is $10 for general seating and $15 for reserved seating. The concert is sponsored in part by The Big Chill, Prince & Tuohey CPA, KUHS Community Radio show The Mojo Box, and Outlaw Country's "Lost Highway" radio show.
Gerdes is a "singer whose voice is steadied by the legion of angels he believes watch over him. He tells stories at a Southern pace, with a soft voice and slow drawl," a news release said. His new album, "Smokin, Drinkin, and Gamblin," is "full of outlaw country rug cutters, and ballads about strong heads and weak hearts. Fueled by nostalgia, his songwriting talent turns old habits into dependable crutches, and nurses the phantom pain of missing lovers."
Though he hails from rural Illinois, his sound is "four-on-the-floor, old-school, San Marcos, Texas-style honky tonk. His work is reminiscent of greats like Leon Payne, George Strait, Jim Lauderdale and James McMurtry. As great songwriters often do, he spent time as a writer in Nashville, where he had some success, and learned that his songs were too country for the cosmopolitan elite," the release said.
Gerdes began playing country music at the age of 10 in the band of his father, who, as a child, would crowd around the radio with his family "waiting for the wind to blow in just the right direction so they could pick up the faint signal from the Grand Ole Opry. The songs his father loved by country icons like George Jones, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash provided the foundation for Craig's work. By age 12, he was already a capable songwriter and musician. And by 16, he'd wandered from the narrow path.
"In the same summer," he said in the release. "I totaled my car, broke my best friend's neck, dropped out of high school, got arrested and got married."
After a stint of sleeping on floors in Nashville, Gerdes found his traditional songs didn't fit into the Nashville need. During a hiatus at this point, his 16-year-old cousin was killed in a car wreck. "He was compelled to write again by an angel he believes is her. Many of his songs embody the life of the traveler, penning songs that aptly describe the vista before his eyes. While Gerdes' songs about smokin', drinkin' and gamblin' aren't necessarily gospel fare he is for certain 'spreading the gospel of country music,'" the release said.
His experiences and his angels guard him from writing songs "with no heart or soul." "Rarely has classic barroom country been so crossover capable."
The evening's opening act is singer/songwriter Dustin James Clark from the Jefferson County, Mo., area. Clark is the nephew of songwriter Earl Clark, who notably penned songs for George Strait, Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker and Tim McGraw, among others. He also saw success writing songs for Tracy Lawrence in the early 1990s. Lawrence's "Can't Break It to My Heart" and "Renegades, Rebels and Rogues" were early career achievements for Clark, too, hitting No. 1 and No. 7, respectively, on the country charts. An early cut was "What She Left Behind," which appeared on McGraw's self-titled debut in 1993. He also wrote "One Step at a Time," which Strait cut.
Clark has been playing locally and touring for over 10 years. In 2013, he had the honor to perform in front of Blake Shelton, Usher, Adam Levine, & Shakira during his audition for "The Voice" Season 6. Looking to the future, Clark is always open to find new and exciting cities where he can share his musical talent.
All proceeds from the show will go to the Unknown Legends Musicians Relief Fund, a nonprofit for Arkansas based musicians without health care or insurance. Call David Hughes at 850-774-2270 for more information.
Entertainment on 12/11/2018