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Community Corner

Eddie Owen Presents TEXAS GEORGIA CAROLINA REVUE w/ Angier Wills + David Ezell + Fayssoux McLean + Mill Billy Blues + Eric Taylor

Live at Red Clay Theatre in downtown Duluth
Eric Taylor is a master storyteller and has been one of the finest southern songwriters for the last four decades. Cited as an influence by Nanci Griffith and Lyle Lovett, Eric has created a multitude of fans and devotees that are legends themselves in the singer/songwriter realm. He tours extensively throughout North America and Europe, and has appeared on Austin City Limits, Late Night With David Letterman, NPR's "Morning Edition" and BBC Radio. A compassionate and mesmerizing storyteller whose interwoven blend of spoken word and song paints an always colorful cast of characters making it through this world.

"Taylor may sing of the past, of bar rooms and hay fields and even Johnny Cash, but his characters want the same things we do. They want love and redemption. They want some fun and happiness. They want respect and sometimes even a little vengeance. Taylor's people are just like us, it's just that their tales are exquisitely told." – Al Kaufman, Atlanta Music Guide

Here are stories carved from hard reality – every one crafted with care. [His] songs are not for the lazy listener, nor for the faint of heart. They're not cut-and-dried tales with the endings tied up in a bow. Every aspect of the story is not revealed. These songs will make you think. Eric Taylor writes from a place deep inside, and the images he creates get under your skin. They can take you places. What you do with what you might learn there is up to you . . . but I have no doubt you'll be richer for the experience." – Larry Looney, No Depression


Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Angier Wills is a distant relative of the legendary Bob Wills. In addition to being a founding member of Elvis Has Left The Building, Angier is also a skillful songwriter and storyteller in his own right. His literary style and clear, introspective lyrics capture people and places of the South. Though he is a working physician currently living in Idaho, Angier seems closer in spirit to a character from Woody Guthrie’s “Bound For Glory.”

A songwriter, song interpreter and master performer from Spartanburg, South Carolina, David Ezell’s specialty is solo performance. Armed with an acoustic guitar and repertoire of songs in the thousands, David has been winning over fans for years. His influences cover a broad spectrum of musical eras and styles. From Hank Williams to the Beatles, from Johnny Cash to the Grateful Dead, from the Masters of Motown to Lyle Lovett, David has left few stones unturned. A picture emerges of a true student of performance and songcraft, and David's original compositions reveal not only that he has absorbed a great many influences but also that he possesses a rich creative gift. 

“Ezell finds the place where musical and lyrical paradoxes comfortably coexist. Vocally complex as well, he often sounds alluringly vulnerable, but at the same time sure-footed, soulful and gritty, for a tone and delivery as haunting as they are soothing.” – Spartanburg Herald-Journal

“It’s hard to put a finger on what makes Ezell so good...but his rhythmic guitar playing and soulful vocals somehow sound fuller than a whole band. For nearly three decades, folks who know Ezell’s music have been aware that he’s one of the Southeast’s finest talents.” – The Metrobeat, Greenville SC

You’ve heard Fayssoux McLean even if you haven’t heard of her. Fayssoux’s beguiling voice was an integral element in some of the finest country music recordings of our time. Fayssoux sang harmonies and duets with Emmylou Harris on her legendary early recordings. And now we have “Early,” Fayssoux’s debut recording – a work of grace and beauty featuring traditional folk songs, old-time gospel, contemporary country-rock and love ballads. Fayssoux’s singing has garnered praise and admiration from musicians all around, including Eric Taylor, Rodney Crowell, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Buddy Miller

“Charm, elegance, whippoorwills and Magnolia dewdrops: these are the things that come to mind when I hear Fayssoux sing.” – Rodney Crowell
“I’ve always loved Fayssoux’s voice. She’s one of my favorite singers.” – Emmylou Harris

Three musicians – Freddie Vanderford, Shane Pruitt, Brandon Turner – were all born and raised in upstate South Carolina mill towns. Ingrained with an affinity for traditional blues and friends for decades, they came together to create a new old-sound that is quickly identifying itself as “mill town blues” – the music of the mill villages and back roads of Piedmont Carolina, touted as the newly discovered stepchild of the blues. With Freddie Vanderford on harp/vocals, Brandon Turner on guitar/vocals and Shane Pruitt on guitar/vocals, they’ve quickly established themselves as crowd favorites, performing before sold-out crowds and packed houses. Their self-titled CD “Mill Billy Blues” pays homage to their roots and sets the standard for their professionalism and the quality of each live show.

“Upstate acoustic outfit Mill Billy Blues has made for some of the most memorable musical experiences of the year with roots music that encompasses everything from vintage R&B to classic country.” – Dan Armonaitis, GoUpstate.com

“Think of them as a poor man’s Highwaymen that plays blues, folk and honky tonk music.” – Jason Robinson, Outlaw Magazine

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