Live at The Scala Theatre is de nieuwste opname van blues troubadour Eric Bibb, die volgt op het Grammy-genomineerde album Ridin’ uit 2023. Opgenomen voor een live publiek in het Scala Theater in Stockholm in 2023, is de sfeer die in deze opnames is vastgelegd elektrisch.

Terwijl Eric nadenkt over zijn muzikale reis, klinkt er dankbaarheid door. Evolutie is duidelijk in zijn stem en gitaarspel, zijn woorden zijn gegrond in waarheid en voeden een visie van eenheid in een wereld gevuld met verdeeldheid zaaiende retoriek. Eric Bibb is meer dan een blues troubadour – hij is een verhalenverteller en filosoof. Zijn nalatenschap zit niet alleen in de noten die hij speelt of de podia die hij siert, maar in de vragen die hij stelt en de hoop die hij inboezemt.




Live at The Scala Theatre bevat een selectie songs uit Bibbs geschiedenis, doordrenkt van de folk- en bluestraditie met hedendaagse gevoeligheden. Het optreden bestaat uit een all-star line-up van muzikanten, waaronder Eric’s oude medewerker, MD en producer Glen Scott op bas, toetsen, drums en achtergrondzang, Olle Linder op drums en akoestische bas, Johan Lindström op pedal steel en elektrische gitaar, Christer Lyssarides op elektrische gitaar en mandola, Esbjörn Hazelius op fiddle en cittern, Greger Andersson op harp, Lamine Cissokho op kora en zang, speciale gastvocalisten Sarah Dawn Finer, Rennie Mirro en Ulrika Bibb, en strijkersarrangementen van Erik Arvinder en David Davidson, uitgevoerd door Hanna Helgegren en Sarah Cross op violen, Christopher Öhman op altviool en Josef Ahlin op cello.

ERIC BIBB
LIVE AT THE SCALA THEATRE

Format: CD, LP, DL & Stream
Label: Repute Records / Stony Plain Records
Release Date: April 5, 2024

Eric Bibb - Live at The Scala Theatre (album foto)

Live at The Scala Theatre is the latest recording from blues troubadour Eric Bibb, which follows 2023’s Grammy-nominated album, Ridin’. Performed in front of a live audience at Stockholm’s Scala Theatre in 2023, the atmosphere captured in these recordings is electric.

As Eric reflects on his musical journey, gratitude pervades. Evolution is evident in his voice and guitar playing, with his words grounded in truth and fostering a vision of unity in a world filled with divisive rhetoric. Eric Bibb is more than a blues troubadour – he is a storyteller and philosopher. His legacy is not just in the notes he plays or the stages he graces but in the questions he poses and the hope he instils.




Live at The Scala Theatre contains a selection of songs cherry-picked from Bibb’s history, infused with the folk and blues tradition with contemporary sensibilities. The performance features an all-star lineup of musicians including Eric’s longtime collaborator, MD and producer Glen Scott on bass, keys, drums and backing vocals, Olle Linder on drums and acoustic bass, Johan Lindström on pedal steel and electric guitar, Christer Lyssarides on electric guitar and mandola, Esbjörn Hazelius on fiddle and cittern, Greger Andersson on harp, Lamine Cissokho on kora and vocals, special guest vocalists Sarah Dawn Finer, Rennie Mirro and Ulrika Bibb, as well as string arrangements by Erik Arvinder and David Davidson, performed by Hanna Helgegren and Sarah Cross on violins, Christopher Öhman on viola and Josef Ahlin on cello.

With a career now spanning five decades, three Grammy nominations, a multitude of Blues Foundation awards and countless more accolades, Eric Bibb has secured his legacy as a legendary figure in the blues and roots genre. Eric’s father, the late Leon Bibb, was an activist, actor, and folk singer who marched at Selma with Dr. Martin Luther King. Eric’s youth was spent immersed in the Greenwich Village folk scene. Names like Dylan, Baez, and Seeger were visitors to his home. He was deeply influenced by Odetta, Richie Havens, and Taj Mahal. Combining this all into his own unique voice, Bibb is known and revered globally for having carved his own musical destiny with authenticity and grace.

“The Live at The Scala concert was, without a doubt, the most ambitious gig and recording project of my career,” says Eric Bibb. “Captained by my super-talented friend, musical director and producer, Glen Scott and graced by an amazing array of musicians, the resulting album is one that defines me as an artist. I couldn’t be more pleased and eager to share it with you all.In selecting the album’s songs we wanted to cover three categories: 1)Tried and true fan favorites that had not appeared multiple times on previous live recordings; 2) A few songs from the recently released studio albums, Dear America and Ridin’; 3) At least one song that I’d never before recorded.

Every song on the album holds a special place in my heart. I’ll elaborate on three of them: ‘Rosewood,’ which tells the story of the horrendous massacre in 1923, that wiped out the African American community of Rosewood in Florida, is both an important history lesson, particularly relevant today in the current climate of disunity in America and the world and hopefully, a story that encourages us to face and learn from our past. ‘Whole World’s Got The Blues’ is, in the way that songs can sometimes be, prescient. It is both a lament about the current state of the world and a warning. ‘Things Is ‘Bout Comin’ My Way,’ adapted from ‘Sittin’ On Top Of The World’ and written by Walter Vinson, is a bluesy affirmation that resonates with my own journey. And one of my fondest memories of that night at The Scala Theatre was being surrounded by the spirited singing, on stage and in the audience, of ‘Mole In The Ground.”

Tracklisting
1. Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad (4:49) 2. Silver Spoon (4:31)
3. Along The Way (2:53)
4. Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie (5:02)
5. Things Is ‘Bout Comin’ My Way (4:39) 6. Rosewood (5:12)
7. Whole World’s Got The Blues (5:33) 8. River Blues (3.16)
9. 500 Miles (3:36)
10. Mole in the Ground (5:32)

Video: ‘Things Is ‘Bout Comin’ My Way’ – LIVE

Eric Bibb - Things Is 'Bout Comin' My Way - Live at The Scala Theatre (Lyric Video)

Website Eric Bibb: www.ericbibb.com


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