Back in a earlier time (e.g. 2 years ago), Tuesday was widely known among US music aficionados as album release day. Then the world changed when the music industry decided that Friday would be a much better day to unleash new music. Well, with an ode to that bygone Tuesday era, Twangville if offering up a trifecta of special premieres.
You’d be hard pressed to find an artist who performs with as much intensity as Christopher Paul Stelling. His live shows are moments of catharsis for both performer and audience.
Stelling spends significant time traveling the world, often with just the company of his guitar. The experience informs his songwriting in much the way that Woody Guthrie’s wanderings shaped his compositions. Although Stelling attacks his instrument in a manner that Guthrie never did, the two artists do share similar qualities — a tremendous intellect combined with a strong social conscience and working class values.
Itinerant Arias, his sophomore release for Anti Records, will be released on 5 May. The album is, perhaps, a bit more subdued than what one experiences at one of his shows but the passion and depth are readily apparent.
Twangville is pleased to premiere this special live performance of “The Cost of Doing Business.†Joining Stelling are Julia Christgau (vox and percussion), Kieran Ledwidge (violin) and Matthew Murphy (bass).
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.