Calliope Center Stage: Ray Bonneville & Andy Friedman

Ray Bonneville is a Canadian born, Austin based singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player, who is known for his "loose, darkly funky vibe" (All Music Guide). His Red House release Goin' By Feel was named one of the best CD's of 2008 by DownBeat Magazine and featured the Americana hit "I Am the Big Easy," which was #1 most played song on folk radio that year and won the Folk Alliance Award for Song of the Year. Ray is a unique player and has performed with such blues luminaries as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, JJ Cale and Robert Cray. He has quickly become a fixture in the Americana scene since moving to Texas, becoming one of the go-to session player for artists like Ray Wylie Hubbard, Gurf Morlix, Mary Gauthier, Tim O’Brien and Eliza Gilkyson.

Andy Friedman "writes achingly profound lyrics to brooding country-folk numbers that put him almost in the same league as Tom Waits, Lou Reed, or Bob Dylan," says PopMatters.com. His latest album, Laserbeams and Dreams, "draws on the deepest traditions of American music and evokes an affecting sense of loss and longing." (The New Yorker). Co-produced by Friedman along with David Goodrich (Chris Smither) and GRAMMY-nominated bassist and composer Stephan Crump (Vijay Iyer Trio), the album has generated significant critical praise for the artist and songwriter. "One of the best Americana acts around today," proclaimed Columbia SC's Free-Times. The Village Voice describes Friedman's music as "what happens to twang when it steeps in Brooklyn gin joints instead of Austin honky-tonks. It becomes a bit darker and more gnarled." CMT highlighted the song "Going Home (Drifter's Blessing)" among its list of "20 songs to consider," while The Bluegrass Special opined that "if Friedman keeps making records as compelling as Laserbeams And Dreams, being identified as a New Yorker cartoonist will soon become the last mentioned of his accomplishments."

This show is ALL AGES and is held at Calliope's newly renovated space at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. The space features a welcoming, club-like atmosphere and quality acoustic treatments. Soda, wine and beer will be available for purchase.