Bozzini’s is pleased to welcome one of the finest artists in the Americana genre, Nashville-based singer songwriter Rod Picott, as he tours in in support of his ninth album, Out Past he Wires, to its intimate Upstairs Lounge on Friday, May 11.
Seventeen years ago, Rod Picott dropped his tool belt, picked up an acoustic guitar and released his first album Tiger Tom Dixon’s Blues. The acclaimed debut put a nail in the coffin of his construction career and cemented his passions as a singer-songwriter, which burn even brighter with the release of his latest album.
Out Past The Wires comprises 22 song ranges from whispery ballads to guitar-driven rockers, and every musical spot between. Like much of Picott’s catalog, many of the album’s songs centre around the lives of working people and the losses, defeats and small victories that come hard-won in a calloused world.
It is here in the ordinary where Picott finds the gold he mines so beautifully on songs such as Take Home Pay–one of four songs written with Slaid Cleaves, a longtime friend and cowriter .
Picott’s eye for the revealing and sense of empathy has brought praise from music critics since his debut: it’s those qualities, as well as a potent defiance that are on full display in Out Past The Wires.
Now 52-years-old and nine albums into his music career, Picott is more prolific than ever. The songs on his most recent album were culled from a staggering number of 78.
Also, since the release of his last album, Fortune, two years ago, and now, Picott has also become a published poet, written a screenplay, and is releasing collection of short stories, also titled Out Past The Wires, and accompanies the release of the album. Many of the characters from the songs on the album find their stories expanded and even more finely detailed in the book.
“(This is the) most ambitious project of my seventeen year career,” said Picott. “(It’s) the most satisfying recording I’ve made.”
Don’t miss Rod Picott at Bozzini’s for his only Canadian date on May 11. Doors open at 8:00 p.m., and the show starts at 9;00. Cover is $12, or call 604 792 0744 to reserve your spot. For more information, visit bozzinisrestaurant.ca.