When Steve Forbert left his home in Meridian, Mississippi in June of 1976 to play his brand of soulful folk rock in New York City, performers like Patti Smith and the Ramones were holding center stage, but Steve started busking in the subway and at Grand Central Station, and performing at open mics, and it wasn’t long before he was playing CBGB’s and Kenny’s Castaways, and getting his name favorably mentioned in the New York Times. His first album, Live on Arrival, appeared 35 years ago, quickly followed by Jackrabbit Slim and the hit single “Romeo’s Tune,” and this year he’s commemorating the anniversary with a solo show that features that acclaimed debut album in its entirety, as well as highlights from his other 22 albums.

In the liner notes to Steve’s new deluxe reissue of Alive on Arrival/Jackrabbit Slim, David Wild, contributing editor to Rolling Stone, writes that Steve made “one of music’s greatest entrances ever, arriving fully formed as an extraordinary singer-songwriter – a subtle troubadour for his times, and for all time too. Now or then, you would be hard-pressed to find a debut effort that was simultaneously as fresh and accomplished as Alive on Arrival.” Highlights from his career since then include his Grammy-nominated Jimmie Rodgers tribute Any Old Time and last year’s Over With You, which the magazine American Songwriter described as “all lovely, melancholy, lyrically moving, and beautifully performed.” His songs have been recorded by such artists as Rosanne Cash, Marty Stuart, and Keith Urban. With his husky, expressive tenor, hard-driving guitar, and ability to tell a good story, Steve makes you feel like he’s singing directly to you. Fall under the spell tonight at the Freight.

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