City Arts presents The Song Show, featuring Damien Jurado

On January 6, Damien Jurado, Jesse Sykes, Tomo Nakayama and Macklemore will all perform in one venue: The Song Show.

City Arts editor Mark Baumgarten, who will host the interviews that alternate with live performances from all of these artists at The Song Show (January 6, the Triple Door), already gave you a great preview of the line up. From the January 2010 issue of City Arts Seattle:

"A brooding creator of bone-deep acoustic ballads, Damien Jurado [above] is not shy about sharing his pain with the world. The release of Caught in the Trees, his ninth full-length, in 2008 found the songwriter exorcising the demons of his recent divorce to bone-chilling effect, delivering an impassioned and uneasy composition impossible to ignore. Two years on, Jurado is pushing into new territory, fresh from recording a new album with Richard Swift, an experience Jurado says was “incredible and was everything I hoped for.” The album, St. Bartlett, won’t be released until May, but it is quite possible that Jurado will share some of his new compositions with the audience at this, the inaugural episode of the Song Show at the Triple Door.

For those unfamiliar, the Song Show is Seattle’s showcase for great songwriter. Once every few months, City Arts invites a few of the most talented music-makers in the city to take the stage and perform a few songs solo. Between songs, each musician will be answering prying questions about music and life delivered by the evening’s host (that’s me). It’s a perfect setting for Jurado, a man whose songs are so dense with emotion that they beg to be unpacked. It’s also perfect for the exemplary lineup that will entertain the audience before Jurado takes the stage. 

Taking a moment away from the Sweet Hereafter, alt. country chanteuse Jesse Sykes will give the crowd a preview of her upcoming fourth album and maybe share stories of her beloved dog Ruby. Grand Hallway’s Tomo Nakayama will have tales of his recent Japanese tour, as well as a few stripped-down versions of his band’s shining orchestral pop songs. Rounding out the bill is Macklemore, the Capitol Hill emcee who will relate the personal battle he has waged to get back on stage while performing the songs that have critics heralding his return, a cappella." —Mark Baumgarten

If you're not quite familiar with the artists yet, you may remember Grand Hallway from the cover of our January issue of City Arts Seattle (pick up a copy to read the story now); and Macklemore from the profile Todd Hamm wrote for our December issue. You can hear a few of Damien Jurado's songs via free downloads on his Web site. And here's a lovely music video to preview the sounds of Jesse Sykes:

The Song Show is a quarterly affair presented by City Arts at the Triple Door. Buy tickets online.

Photo by Brooke Fitts