LOS ANGELES, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Inside Recordings) - Southern California-based singer- songwriter Joel Rafael will perform at West Hollywood, CA's House Of Blues Sunset Strip (HOB) on Saturday, January 17, 2009. Rafael's 8PM showtime opens up the evening's entertainment on a bill that also includes sets from singer- songwriter
Edwin McCain and classic prog-rockers the Alan Parsons Project. Tickets are $27.50 and are available at HOB box office (8430 Sunset Blvd., LA, CA 90069) and through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com).
Joel Rafael is widely recognized as one of the foremost interpreters of Woody Guthrie's music as well as a singer-writer whose work blends eloquent lyrical storytelling, timeless folk music and timely political observations. The latter will be at the forefront at HOB when Rafael performs "This Is My Country," the lead single from his 2008 album Thirteen Stories High. The recording features background vocals from David Crosby and Graham Nash, and became an instant-classic protest song. With lyrics including "It's time to stop them in their tracks it's time to take our country back," it's certain to be a stirring highlight of Rafael's January 17 show, taking place just three days before the Inauguration.
Released on Inside Recordings, the independent label founded by Jackson Browne and his management team, Thirteen Stories High is Rafael's first album of original material since 2000's Hopper. Plainspoken and emotionally genuine, the disc's stand-out tracks also include the Rafael-penned compositions "Time Stands Still," "Song Of Socrates" (inspired by the film The Peaceful Warrior), "Reluctant Angel" and "Promised Land" as well as covers of Steve Earle's "Rich Man's War" and Smithsonian-honored Fast Folk series founder Jack Hardy's "I Ought To Know." On lists compiled by FOLKDJ-L, the global discussion forum for folk DJs, Thirteen Stories High ranked as 2008's No 41 album (out of 500) and "This Is My Country" came in as the No 14 song.
Thirteen Stories High follows up Rafael's two acclaimed albums saluting the music of Woody Guthrie, both on Inside Recordings: Woodeye (2002) and Woodyboye (2005), subtitled The Songs of Woody Guthrie, Volume 1 and Volume 2, respectively. Rolling Stone, reviewing Woodyboye, noted, "Don't miss the moving version of Guthrie's 'Stepstone,' which finds Rafael sharing vocal duties with Jackson Browne and another Guthrie admirer by the name of Arlo." Several songs feature previously unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics for which Rafael composed the music. The lyrics were entrusted to Rafael by Nora Guthrie, who directs the Woody Guthrie Archives and oversees the use of her father's legacy of written and illustrated works.
Joel Rafael is the recipient of the Kerrville Folk Festival's 1995 "New Folk Emerging Songwriter Award." He has been a featured performer at the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma since its inception in 1998 and is a member of the national touring cast of the celebrated Guthrie revue Ribbon Of Highway, Endless Skyway. Rafael's upcoming performance on January 17 marks his first show at HOB.
For more information, log on to www.joelrafael.com
