Folk Master David Wilcox to Perform at Fogartyville in Sarasota
Blessed with a smooth baritone, a nimble hand at the guitar and lyrics like no other, David Wilcox has been called one of the greatest folk masters working today by everyone from The New York Times to Rolling Stone. Nearly 20 albums into a career marked by personal revelation and wildly loyal fans, his quick wit and emotional lyrics continue to garner him wide popularity and respect in folk-music circles and beyond. Wilcox will play the Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center on Friday, January 20 at 8pm. Tickets are $25 for members and $30 for nonmembers. Advance tickets are available at Fogartyville.
Wilcox released an independent album in 1987, was a winner of the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk award in 1988, and by 1989 he had signed with A&M Records. His first release on the label, How Did You Find Me Here, sold over 100,000 copies the first year largely by word of mouth. His latest record The View From the Edge (2018) is a collection of powerful songs, many of which he has been performing at live shows for the past several years. It’s an album that reflects four years of thinking, writing, crafting, playing and life. In recognition of this new release, David Wilcox was named the Grand Prize Winner of the 2018 USA Songwriting Contest.
Considered a ‘songwriter’s songwriter’, his songs have been covered by artists such as k.d. lang and many others. In addition to his writing prowess, his skills as a performer and storyteller are unmatched. He holds audiences rapt with nothing more than a single guitar, thoroughly written songs, a fearless ability to mine the depths of human emotions of joy, sorrow and everything in between, and all tempered by a quick and wry wit. In live performance, David loves making up a spontaneous song for an audience member in need. Anyone who has seen Wilcox perform more than once or twice has seen him concoct one of his “Musical Medicine” songs on the spot, full of lyrical artistry and musical inventiveness, like some kind of uncanny parlor trick.
David Wilcox finds inspiration wherever he looks. The songs in turn provide inspiration to longtime listeners as well as those finding him for the first time. It’s in the song and the craftsmanship; it’s medicine for the soul; it’s story; it’s a restless spirituality. Whatever it is, it serves many purposes, even for the songwriter himself. “All these songs are the blazes on the trail, the stuff I need to hear in order to remember on a daily basis,” he says, acknowledging his own path. “It would have been easier if I could have heard these songs 20 years ago, but that isn’t how it works. I had to live it to be able to sing it.”
Photo from Fogartyville