SLAID CLEAVES + Guests

Tue 27th Nov 2007

The Luminaire presents
SLAID CLEAVES
+ Guests

Doors 7.30
£12 via WeGotTickets
£14 door

"An immensely satisfying album. 4/5" [Mojo]

Born on June 9, 1964, in Berwick, Maine, Slaid Cleaves grew up amid dairy farms, abandoned sawmills and the ever-encroaching suburban strip malls. The first of four kids, Cleaves was picking though the family record collection at the age of three, beginning a lifelong fascination with the music of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, The Everly Brothers and Woody Guthrie.

"A rare talent." [LA Daily News]

He began his career as a "busker," singing on the streets of Cork, Ireland, while attending college there in 1985. Returning to the U.S., he formed the roots-rocking Moxie Men in 1989, playing extensively throughout New England and winning a semi-finalist slot in Musician Magazine's best unsigned band contest. Having outgrown the small but vital music scene in Portland, Maine, he landed in the roots-rock Mecca of Austin, Texas, in 1991. There, he rose swiftly through the ranks of the local singer-songwriter scene.

"Cleaves tells gorgeously compact stories in a voice packed with Texas trail dust." [Entertainment Weekly]

"4/5, Michael Corcoran. [Austin360.com]

In 1992, he won the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk competition, an award previously given to such striking talents as Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and Steve Earle. By 1996, he had signed to Rounder Records and released No Angel Knows, which attracted widespread critical acclaim.

'Broke Down', which followed in 2000, reached beyond the cult audience he had attracted and gave him a national following. The Austin Chronicle dubbed it "the first great Texas album of the 21st century," while the Chicago Sun-Times noted that he "has fashioned a timeless yet fresh sound rooted in the best storytelling tradition of the great singer-songwriters."

Cleaves wrote most of the songs for 2004's Wishbones while hiding out in a country cabin. He also aimed to make more of a band album, one that rocked harder than his past efforts. Wishbones was produced by Gurf Morlix.

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