Kenny Roby will be performing with his full band at the Looking Glass Artists Center’s Black Box, 405 N. Lee St., on Thursday, Jan. 24. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Opening the show will be the Tripp Edwards Band.
In the mid to late 90s, as a founding member of the band Six String Drag, Kenny Roby established himself as one of the main songwriting forces behind the Americana/Roots Rock movement. Six String Drag played a major role in the early success of Steve Earle and Jack Emerson’s E Squared label.
Roby and his band toured nationally with Earle and other acts and also gained a strong following on the east coast and the midwest. The band was featured on the soundtrack to the Grammy nominated film “You Can Count On Me” and garnered much critical acclaim for their E Squared release High Hat. In 1998 the band broke up and Roby continued with a solo career releasing two more critically acclaimed albums Mercury’s Blues and Rather Not Know.
Roby’s writing and singing have been praised by Billboard, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Boston Phoenix, The Washington Post, Option, No Depression, Performing Songwriter and many other publications. Kenny has also been featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered and Acoustic Cafe and has received extensive national airplay on NPR, Americana and AAA radio stations.
Ryan Adams has claimed Roby as as an influential writer on his and his former band Whiskeytown’s music. In 2004 Adams featured Roby’s song Rather Not Know (from title track from the same album) on NPR’s All Songs Considered. (in a segment called You Play the Dj: Artist’s Picks) As well, Adams recently mentioned Roby in Rolling Stone as the best songwriter that not many people have heard of.
Roby’s new album, The Mercy Filter, leans much less on Americana than previous efforts but dips and turns more into straight up rock, experimentation, Beatle-esque grooves, and soulful ballads. The band on the record features Scott McCall (Two Dollar Pistols, New Electric Combo), Mark O’Brien (Two Dollar Pistols, Barn Burning), David Kim (Les Dirt Clods, Houston Brothers) and Justin Faircloth (Houston Brothers).

Tickets are $7 at the door. $5 advance tickets are available at Tastebuds Coffee and Tea, 106 N. Main St; at Pottery 101 at 101 S. Main St.; and at LGAC, 405 N. Lee St.

This show is a String Fellows Sessions presentation. Be watching for many more String Fellows shows in the future.
For more info contact salisburyartists@gmail.com