ALL AGES
STANDING ROOM ONLY
Shinyribs reassembles the American song bag like a picker in a junkyard; Texas singer-songwriter, East Tx blues, Louisiana swamp n’ rhythm, honky tonk, Oklahoma swing, Golden-Triangle Cajun, and Arkansas jazz are all filtered through the singular vision of Kevin Russell, one of Austin’s most celebrated and criminally underrated singer-songwriters.
The Austin-based supergroup has entered a bold new chapter with the small baller “Shortribs” configuration — a tightly arranged powerhouse built to showcase what has always been at the heart of the Shinyribs experience: Russell’s legendary songwriting chops, his iconic voice, and the infamous hi-jinks of the self-proclaimed world’s oldest living male exotic dancer.
At the rhythmic core is Keith Langford on drums — Russell’s musical partner of 30 years, a bond forged in the crucible of legendary, The Gourds— and as essential to the Shinyribs sound as the backbeat itself.
Mason Hankamer holds down the low end on bass, pulling double duty as co-producer of the last 3 Ribs platters and musical director, tightening the arrangements and the show into something leaner and more purposeful than ever. The Delta Dawns — both hailing from the famous Memphis/Mississippi alluvial plain — have been elevated to a full dynamic singing sisterhood: Kellee Broadway, who doubles on percussion, and Schaefer Llana, who shakes the chandeliers and plays some guitar too.
A Shinyribs show these days runs the gamut — from tongue-in-cheek winks and nudges to poignant stories of family, loss, grief, and love. The poetic joy joins the musical melancholy like a rainbow over the swamp. Above and below, a human collaboration of deep knowledge and soul, expressed with a grace and groove unlike anything else.
Shinyribs has been nominated and won a slew of awards and honors, but you will be the one going home with that Shiny trophy feeling. We are so excited you get to see Shinyribs soon. Lucky you! If you’ve never heard of Shinyribs, that’s a good thing. Now you’ve got something to look forward to. Let’s try and keep this a secret. We don’t want a bunch of dilettantes and phonies ruining our good time.
Seth Walker is a revered modern Americana artist; a three dimensional talent combining a gift for melody and lyric alongside a rich, Gospel-drenched, Southern-inflected voice with a true blue knack for getting around on the guitar. Currently residing in Asheville after stints living in Nashville, New Orleans and Austin, he’s used those experiences wisely, soaking up the sounds and absorbing the musical lineage of these varied places.
With a bluesman’s respect for roots and tradition, coupled with an appreciation for contemporary songwriting, Seth sublimely weaves a range of styles with warmth and grace. All Music declares, “Walker is deft and elegant, weaving together sounds and stories in a way that has a quiet, lasting impact,” but perhaps Country Standard Time said it best: “If you subscribe to the Big Tent theory of Americana, then Seth Walker –with his blend of blues, gospel, pop, R&B, rock, and a dash country—just might be your poster boy.” His latest album, Why The Worry, is out now.
