{"id":2442819,"date":"2019-04-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=303222"},"modified":"2019-04-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T06:00:00","slug":"xavier-rudd-returning-to-belly-up-aspen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/xavier-rudd-returning-to-belly-up-aspen\/","title":{"rendered":"Xavier Rudd returning to Belly Up Aspen"},"content":{"rendered":"
Xavier Rudd will headline Belly Up Aspen on Thursday, April 11.<\/strong>
Aspen Times file<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Xavier Rudd<\/a> has assembled a global following with his virtuosic, rootsy multi-instrumental performances. He\u2019s made instant classics with songs like \u201cFollow the Sun\u201d and \u201cSpirit Bird.\u201d But he says his latest record, 2018\u2019s \u201cStorm Boy,\u201d is his creative breakthrough.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m on another level in every way these days,\u201d he told The Aspen Times during a swing through town last spring. \u201cI feel there\u2019s still an upward progression within myself. I haven\u2019t gotten to the point where I feel like I\u2019m going over the hill and going back down. I\u2019m still surfing up the hill.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Australian singer-songwriter, who headlines Belly Up Aspen on Thursday, April 11, went six years between solo records before releasing \u201cStorm Boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rudd burst on the international scene with an already defined sound with his definitive 2002 debut, \u201cTo Let.\u201d His live shows became a sensation, with Rudd playing mostly as a one-man band using a complex instrumental setup worthy of Rube Goldberg: combining as many as three didgeridoos, with a slide guitar on his lap and more string instruments at his side, a stompbox at his feet \u2014 drums, dobros, banjos, harmonicas and more within reach.<\/p>\n

He quickly became a must-see live act and an Aspen staple, with regular stops at Belly Up and festival slots at Jazz Aspen\u2019s Labor Day Festival and the Mammoth Festival.<\/p>\n

Then, in 2015, Rudd took a creative turn and started packing stages with global collaborators. He put together an eight-piece collective called the United Nations that placed Rudd at the center of a veritable reggae-tinged orchestra. He put out an ambitious album, \u201cNanna,\u201d with the group.<\/p>\n

But many of the new \u201cStorm Boy\u201d songs have been gestating in his pre-United Nations period.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like a follow-up to \u2018Spirit Bird\u2019 in a way,\u201d Rudd said, referring to his 2012 solo album. \u201cI was writing these songs back then and some even before then. \u2026 The United Nations project, I wrote a bunch of tracks for that project and it was everybody bringing their individuality to the table, whereas this has been constructed by me. So I think it\u2019s more personal, more reflective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rudd has been outspoken on political and environmental issues throughout his career, and has led activist efforts on behalf of indigenous Australians. Playing the U.S. in the bitterly divided Trump era, he is doing his best to unite Americans with a universal message.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe celebrate the roots of something that\u2019s been connecting human beings since the beginning of time \u2014 that\u2019s music,\u201d he said. \u201cOur planet responds to music of all forms \u2014 whether it\u2019s birds, wild animals, humans. Our shows are about celebrating creation.\u201d<\/p>\n

atravers@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Xavier Rudd will headline Belly Up Aspen on Thursday, April 11.Aspen Times file Xavier Rudd has assembled a global following with his virtuosic, rootsy multi-instrumental performances. He\u2019s made instant classics with songs like \u201cFollow the Sun\u201d and \u201cSpirit Bird.\u201d But he says his latest record, 2018\u2019s \u201cStorm Boy,\u201d is his creative breakthrough. \u201cI feel like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2442819","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-16 13:55:35","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2442819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442819\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2442819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2442819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2442819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}