• Alejandro Escovedo with strings with Ed Hamell- 1/21
• 8:00pm

*Additional tickets may still be available, please call 212.608.0555 Ext. 445 to inquire.

Join Alejandro Escovedo for a pair of shows to celebrate his birthday at City Winery over the 21st and 22nd of January. Each night represents a reflection of Alejandro mercurial talent.

The 21st will be an intimate show with Alejandro supported by an assemblage of specially invited string performers. On the 22nd we will see Alejandro joined by the Sensitive Boys Orchestra and special guests for a rousing night of musical virtuosty.

TICKETS FOR THE 22nd - CLICK HERE

ABOUT ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO

Escovedo's music can range from full force rock'n'roll to the subtle delicacy heard from a string quartet, sometimes in the same song. Fricke describes him well as "a folk-blues classicist with a gritty, plaintive voice and an equal fondness for dirty boogie and spectral balladry." That approach has distinguished Escovedo as one of contemporary music's truly original and unique artists, earning him consistent critical hosannas. The breadth and depth of his creativity prompted No Depression magazine to name him its Artist of the Decade even before the close of the 1990s.

Alejandro Escovedo's family tree includes former Santana percussionist Pete Escovedo and Pete's daughter Sheila E (also Prince's former drummer and later a pop star). He began his music career with the Nuns, a mid-'70s punk band based in San Francisco. He co-founded the pioneering cowpunk band Rank and File in 1979, which moved to Austin, TX, in 1981 after a stint in New York City. The band released Sundown on Slash Records in 1982, but shortly after, Escovedo left to form the True Believers with brother Javier. The band recorded two albums for EMI and toured the country, often as an opening act for Los Lobos. However, EMI opted not to release the second album, which eventually led to the group's breakup. (It eventually surfaced as a bonus item when Rykodisc reissued the first set on CD in 1994.)

Escovedo released a solo album in 1992 on Watermelon Records, Gravity, uniting his wide variety of styles; the album was produced by Stephen Bruton of Bonnie Raitt's band. Escovedo also began gigging periodically with the band Buick MacKane, which fused old-school punk with '70s glam rock; after Rykodisc released Escovedo's With These Hands in 1996, they followed it up with Buick MacKane's long-awaited album. After Escovedo parted ways with Rykodisc, he signed in 1998 with the Chicago-based alt-country label Bloodshot, which released the live album More Miles Than Money: Live 1994-1996 and the acclaimed studio set A Man Under the Influence.

In April 2003, Escovedo collapsed following a show in Phoenix, AZ, after which it was subsequently revealed that he had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C in late '90s but had not sought treatment. An outpouring of support from musicians led to a series of successful benefit concerts to help pay Escovedo's medical expenses and keep his music before the public, followed by a tribute album, Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, which was released in 2004. In 2006, Escovedo released Boxing Mirror and toured with the Alejandro Escovedo String Quintet to promote the album. His next album, Real Animal, was produced by Tony Visconti and released in June 2008.

Escovedo returned in 2010 with a new album, Street Songs of Love. These two shows represent a homecoming of sorts and a birthday party to boot.

Join us for two exceptional nights of poetry.

ABOUT ED HAMELL

Ed Hamell (Hamell on Trial) was born in Syracuse, New York, and started playing guitar at age seven. After joining some bands in his 20s, he decided to just call himself by a band name and go solo.

He began touring under the axiom Hamell on Trial, and eventually moved to Texas, where he was discovered and signed to Mercury Records. He released two albums on the label before moving to Brooklyn and signing with Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records label.

He's released two albums to date on Righteous Babe and has toured extensively as an opener for DiFranco. He's also written a one-man show called The Terrorism of Everyday Life. His music and theatrical one-man show have continued to garner praise from fans and critics alike for never shying from politics and personal conviction.