| WHO: JJ GREY & MOFRO WHAT: PITTSBURGH PERFORMANCE WHEN: FEBRUARY 28 WHERE: MR. SMALLS THEATRE“JJ Grey concocts a vivid blend of blues, Southern rock and funk, complete with richly evocative lyrics and an easygoing sense of blue-collar storytelling . . . lucid, plainspoken American music.” – NPR Music |
Southern soul-rockers JJ Grey & Mofro will perform at Mr. Smalls Theatre on February 28. The band’s charismatic live performances have captivated audiences all over the world, delivering songs with compassion and relentless honesty. For a sense of Grey’s commitment to building powerful musical moments, watch his performance of “The Sun Is Shining Down” HERE. JJ Grey’s latest record Ol’ Glory, captures the fierceness and intimacy that defines his live performance. Personal, Southern-inspired narratives, along with a sound boasting an eclectic blend of blues, rock, gospel and gritty R&B, have become synonomous with JJ Grey and his incredible band Mofro. His music has been praised by The New York Times, Garden & Gun, USA Today and many more, for a sound that The Wall Street Journal calls “soulful rock ’n’ roll with a funky, down-home Southern feel.” Watch an intimate performance on NPR’s World Cafe Live HERE. JJ Grey is as genuine as they come — a do-it-yourselfer who is committed to making music that’s full of integrity. In this day and age, that’s a rare thing. From the days of playing greasy local juke joints to headlining major festivals around the world including Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, North Sea Festival and Fuji Rock, JJ Grey remains an unfettered, blissful performer who sings with a blue-collared spirit over the bone-deep grooves of his compositions. From the days of playing greasy local juke joints to headlining major festivals, JJ Grey remains an unfettered, blissful performer, singing with a blue-collared spirit over the bone-deep grooves of his compositions. His presence before an audience is something startling and immediate, at times a funk rave-up, other times a sort of mass-absolution for the mortal weaknesses that make him and his audience human. When you see JJ Grey and his band Mofro live—and you truly, absolutely must—the man is fearless. Onstage, Grey delivers his songs with compassion and a relentless honesty, but perhaps not until Ol’ Glory has a studio record captured the fierceness and intimacy that defines a Grey live performance. “I wanted that crucial lived-in feel,” Grey says of Ol’ Glory, and here he hits his mark. On the new album, Grey and his current Mofro lineup offer grace and groove in equal measure, with an easygoing quality to the production that makes those beautiful muscular drum-breaks sound as though the band has set up in your living room. |