Greg Garing at the Deanery School of Music -- October 11.
Sunday, October 11, 7 p.m.
The Deanery School of Music, 1103 Main Street, Davenport IA
Hailed by Nashville Scene as an artist who "sings and plays like nobody's business," country and honkytonk singer/songwriter and fiddler Greg Garing returns to the Quad Cities on October 11 for an engagement at Davenport's Deanery School of Music, this veteran of the Nashville and New York City music scenes inspiring the legendary Johnny Cash to call him “the best country singer I’ve heard in 30 years."
Garing began his musical journey playing fiddle with bluegrass legend Jimmy Martin. In the 1990s, he surfaced in Nashville’s Lower Broadway, resurrecting the spirit of Hank Williams at legendary clubs Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and Robert’s, where Lucinda Williams regularly joined him. Garing then moved to New York City, where he was backed by the Harlem All-Stars, featuring such greats as Al Casey, Tootsie Bean, Bubba Brooks and others. His songs are gems of straight-no chaser real life, which have been covered by numerous artists, including Wanda Jackson, who recorded two on her 2012 album Unfinished Business.
Michael McCall of the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum raved, “Greg Garing taps a deep vein of rural American soul music and transports it to the underbelly of modern urban nightlife in all its haunted, singular, never-say-die glory. It’s the same vein enriched by Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash, and, for that matter, Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, and Howlin’ Wolf. It’s where the soul of man never dies. Garing reached this deeply musical sacred space by apprenticing in the bands of masters such as bluegrass wildman Jimmy Martin, mountain music queen Wilma Lee Cooper, cosmic cowboy Peter Rowan, and others. He surfaced on Lower Broadway in Nashville in the 1990s, when it was still a grimy and dangerous area to visit, and, amid Nashville’s commodification, resurrected hope for the genre from the bones of country music greats.
"With an outstanding band, including renowned guitarist Kenny Vaughan, he drew crowds of celebrities, working class irregulars, and tried-and-true music lovers and helped lead a revival of Nashville’s downtown core. Now a gilded tourist attraction, packed with thousands every night, but rarely coming close to the real thing that led people to see out Garing. Restless and road wise, Garing has rambled through big cities and musical genres, always able to draw a crowd, always able to inspire and shock audiences with music that shakes their spirit. He’s survived deadly ailments and the tentacles of the corporate music industry with all of his powers, his integrity, and his authenticity intact. He proves it every time he takes a stage."
Greg Garing's performance at the Deanery will take place in an intimate setting limited to 40 with no PA, just the pure sound of guitar, piano, and voice, each deeply rich with nuance and emotion. Admission to the 7 p.m. concert event is $20 in advance and $20 at the door, and tickets are available by visiting Bit.ly/greggaring. For more information on the venue, call (563)726-4656 and visit TheDeanery.org.
