Evento

Nathan Bell and Bob Halperin back together again

Thirty years ago, Nathan Bell and Bob Halperin were in a short-lived Cambridge-based rock band together. After that, they played as a duo, combining Bells incisive, sometimes playful, sometimes devastating songwriting with Halperins slide guitar acumen and pre-war blues sensibilities. Well, it looks like theyre at it again.

Tennessee singer-songwriter Nathan Bell is known for his straightforward yet poetic lyrics, and expert musicianship. His stories are of everyman, sung with honesty and empathy. Though his subjects are often dark and troubled, Bell never leaves the listener without, as Cohen wrote, the crack, where the light comes through. A master guitarist, Bell often performs solo, allowing his instrument to turn his poetry to song, his metaphors to melody. Acoustic Guitar Magazine described his music as rock-tinged country-folk, his voice as rustic, coupling the grain of Levon Helm with the gruff troubadour lilt of Kris Kristofferson.

Seacoast New Hampshire resident, Bob Halperin has made a name for himself as a top-flight guitarist. Over the years, he has played with a number of successful bands, including a six-year stint with zydecos Lil Anne and Hot Cayenne he currently plays with the critically acclaimed Americana band, Wooden Eye, and the Rock My Soul Gospel Choir. Alan Chase in The Wire said, Halperins guitar work is nimble and assured, subtle but also with the right amount of power. You can hear trace influences of greats such as Robert Johnson, Son House and others, but the playing here is beyond imitation. Halperin has developed a singular voice on the instrument.