Redding Pilot
Redding
Williams is performing at March 7 coffeehouse

Mar 3, 2008

Brooks Williams, a guitarist renowned for his %u201Cblues-soaked, rhythmic, and soulful music%u201D is performing at the March 7 Lyrics Coffeehouse at the Community Center at 7:30.

Brooks Williams, a guitarist “whose blues-soaked, rhythmic, and soulful music defies categorization” will be performing at the Lyrics Coffeehouse on Friday, March 7, at the Redding Community Center at 7:30.

His musical vision spans continents and genres — blues, jazz, slide and fingerstyle, where funky chords, walking bass lines, and fiery riffs abound.

Citing the influence of players as diverse as John Fahey, Ry Cooder, John Renbourne, Eric Clapton and Joseph Spence, Dirty Linen magazine calls Brooks Williams one of “America’s musical treasures.”

“At the root of every riff is the blues, it informs everything I play, write, and arrange,” said Mr. Williams.

 Mr. William’s latest recording, his 16th, is The Time I Spend with You. “It showcases Brooks Williams’ high-energy sound on an up-beat recording of rootsy originals, bluesy classics, and fingerpicked instrumentals. This inspiring combination of traditional and original music was collected or written by Williams while on a series of extensive tours in the United States, Canada, the UK, and Ireland from late-2006 through late 2007.”

Brooks Williams is from Statesboro, Ga., but musically came into his own in Boston, Mass. While nearly everyone else was peddling vinyl and cassettes, Williams was one of the first independent artists to release a recording on compact disc. “His 1990 direct-to-digital showcase of solo guitar and voice, North from Statesboro, turned heads,” the release said.

Mr. Williams has performed across the United States and Canada, as well as in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. “My favorite hours of the day are when I get to play guitar on stage,” said Mr. Williams.

Over the years the breadth of Mr. Williams’ musical vision has broadened and deepened beyond solo performing and recording to include collaborations with other musicians. He is also an educator at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he was nominated for a Distinguished Teaching Award in 2005, the Community Music School of Springfield and Artspace of Greenfield, both in Massachusetts. In addition, he leads guitar workshops at the Newport Guitar Festival, The Swannanoa Gathering, Summer Acoustic Music Week, the Club Passim School of Music, the Connecticut Classical Guitar Society, the New England Young Writer’s Conference at Middlebury College, and the University of Virginia, to name but a few.

He is on NPR, PBS-TV, documentary films, and various recordings by other artists “where his instantly recognizable slide and acoustic guitars shimmer.”
One of his essays about temporarily losing his beloved red guitar while on tour in Ireland has been published in the book Between The Strings: The Secret Lives of Guitars, which also includes essays by B.B. King, Laurence Juber, Tuck Andress, Christopher Parkening, Doc Watson and George Benson, among others.

Brooks Williams’ music rocks like the blues, swings like jazz, and, as the Boston Globe describes, has “a captivating lyricism” and “a clear melodicism.” Audiences routinely react to his concerts by asking: “Where’d they hide the second guitarist?”
Admission is $10, $8 in advance. The cost is half-price for seniors or children.
Faxable ticket order forms are available at ctfolk.org or townofreddingct.org or call 938-2551 for information.

Lyrics Coffeehouse sponsors are The Redding Pilot, Redding Roasters, Solar Sheet Metal and Pomazi Roofing Inc. with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The coffeehouse series concludes on Friday, April 6, with a performance by Erica Wheeler.

© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers