2008 Woodie Awards
Keb' Mo' Bringing the Blues to Lakeland
His woman treated him 'dirty, lowdown, and bad,' and he's here to tell you about it...
Mark Karsteadt
Issue date: 9/30/03 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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The Krueger Fine Arts Series presents Keb' Mo' in concert on October 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bradley Center. Keb' Mo' is a nationally known blues artist with two Grammy awards to his credit. He has toured with the likes of Celine Dion and Bonnie Raitt, but will headline the concert at Lakeland. The concert will count as a student convocation.
Tickets are currently on sale for the concert and can be picked up at the Nash Center desk. Students, faculty, and staff are allowed one free ticket and additional tickets are $12. Community members are also able to purchase tickets. There is reserved seating for the show, thus every ticket will have an individual seat number.
Ticket sales are going very well says Debra Fale, the coordinator of the Krueger Fine Arts Series. Fale recommends that students only pick up a ticket if they are 100% positive they will be attending the concert. Fans from as far away as Nebraska and Iowa have purchased tickets for Keb' Mo's concert. Fale cheerily describes one man who purchased eight tickets, "He said Keb' Mo' put on the best concert he had ever seen."
Karl Elder, Fessler Professor of Creative Writing at Lakeland, recommends students attend the concert saying, "If they don't, they will one day wish they had, especially as their taste for all types of music becomes more sophisticated, as usually is the case in educated people. Then, there's this: the Blues tells a story. Tells a story about a man and a woman. Students like stories, especially stories about a man and a woman. A man and a woman means conflict. And where there is conflict, there is life.''
Keb' Mo', born Kevin Moore, grew up in Los Angeles. He did not pick up the Blues until after he spent years playing mostly R&B. During an interview on BarnesandNoble.com, he said his musical influences were Barbara Morris, Sterling Harris, Charlie Tuna, Robert Johnson, and Muddy Waters. Keb' Mo's music is a fusion of R&B, pop, and blues. Keb' Mo's manager, John Boncimino, said on the De La Font Agency's web site, "Kevin [will] be the first to tell you he's not a Bluesman. What he's done is, he's spanned the gap." "Keb'Mo' is not purely a blues artist in my estimation," Elder says. He adds, "[The lyrics] are the lyrics of a young man more inspired by musical mentors than by strife or life. He is not yet a seasoned lyricist, but when he cooks, he dishes up big."
Keb' Mo' has won two Best Contemporary Blues Album Grammy awards. In 1997, he won for "Just Like You" and in 1999, "Slow Down" took home the award. He has also released two other albums including "The Door" in 2000 and "Big Wide Grin" in 2001 and a DVD titled "Sessions at West 54th," a live recording from 1997.
Keb'Mo' will appear in "The Blues," a seven-part PBS television series to celebrate the Blues. He is in the first installment labeled "Feel Like Going Home," which is directed by Martin Scorcese (Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Gangs of New York.) The episode, which also has performances by Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and other Blues legends, will air on September 28 on PBS. A compilation album of his songs called "Martin Scorcese presents The Blues: Keb' Mo'" was released on September 9, to supplement the television series.
Tickets are currently on sale for the concert and can be picked up at the Nash Center desk. Students, faculty, and staff are allowed one free ticket and additional tickets are $12. Community members are also able to purchase tickets. There is reserved seating for the show, thus every ticket will have an individual seat number.
Ticket sales are going very well says Debra Fale, the coordinator of the Krueger Fine Arts Series. Fale recommends that students only pick up a ticket if they are 100% positive they will be attending the concert. Fans from as far away as Nebraska and Iowa have purchased tickets for Keb' Mo's concert. Fale cheerily describes one man who purchased eight tickets, "He said Keb' Mo' put on the best concert he had ever seen."
Karl Elder, Fessler Professor of Creative Writing at Lakeland, recommends students attend the concert saying, "If they don't, they will one day wish they had, especially as their taste for all types of music becomes more sophisticated, as usually is the case in educated people. Then, there's this: the Blues tells a story. Tells a story about a man and a woman. Students like stories, especially stories about a man and a woman. A man and a woman means conflict. And where there is conflict, there is life.''
Keb' Mo', born Kevin Moore, grew up in Los Angeles. He did not pick up the Blues until after he spent years playing mostly R&B. During an interview on BarnesandNoble.com, he said his musical influences were Barbara Morris, Sterling Harris, Charlie Tuna, Robert Johnson, and Muddy Waters. Keb' Mo's music is a fusion of R&B, pop, and blues. Keb' Mo's manager, John Boncimino, said on the De La Font Agency's web site, "Kevin [will] be the first to tell you he's not a Bluesman. What he's done is, he's spanned the gap." "Keb'Mo' is not purely a blues artist in my estimation," Elder says. He adds, "[The lyrics] are the lyrics of a young man more inspired by musical mentors than by strife or life. He is not yet a seasoned lyricist, but when he cooks, he dishes up big."
Keb' Mo' has won two Best Contemporary Blues Album Grammy awards. In 1997, he won for "Just Like You" and in 1999, "Slow Down" took home the award. He has also released two other albums including "The Door" in 2000 and "Big Wide Grin" in 2001 and a DVD titled "Sessions at West 54th," a live recording from 1997.
Keb'Mo' will appear in "The Blues," a seven-part PBS television series to celebrate the Blues. He is in the first installment labeled "Feel Like Going Home," which is directed by Martin Scorcese (Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Gangs of New York.) The episode, which also has performances by Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and other Blues legends, will air on September 28 on PBS. A compilation album of his songs called "Martin Scorcese presents The Blues: Keb' Mo'" was released on September 9, to supplement the television series.