Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men plus James McMurtry @ Great American Music Hall August 18, 2006

Dave Alvin helped to kick start the American roots rock scene in the early '80s with the band the Blasters and has since gone on to a career as a solo performer, songwriter, producer, and sideman that's been as well respected as it is eclectic.

James McMurtry is one artist who has earned his solid singer/songwriter/guitarist reputation. Critics, peers and music aficionados have long praised him as being among the strongest songwriters of his generation. His works, which range from atmospheric ballads to no-holds-barred rockers, are populated by world-weary souls often longing for something different, if no better, than what they're now enduring. Perhaps in part because of his powerful reputation as a lyricist, coupled with his stirring vocal style, McMurtry is often not given his due as a guitarist. Though not one to stoop to flash just for the sake of effect, he can rip forth with a flurry of fat-toned notes when the material demands it. In the next breath, he'll frame a tender composition with poignant lead lines. He tends to travel with half a dozen or so guitars, which offers him a wide palate of tones and tunings from which to choose.

Event submitted by Eventful.com on behalf of gamh.