2008 Woodie Awards
Keb' Leaves Audience Begging for Mo'
Lakeland treated to a tall performance from a tall man
Reed Stratton
Issue date: 9/30/03 Section: Arts & Entertainment
The rugged, lonely sounds of love long gone, financial loss, and God's good grace filled the Bradley Building on Saturday, October 11 when Grammy award winning blue's artist, Keb' Mo' played for a near-sold out crowd. It was his first appearance at Lakeland, and he was well-received by blues fans from throughout the country. Fessler Professor of Creative Writing, Karl Elder, called it "a tall performance by a tall man."
Hailing from Los Angeles, Keb' Mo' has four albums to his name including, "Just Like You," "Slow Down," "The Door," and "Big Wide Grin." Early in his career he experimented with rhythm and blues, but he reached maturity in his music when he embraced his bluesy roots. In his soothing, smoky style he reflects the sound and feel of influences like Muddy Waters, a folk/blues artist out of Mississippi who brought the blues to Chicago in the mid 40's, and Charlie Tuna, a famed radio personality from Los Angeles.
Though he only played originals on Saturday, Mo' has a host of cover tunes he plays for small time venues or grand performances from southern boys like Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. Mo' often plays as an opener or along with a highlighter, such as Bonnie Rait and Celine Dion.
On Saturday he was pumped to finally have a show all to himself. He did have one accompanist, Clayton, who strummed a banjo and backed him with some acoustic guitar for his songs with a southern Dixie feel. The accompanist also served traditional roadie duties like tuning Mo's guitar as it went out of tune from song to song. Elder said, "he certainly deserves credit for the precision and clarity of his accompaniment."
On stage, Mo's style was as influenced as his music. In a clean button down shirt and Bing-Crosby derby hat with his collection of vintage acoustic guitars and a striking steel six string, he fired up two hours of smoky blues. The crowd was jovial and enthusiastic, hollering requests, which he granted most of, and devouring his every gritty note about life, its good times and bad times.
Hailing from Los Angeles, Keb' Mo' has four albums to his name including, "Just Like You," "Slow Down," "The Door," and "Big Wide Grin." Early in his career he experimented with rhythm and blues, but he reached maturity in his music when he embraced his bluesy roots. In his soothing, smoky style he reflects the sound and feel of influences like Muddy Waters, a folk/blues artist out of Mississippi who brought the blues to Chicago in the mid 40's, and Charlie Tuna, a famed radio personality from Los Angeles.
Though he only played originals on Saturday, Mo' has a host of cover tunes he plays for small time venues or grand performances from southern boys like Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. Mo' often plays as an opener or along with a highlighter, such as Bonnie Rait and Celine Dion.
On Saturday he was pumped to finally have a show all to himself. He did have one accompanist, Clayton, who strummed a banjo and backed him with some acoustic guitar for his songs with a southern Dixie feel. The accompanist also served traditional roadie duties like tuning Mo's guitar as it went out of tune from song to song. Elder said, "he certainly deserves credit for the precision and clarity of his accompaniment."
On stage, Mo's style was as influenced as his music. In a clean button down shirt and Bing-Crosby derby hat with his collection of vintage acoustic guitars and a striking steel six string, he fired up two hours of smoky blues. The crowd was jovial and enthusiastic, hollering requests, which he granted most of, and devouring his every gritty note about life, its good times and bad times.