Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore - Almost Acoustic Duo @ The Siren

Roots music legends, the Grammy winning Dave Alvin and Grammy nominee Jimmie Dale Gilmore, decided to join forces and play music together in 2017. Although Texas born Gilmore was twice named Country Artist of the Year by Rolling Stone, and California native Alvin first came to fame in the hard rocking rhythm and blues band The Blasters, they discovered that their musical roots in old blues and folk music are exactly the same. “a modern-day Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson” - Texas Monthly "Americana legends" – Santa Cruz Sentinel Since that discovery, Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore have recorded two critically acclaimed albums, TexiCali and Downey to Lubbock, and continued to tour, rocking the stage together with their band The Guilty Ones. "Alvin and Gilmore stay true to their rustic roots and weave a traditional tapestry that allows them to leave an individual imprint as well." - Lee Zimmerman/Alternate Root “…one of the most enduring musical partnerships on the planet.” – Folkalley.com As they hit the road in 2026, this time they will bring you the Almost Acoustic Duo. Friends for over 30 years, their lively shows feature songs from the duo’s albums, as well as classic original compositions from their individual albums, while swapping songs, telling stories, and sharing their life experiences on stage. A show you won’t want to miss! "The pair has established a personal and musical chemistry that seems as natural as a morning sunrise” - John Roos/Patch.com SF “superb and surprising” - Philadelphia Inquirer “effortlessly cool…tender and beautiful” – Magnet Magazine “…Jimmie and I have been extremely blessed in that we’ve both had fans who’ve stuck with us through all the changes. People will go with us through a lot of our musical moods because a good song can be done a million different ways.” – Dave Alvin Dave Alvin, a Grammy Award winning songwriter, singer, producer and self described barroom guitarist, is considered by many to be one of the pivotal pioneers of Americana. A fourth generation Californian, Alvin grew up in the town of Downey and got his musical education by listening to late night border radio stations, watching his older cousins play guitar and banjo, collecting dusty, rare 78s, and sneaking underage into bars like the Ash Grove with his brother Phil to see their legendary blues heroes perform live and learn from them first hand. Since forming the highly influential Roots Rock/R+B band The Blasters, with his brother in 1979, and through his long, critically acclaimed solo career after he left the group in1986, Dave Alvin has mixed his varied musical and literary influences into his own unique, updated version of traditional American music, with highlights including songs like “Fourth of July”, “Long White Cadillac”, “King of California”, “Harlan County Line” and “Marie Marie”. Combining blues, folk, rockabilly, Bakersfield country, surf and garage rock and roll with lyrical inspiration from writers like Raymond Chandler and John Steinbeck, Alvin says his songs are “like California...a big, messy, melting pot”. Alvin has recorded with such diverse artists as Bobby Rush, Tom Waits, John Mellencamp, Little Milton, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Dick Dale, Carolyn Wonderland, X and The Knitters, while his songs have been recorded by performers like Los Lobos, Dwight Yoakam, James McMurtry, Buckwheat Zydeco, Joe Ely, Marshall Crenshaw, Shakin' Stevens, Tom Russell and Nanci Griffith. His music has well also been featured in various movies/TV shows including The Sopranos, Justified, Girls, Crybaby, Dusk To Dawn, The Wire and True Blood. Special projects include Alvin reuniting with his brother Phil for two blues albums including the Grammy nominated Common Ground, a reunion album with alt/punk legends The Flesh Eaters, two albums with his Psych/Rock/Improvisational super group, The Third Mind, and two albums with beloved Texas Flatlander Jimmie Dale Gilmore including their 2024 release TexiCali, Recent achievements include the 2022 release of his book New Highway: Selected Lyrics, Poems, Prose, Essays, Eulogies and Blues, and in 2023 he was honored with The Chris Strachwitz Legacy Award from The Arhoolie Foundation for his lifetime commitment to American Roots Music. Dave can usually be found somewhere with his band, The Guilty Ones, performing in a barroom, or scribbling notes for his memoir in his journal while on some interstate highway headed to his next gig.

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