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Dave Alvin and he Guilty Women in Grass Valley

The Center for the Arts
grass Valley, CA

Dave Alvin, Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and self-described "barroom guitarist," is widely considered to be one of the pivotal founders of the current Americana music scene.

Since forming the highly influential roots rock/R+B band The Blasters, with his brother Phil in 1979, and throughout his long and critically acclaimed solo career, Dave Alvin has mixed his varied musical and literary influences into his own unique, updated version of traditional American music. Combining elements of blues, folk, R+B, rockabilly, Bakersfield country and garage rock and roll with lyrical inspiration from local writers and poets like Raymond Chandler, Gerald Locklin and Charles Bukowski, Alvin says that his songs are "just like California. A big, messy melting pot."

Dave Alvin's 30 years of recordings and live performances prove his statement. From the loud, aggressive rock and roll of The Blasters to the contemplative acoustic storytelling of his solo albums, KING OF CALIFORNIA and BLACKJACK DAVID, and from the traditional folk of his Grammy winning CD, PUBLIC DOMAIN, to the electric blues of his ASHGROVE CD, Alvin has always managed to unite seemingly disparate genres into a cohesive vision of contemporary roots music. On his two most recent recordings, DAVE ALVIN AND THE GUILTY WOMEN and WEST OF THE WEST (A Tribute To Native California Songwriters) Alvin continues to expand his musical range by adding doo wop, western swing, surf, norteno music and psychedelic jams to his already eclectic mix. "I have a pretty broad definition of folk music," Alvin laughs. "To put it simply, there are two types of folk music. There's quiet folk music and there's loud folk music. I like to play both."

Kid Friendly: No

Dog Friendly: No

Non-Smoking: No

Wheelchair Accessible: No

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