Groovin’ in New Fairfield is proud to welcome Guy Davis with special guest Lara Herscovitch on Saturday, January 30 at 7:30pm, at the New Fairfield Senior Center, 33 Route 37, New Fairfield, CT.  Tickets are $10 and doors open at 6:45 pm.  

While carrying the blues around the world, from the Equator to the Arctic Circle, Guy Davis came back with some fresh inspiration and new stories to tell. Kokomo Kidd, his first all-new album in two years, finds the blues ambassador visiting fresh territory. “It’s a new beginning for me,” he says, “The first time I've produced myself. What I‘m showing here is a side of me that’s deep inside. It’s needing air and light, and here it comes!”
His deft acoustic playing and well-crafted lyrics are here as always. Some songs find Davis calling on his gifts as an actor and storyteller, while others are as personal as it gets. The rollicking title track, featuring Ben Jaffe of New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band, might be called a short story that you can dance to, featuring a rascal character who starts as a bootlegger and winds up a Republican advisor. The song’s New Orleans connection harkens back to a formative visit he made to the Crescent City in 1979, a trip that convinced him to follow his muse as a performer.
Another notable friend, harmonica ace Charlie Musselwhite, appears on a version of the Howlin’ Wolf classic “Little Red Rooster.” But the most surprising of the four non-originals s has to be Donovan’s “Wear Your Love Like Heaven.” As Davis explains, “I loved that song back when I was a kid, and I wasn’t even sure why—It wasn’t especially rhythmic, more on the acoustic psychedelic side of things. Growing up as an African-American, it was always about James Brown, soul music. There was a time when I wouldn’t have had the self-confidence to do a song like that.”
Guy Davis’ work as an actor, author, and lately teacher earmark him as a renaissance man of the blues. What music and acting have in common, he explains, “is that I don’t like people to see the hard work and the sweat that goes into what I do. I want them to hear me and be uplifted. And I want some little eight-year-old kid in the front row to have big eyes and say, ‘Hey, I want to do that!’.”   www.guydavis.com

With a voice “clear and smooth like expensive liquor, LARA HERSCOVITCH stands “above and beyond the pack” (Northeast Performer). Herscovitch is “a remarkable performer” (WSHU Public Radio). Former State Troubadour of Connecticut (2009-2010), Lara brings charm, authenticity, intelligence and a love of performing that immediately resonates with diverse audiences. She has appeared as a guest on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor (American Public Media) and tours from Maine to Miami.  www.laraherscovitch.com


Advance tickets can be purchased at the New Fairfield Senior Center or by mail.  Payments made my mail should be payable to Groovin’ in New Fairfield, c/o New Fairfield Senior Center, 33 Route 37, New Fairfield, CT.  06812.  Please allow sufficient time when mailing.  All sales are final.  Tickets can also be purchased at the door, pending availability.  Additionally, a moderately priced dinner catered by Bruno’s Restaurant is offered before the show.  Choices include:  eggplant rollatini, chicken francese, pizza, coffee, tea, hot mulled cider, water and homemade desserts.  For additional information, contact us at grcoffeehouse@gmail.com.


About Groovin’ in New Fairfield:  Groovin’ in New Fairfield seeks to develop and promote ongoing, regularly scheduled live music programs in New Fairfield and surrounding areas.  It is a non-profit organization supported by sponsors, local businesses, grants from charitable organizations and patron donations and is staffed by volunteers.  It operates under the New Fairfield Parks and Recreation Commission.
For more information, visit groovininnewfairfield.com