Todd Sheaffer and Chris Thompson at the Redstone Room -- May 1.

Sunday, May 1, 7 p.m.

The Redstone Room, 129 Main Street, Davenport IA

The frontman and songwriter for Railroad Earth and the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Coral Creek will team up for a May 1 evening of newgrass electricity when Davenport venue the Redstone Room hosts Todd Sheaffer and Chris Thompson, the concert boasting two sets of original music, with Thompson kicking off the evening followed by Sheaffer performing solo and with accompaniment.

Sheaffer performed in duo with multi-instrumentalist Tom Duval during his college years at clubs in Greenwich Village in New York City. After receiving a B.A. in English literature from Columbia University in New York City in 1986, Sheaffer began performing with the Jack Hardy Band in the United States and Europe from 1986 to 1989. Following that tenure, the artist joined From Good Homes in 1989 and spent a decade with the group, which was originally formed from members of Sheaffer's high-school outfit Old Crow Band. Shortly after starting his solo career in 1999 after From Good Homes disbanded, Sheaffer joined the bluegrass-rock group Railroad Earth, which started informally in the fall of 2000 during bluegrass jam sessions at the Long Valley, New Jersey, home of multi-instrumentalist Andy Goessling. The group featured former members of From Good Homes and of the New Jersey swing band Blue Sparks from Hell, including Sheaffer (vocals, acoustic guitar), Goessling (acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, pennywhistle, saxophone), Tim Carbone (violin, acoustic guitar), and session player John Skehan (mandolin, guitar, piano), as well as percussionist Carey Harmon and upright and electric bassist Dave Von Dollen. Railroad Earth recorded its debut CD The Black Bear Sessions in 2001 and has recorded another eight albums and CDs since, most recently 2019's The John Denver Letters.

Chris Thompson's outfit Coral Creek is a nationally acclaimed Colo-Caribbean Newgrass band inspired by the islands and the mountains alike, and one that delivers big sounds and high-energy shows that appeal to audiences across the newgrass, rock and jamband spectrum. Drawing influence from legendary guitarists Jerry Garcia and Tony Rice, Coral Creek launched into the heart of the Colorado music scene with the release of 2010's The Road Ahead produced by Bill Nershi of the String Cheese Incident, and was followed by 2012's 40 Years, 2015's self-titled album, and 2018's Free Dog – the latter two produced by Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth. Over the years, Thompson and Coral Creek have played campgrounds, beach bars, concert halls, and festival stages across the U.S., Europe, United Kingdom, and the Caribbean, sharing stages with music heroes including Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, Bill Nershi, Drew Emmitt, Tim Carbone, Andy Goessling, Vince Herman, Andy Hall, Roosevelt Collier, Jeff Austin and other heavy hitters in the newgrass/jam-band scene.

Todd Sheaffer and Chris Thompson play the Redstone Room on May 1, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $25-30, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)326-1333 and visiting RiverMusicExperience.org.

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