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Thursday October 23rd, 8pm
St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)
Tickets $20 ($16 members) available online as well as at Highlife Records, Prussin Music, Red Cat Records, Rufus' Guitar Shop, and at the door
“The whole songwriting thing, to me, is mysterious, and I want to keep it that way,”says Montreal-born songwriter Ray Bonneville, who makes a welcome return to The Rogue for his first concert here in over two years.
“I have roughly 12 lines to make a story, so every one has to trigger the listener’s imagination,” he explains. “I want my songs to be believed, so I work on them until I believe them myself.”
With just a few simple words, Bonneville clearly expresses his thoughts, while allowing space for multiple interpretations. Which, of course, is the essence of great songwriting, the kind that earned him an International Blues Challenge solo/duet win in 2012 for his song The Big Easy. Ray continues that theme of New Orleans - the source of much of his soulful, blues-infused songwriting these days - on his latest CD, Easy Gone, his fourth release on Red House Records.
Described by Texas singer Ray Wylie Hubbard as "like gunpowder and opium", Ray Bonneville's distinctively soulful voice and extremely fine, slow-hand guitar picking combine to deliver a warm and richly rewarding concert experience. His guitar work shimmers like stars emerging at dusk; his voice carries the rich, natural timbre of time, though underneath that pearl-like smoothness, one hears its gritty core. His harmonica rhythms add even more texture to his sound.
Come and feel the world through Ray's eyes as he delivers such emotive classics as Who Do Call The Shots, What Katy Did, Under The Bridge, Funny 'Bout Love, Sugar & Riley, and Easy Gone. This Canadian songwriter may reside in Austin these days, but his unique perspective on life was forged in the bilingual environs of Quebec and Louisiana. His story songs shine like the moonlit waters of the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi and the Rio Grande, flowing through his audience with the calming insight and lived-in wisdom of the most seasoned troubadours.
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