Seldom has an artist, for me, engendered such confidence and charm on his/her first seconds on stage. Landry looked immediately at home in these wonderful but for him, rare performance surroundings and in front of 200 strangers (certainly to his live shows). I was first attracted to Landry via his latest long-play recording which made it to my list of best albums of 2019. In effect, I’m a very new fan here to listen and learn. I was not disappointed…

Immediately I was struck by his natural, smooth and expressive baritone vocal, and the his first song’s compelling melody that forced one to listen intently. Like Blackwell, Landry’s guitar and harmonica playing was quite beautiful and a strong part of every song package. The next thing that hit me was his stagecraft and easy ability to communicate with his audience. Every song came with an introductory story and/or a humorous quote (one of the famous singer/songwriters he befriended said “I spend 95% of my time with women and drunk, the other 5% is wasted.”). Every song meant something including lost love, close friendships, parental relationship, and more.

The setlist was sublime with great songs emenating from several albums dating from 2007 (’Mutiny’), 2011 (’Piety & Desire’), 2015 (’Just Like You’), 2017 (’The Woman You Are’) and of course several from his new 2019 album. I also welcomed the diversity of pace and mood. The quality of this man’s output is outstanding and I would venture to say that as a perveyor of Americana music he has few peers. Lyrics are simple and direct, melodies as powerful as I’ve heard anywhere.

So, what were the highlights for me? So strong was the performance that picking highlights seems a bit like sacrilege but ‘The Place They Call Home’ offered both supreme quality, strong emotion and total accessibility. The more upbeat ‘The Wolf’ early in the show set the show on an exciting path. ‘A Different Tune’ offered both intimacy and quiet contemplation with guitar solos of superb quality. In fact several songs were opened with extended and quite beautiful guitar introductions and passages such as in ‘Fennario’ and the quite brilliant encore piece ‘Portrait Of Astrid’.

The audience loved the show which became a sort of conversation between friends. I learned a lot from a distinctive singer/songwriter of the highest quality and easy accessability. This was a masterful and memorable performance.

Setlist

Funeral In My Heart
Denver Girls
The Woman You Are
The Wolf*
Waiting For Your Love
Just Like You
A Different Tune*
Dixie
Lawless Soirez
The Place They Call Home*
Piety & Desires
Fennario
Emily
Mutiny
Bad Love
Portrait Of Astrid*

*From New Album (SKELETON AT THE BANQUET)

http://www.gilllandrymusic.com/

Biography

Gill Landry is a Louisiana-born singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist.

Prior to releasing his first solo album, Landry and singer Woody Pines formed an old-time jug band called the Kitchen Syncopators in New Orleans, LA. Starting in 1998, the group toured, busked, and issued a number of self-released albums before calling it quits in 2004. When Old Crow Medicine Shows founding member, Chris Fuqua, went on hiatus that same year Landry was offered the job as his replacement and remained a full-time member and contributing songwriter even after Fuqua’s return. Around 2007 Landry was signed to Nettwerk Records, which released his solo debut, THE BALLAD OF LAWLESS SOIREZ. A mix of gritty, blues-inflected folk tunes and rootsy Southern Americana, he followed it with 2011’s self-release PIETY & DESIRE, which featured guests artists like Brandi Carlile, The Felice Brothers, and Jolie Holland. A pair of Medicine Show albums followed in 2012 and 2014, after which Landry released his self-titled third solo outing on ATO Records in early 2015 which featured a duet with Laura Marling. Spending much of the following year touring as a solo artist, Landry returned in 2017 with the moody LOVE RIDES A DARK HORSE, his second effort for ATO.

His fifth album SKELETON AT THE BANQUET came out on January 24th 2020.

“Recorded in a south Nashville apartment and produced by Landry himself, the album pitches its tent in the four-way intersection between Dylan-inspired folk-rock, atmospheric Americana, dusty cowboy songs and street busker ballads. Landry gets a little help from his friends along the way, duetting with British folkie Laura Marling on the lush, lovely “Take This Body” and recruiting fellow Nashville transplant Robert Ellis to add some mariachi-inspired fretwork to ‘Fennario’.”The result is a record that’s too far removed from Old Crow Medicine Show’s old-time rave-ups to stand in that band’s shadow — and probably too good, too.”

- Rolling Stone Country

“…these songs, and especially Landry’s honest performance, resonate long after the last note fades. They beckon you back to further absorb his heartfelt, occasionally comforting, musings on the trials and tribulations of romance-gone-sour. It’s a subject most of us have experienced, can easily relate to and one that Landry explores with taste and subtle, refined passion.”

- American Songwriter Magazine

2020 Tour

Feb 19 Wed The Old Queens Head London, United Kingdom

Mar 5 Thu   lille aeske arthouse Boulder Creek, CA, United States
Mar 6 Fri     The Lost Church San Francisco, CA, United States
Mar 7 Sat    The Lost Church Santa Rosa, CA, United States
Mar 12 Thu Fremont Abbey Arts Center Seattle, WA, United States
Mar 14 Sat  Sam Bond’s Garage Eugene, OR, United States
Mar 15 Sun The Old Church Portland, OR, United States