All Rights Reserved 2009
Rhythm & Roots
Concert Series
P.O. Box 32857
Tucson, AZ 85751
(520) 319-9966
info@RhythmAndRoots.org

"a deep and masterful album that transcends genre and time. It is Tom Waits meets Hank Williams.” -Calgary Herald

“Often cited as a musical poet of small-town America… Eaglesmith has carved out an enviable cult niche,” observes the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He has built that following over the last three decades of his truly independent and alternative career by near constant touring and releasing superb albums. With his new release, Tinderbox, Eaglesmith is ascending to the next level, packing most every venue he visits and being hailed as a “genius” (Arizona Daily Star) for not just his “devastatingly good” songwriting (Philadelphia Inquirer) but all that he does with it.

  “His original tunes can sound like long-lost traditional songs with a modern edge,” notes the Atlanta Journal Constitution. As the Nashville Scene observes, “His voice is varnished with whiskey, the raw scratch as primordial as his earthy tales of desperate, often farm-bound folk... winding tense tales around bustling Bakersfield-tinged roots rock and bluegrass.”  While the Spartanburg Herald-Journal praises, “A gifted singer-songwriter who paints vivid musical pictures filled with the kind of blue-collar heroes found in the works of James McMurtry, Guy Clark and Jerry Jeff Walker.”

Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, 7:30pm @ ZUZI Theater in the Historic YMCA– 738 N 5th Ave.
 Tickets $20 advance, $23 door-
Click here to order online.

"Ruthie Foster is one of America's finest soul-blues artists." -Blues Revue



Ruthie Foster doesn’t just sing, she testifies.  Her music breathes inspiration and celebration into each performance.  From her beginnings in the Brazos Valley of Central Texas, through five albums, Foster fuses Southern blues in her groove, rock in her rhythm, a blend of gospel redemption, country poetry and jazz elegance in her singing. “Ruthie’s drawn comparisons to Ella and Aretha, but musically neither is really close,” observed the Philadelphia City Paper. “What she does have in common with Fitzgerald and Franklin is the irresistible blaze.”  The Los Angeles Times wrote that Ruthie Foster, “will convert those hungry for some real, hot soul."

"In Bibb's hands the blues becomes sustaining, moving closer to the spiritual uplift of gospel." -All Music Guide

Tucson favorite Eric Bibb has long been an established figure on the international blues scene.   Often compared to Keb Mo’ and Taj Mahal, Eric Bibb was nominated for Acoustic Artist of the Year by the Blues Foundation (2008).  Don’t miss this dream team of soulful gospel blues.

Friday February 12, 2010, 7:30pm @ Berger Performing Arts Center ASDB – 1200 W. Speedway
 Reserved seats $28, $30 door
Click here to order online.

"Twin fiddles lead the way, blazing through traditional Gypsy songs." -Washington Post



Les Yeux Noirs, French for “The Black Eyes,” takes their name from the title of a Russian gypsy tune made famous by Django Reinhardt in the 1930’s.  It’s the perfect name for the eight-piece band from Paris that keeps alive the styles of Eastern Europe’s gypsies and Jews, with violins, cello, accordion, guitar, cymbalom, bass and percussion. Twin brothers, violinists Erik and Olivier Slabiak, grew up in Paris in the 1970's, the sons of Jewish immigrants from Poland. They quit their studies at the Brussels Royal Conservatory to found the band. They were inspired by their uncle, a Gypsy and jazz violinist, who played with Django and Joseph Reinhardt.  Le Monde  wrote, "This group of Gypsy musicians have incredible energy, with roots in traditional music, but also in jazz…Les Yeux Noirs will keep you on the edge of your seat.”

Friday March 19, 2010, 7:30pm @ Berger Performing Arts Center ASDB – 1200 W. Speedway
 Advance $27, $30 door
Click here to order online.

"Carrie is a touchstone of authenticity in an image-driven, media-defined musical world. She is a beautiful singer and songwriter, and deeply refreshing.” -Rosanne Cash


Carrie Newcomer sings of the small joys and pains in life, emphasizing the little moments that are often taken for granted. She is not afraid to take on serious subjects, and does so with a healthy measure of good humor and self-awareness. For her, "songwriting is not about being clever, flashy or fancy, it is about telling a compelling story in language and music with elegance and clarity."

Newcomer's music has been praised in Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Acoustic Guitar and Performing Songwriter.  Barbara Kingsolver wrote, “To my mind - a writer's mind- Carrie Newcomer is much more than a musician. She's a poet, storyteller, snake-charmer, good neighbor, friend and lover, minister of the wide-eyed gospel of hope and grace. All this, and she comes with a voice that declares, 'Sit down here a minute and listen.' Who could ask for more?"

Sunday, March 21, 2010, 7pm @ ZUZI Theater in the Historic YMCA– 738 N 5th Ave.
 Tickets $20 advance, $23 door-
Click here to order online.