Songwriter Sessions w/ David G. Smith, Jeni Grouws, Kevin Gordon, & Eva Kendall at the Redstone Room -- October 4.
Friday, October 4, 8 p.m.
The Redstone Room, 129 Main Street, Davenport IA
Held as part of the unique concert series held in Davenport's intimate and cozy Redstone Room, the October 4 Songwriter Sessions event will find guests treat to a seated evening of tunes hosted by David G. Smith, with additionally winning performances delivered by Jeni Grouws, Kevin Gordon, and featured guest Eva Kendall.
Internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter Smith is an acoustic solo performer with a lyric-intensive style featuring guitars, a resonator, music and a voice that ranges from dirt-funk to intimate. His music is a blend of folk, Americana, country, and blues, and Smith was recently accepted as a Juried Artist by Noel Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul & Mary) for his organization Music-To-Life. David G Smith developed and hosts the Songwriter Sessions series, inviting top-tier local and touring songwriters to share their songs with the Quad Cities. Having hosted shows at Nashville’s Bluebird Café for more than 15 years, Smith has created a true listening room experience in the Quad Cities. An internationally acclaimed songwriter, four of David’s albums and four of his singles have reached number one nationwide on various U.S. charts, and his recent album Witness Trees topped the Radio Guitar One Americana Chart. Smith's songs have also been featured on TNT, Lifetime Network, and Travel Channel. As ICON magazine stated of the artist, "His songs capture the drama and good times, the laughter and loss, that are the components of the modern world.”
Jeni Grouws writes roots and Americana music for Avey Grouws Band as well as for her solo project. Working as a songwriter and performer, Jeni released her solo EP Scenic Route in 2008. In 2017, Grouws co-founded Avey Grouws Band. Avey Grouws Band went on to twice win the Iowa Blues Challenge, they landed on the Billboard Blues Album charts at numbers 10 and seven for their two full length albums and the band continues to tour nationwide. Grouws won top honors in the Unsigned Only Songwriting Competition in 2020 and in the 2021 International Songwriting Competition and continues to write for a variety of projects while touring. She also recently accepted a residency in Omaha, Nebraska, where she will be living and working on her own artist solo project from September of 2024 to May of 2025. As Making a Scene's Jim Hynes stated, “Jeni delivers the deep, smoldering slow blues that will induce both tears and raving applause."
Kevin Gordon’s Louisiana is a strange place. It’s a place where restless teens road trip to where the highway dead-ends at the Gulf of Mexico; a place where prisoners who are in for life compete in a rodeo while the town watches; where a character can get lost in the humid afternoon and where religion may not signify hope; and where rivers, never far away, carry secrets behind levees. “One of the things I like about it and am mystified by is that what passes for normal in Louisiana would not make the grade elsewhere,” he says. The kicker? All of these postcards are based on true stories. It’s a place that he’s been exploring for twenty years now, on the eve of the release of his astonishing new album Tilt And Shine on Crowville Media. It is work that has earned him fans such as noted author and Elvis Presley biographer Peter Guralnick; New West Records artist Buddy Miller; journalist, songwriter, and Country Music Hall of Fame staffer Peter Cooper; Todd Snider; head of the Americana Music Association Jed Hilly; and Lucinda Williams, with whom Kevin dueted on the song “Down To The Well” (which was featured prominently on an Oxford American compilation).
Eva Kendall's earliest experiences of performing started with the Common Chord blues and rock camps. After her twelfth birthday, she was recruited and briefly played with an all-girls high school rock cover band. With the help and support of locals like Donovan Gustafson, Levi Craft, Lewis Knudsen and others, and words of encouragement from her childhood role model and hero, Lissie, Kendall found her first open mic at the Whiskey Stop in East Moline. Having a foundation in blues from the Ellis Kell Blues Camp, Kendall is often described as having an “old soul.” Finding inspiration in classic performers like Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Blues Brothers, Kendall has taught herself how to “jam” with various artists throughout the quad cities. Her taste in music can best be described as eclectic as she also has a deep appreciation for the blues, classic rock genre, southern rock, '90s alternative, country, and also a peppering of today’s contemporary pop like Olivia Rodrigo and P!nk. Kendall can be seen throughout the Quad Cities performing solo and with friends at such venues as the Whiskey Stop, the Farmer’s Market, Live at Five, and numerous others.
At Common Chord's "Songwriter Sessions," local music fans are invited to the Davenport venue to share in an unforgettable evening filled with soul-stirring melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and captivating performances by incredibly talented songwriters. Every invited talent will take turns sharing their original compositions, sharing the stories behind their songs, and creating an intimate connection with the audience. The Redstone Room’s cozy ambiance will allow you to experience the music up close, as if you were sitting in the songwriter’s living room. And whether you are a fan of heartfelt ballads, captivating storytelling, or soulful performances, this exhilarating Songwriter Sessions event promises to be an evening that will resonate with your heart and leave you inspired.
The Songwriter Sessions featuring David G. Smith, Jeni Grouws, Kevin Gordon, and Eva Kendall takes place in the Redstone Room on October 4, admission is $18-20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)326-1333 and visiting CommonChordQC.com.
