Steve Forbert New Album The Magic Tree Out October 26th

Plays 3 UK Dates in October

“One of the most distinctive voices anywhere.” – Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2
“The Steve Forbert saga is irresistible” – Rolling Stone

Legendary American songwriter, Steve Forbert releases his evocative new album ‘The Magic Tree’ out October 26th on Blue Rose Music. In support of the new record, Steve will also play a very special show at Nell’s Jazz and Blues on October 21st.

Produced by Karl Derfler (Tom Waits, No Doubt, Two Gallants), ‘The Magic Tree’ offers a series of songs gleaned from previously recorded acoustic demos, augmented with new backing tracks. The collection rings with the verve and vitality that Forbert’s fans have always come to expect.

Listen to ‘That’d Be Alright’ HERE

Consistently upbeat and optimistic, the album’s songs recorded in Meridian, Nashville, New York, and New Jersey and Virginia convey a firm sense that age ought not diminish a lust for living. Revered critic the late Paul Nelson wrote about Forbert in Rolling Stone almost 40 years ago: “…Nothing, nothing in this world, is going to stop Steve Forbert, and on that I’ll bet anything you’d care to wager.”

Steve Forbert plays the following UK shows:

October
Sun 21st LONDON, Nell’s Jazz & Blues
Tues 23rd OXFORD, Jericho Tavern
Wed 24th CAMBRIDGE The Robinson Theatre

More than four decades have passed since Steve Forbert made his way to New York City from his Meridian, Mississippi birthplace in quest of a career in music. It was the most unlikely time and place for a folk singer to leap into the fray in a burgeoning scene where new wave and punk were emerging while he took the stage as the archetypal folkie, armed with just an acoustic guitar and sheaf of very personal songs.

After busking on the street for change from passers by, he rose to sharing bills at CBGB’s with the likes of Talking Heads, The Shirts and John Cale as well as headlining more traditional venues such as The Bitter End and Kenny’s Castaways. Against staggering odds, he found blazing success early on with a string of critically acclaimed and commercially accepted albums including Alive on Arrival (1978), Jackrabbit Slim (1979), and Little Stevie Orbit (1980) and a most unlikely smash hit single, “Romeo’s Tune.”

His career had its share of triumphs as well as stumbles and disappointments as did his private life. Through it all, over the course of a marriage, divorce, raising three children, writing and recording 18 studio albums and fronting an ever changing line-up of supporting musicians, he persevered and stayed true to his roots and the folk ethos.

Now, those life-changing experiences have been chronicled by Forbert in Big City Cat: My Life In Folk Rock, co-written with Therese Boyd, that will be released October 26th. The memoir, originally conceived as a stage play, offers a uniquely introspective view of a life and career during a period of cultural upheaval and the author’s emerging self-awareness.

Sharing reflections and journals he kept at the time, Forbert weaves an absorbing narrative that fully addresses the trials, travails and triumphs that would eventually play out over the course of his prolific 40+ year career. Big City Cat: My Life In Folk Rock features first-person commentary from those who worked with Forbert on the road and in the studio.

The Magic Tree track listing: (All songs written by Steve Forbert except #11 which was written by Steve Forbert and Robert Johnson)

1. The Magic Tree (Version One)
2. That’d Be Alright
3. Carolina Blue Sky Blues
4. Let’s Get High
5. Tryna Let It Go
6. Lookin’ At The River In The Rain
7. Diamond Sky
8. Movin’ Though America
9. I Ain’t Got Time
10. The Magic Tree (Version Two)
11. Only You (And Nobody Else)
12. The Music Of The Night