After winning a Grammy for his soulful ballad “Walking in Memphis,” Marc Cohn solidified his place as one of this generation’s most compelling singer-songwriters, combining the precision of a brilliant tunesmith with the passion of a great soul man. Cohn will return to the Vilar Performing Arts Center on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to this performance start at $65 and can be purchased by calling 970-845-8497 or visiting http://www.vilarpac.org.
Rooted in the rich ground of American rhythm and blues, soul and gospel and possessed of a deft storyteller’s pen, Cohn weaves vivid, detailed, often drawn-from-life tales that evoke some of our most universal human feelings: love, hope, faith, joy and heartbreak.
Cohn followed up his platinum-selling debut with two more releases in the 1990s, at which point, Time magazine called him “one of the honest, emotional voices we need in this decade” and Bonnie Raitt declared, “Marc is one of the most soulful, talented artists I know. I love his songs, he’s an incredible singer, and I marvel at his ability to mesmerize every audience he plays for.”
Raitt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Graham Nash and Patty Griffin all made guest appearances on Cohn’s early records for Atlantic as his reputation as an artist and performer continued to grow. In 1998, Cohn took a decade-long sabbatical from recording, ending in 2007 with “Join the Parade.” Inspired by the horrific events following Hurricane Katrina and his own near-fatal shooting just weeks before, Parade is his most moving and critically acclaimed record to date.
About his album “Listening Booth: 1970,” a collection of reimagined classics from that seminal year in music, Rolling Stone said, “Cohn has one of rock’s most soulful croons—a rich, immediately recognizable tenor that makes these songs his own.” In late 2014, Cohn released “The Coldest Corner in the World,” the title song to the documentary Tree Man and his first original song released in more than seven years.
On March 25, 2016, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his platinum-selling debut album, released “Careful What You Dream: Lost Songs and Rarities” along with the bonus album “Evolution of a Record,” featuring never-before-heard songs and demos dating back to years before his debut album and the Grammy Award that followed.
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Cohn’s momentum continued into a busy and fruitful 2017, which he spent in part on the road with the legendary Michael McDonald, garnering critical acclaim across the U.S. His writing talent was also drafted for work with a roster of American music greats including soul survivor William Bell, who won his first Grammy at age 78 with Cohn’s help, as he co-wrote a solid half of Bell’s celebrated album “This is Where I Live,” including the passionate opening cut “The Three Of Me.” The album revived the sound of Stax soul’s golden age, when Bell had first cut his teeth as an artist, and which had influenced Cohn so powerfully—in its way, completing a circle and letting Cohn give back to one of the originators of the sound that shaped him.
Cohn revisited another corner of American music’s rich heritage with the Blind Boys of Alabama on the Grammy-nominated song “Let My Mother Live,” and also worked with David Crosby on the album Lighthouse. As powerfully influenced by the singer-songwriter tradition as he is by the legacy of soul and gospel, working with the ’60s icon was a project that got right to Cohn’s creative core.
Moving forward, he continues to do what he does best: infuse American music with both a fresh perspective and a reverence for its deep roots.
If you go …
What: Marc Cohn.
When: Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek.
Cost: Tickets sart at $65.
More information: http://www.vilarpac.org.
