John Cowan & Darin and Brooke Aldridge Band
Rosťa Čapek presents…
John Cowan & Darin&Brooke Aldridge Band (USA)
The most respected newgrass and bluegrass singer, performing exclusively in Prague!
February 16 and 17, 2018, at the Pyramida Hotel, Prague 6
John Cowan also known as the Voice of Newgrass, has been singing his heart out for thirty-seven years now,
and his soaring vocals have only improved with time. A true innovator, John applies his powerful pipes to genres from country, bluegrass,
and gospel to soul, jazz, and rock-and-roll – often within the space of a single concert.
His ability to move fluidly through multiple styles, and carry mesmerized audiences on the journey with him,
has set him apart as one of the most loved and admired vocal artists of his generation, not just by fans and critics but among fellow musicians as well.
John Cowan was born on August 24, 1953, in Minerva, Ohio, and got his musical start in Louisville, Kentucky in the early 1970s.
But his rise to fame began in earnest in 1974 when he auditioned to play bass for the then up-and-coming New Grass Revival.
The audition went well, and John was offered the gig. It wasn’t until he’d accepted the job that the shy 22-year-old casually mentioned, “By the way, I can sing too.”
With his distinctive, rock-tinged tenor vocal and heart-thumping electric bass, John,
along with fellow New Grass Revival band mates Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, and Curtis Burch, and later Bela Fleck and Pat Flynn,
introduced a new generation of music fans to an explosive, experimental and ultimately, eponymous brand of bluegrass.
After New Grass Revival disbanded in 1990, John went on to record a series of critically acclaimed solo albums.
Over the years, he also has been in high demand as a session musician and boasts vocal and/or bass credits on some
140 recordings, including albums by Garth Brooks, Glen Campbell, Rosanne Cash, Ashley Cleveland, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones,
Hootie and the Blowfish, Janis Ian, Hal Ketchum, Alison Krauss, Delbert McClinton, Reba McEntire, Tim O’Brien, Mark O’Connor, Poco, John Prine, Kenny Rogers,
Darius Rucker, Leon Russell, Darrell Scott, Ricky Skaggs, Travis Tritt, Hank Williams Jr., Jesse Winchester, Wynonna, Zac Brown, The Doobie Brothers
and the Will the Circle Be Unbroken albums.
The John Cowan Band, in various incarnations that inevitably feature some of acoustic music’s finest players, has been a force to be reckoned with these seventeen years – and counting.
John is a fixture and a favorite at major festivals like the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado and Wilkesboro, North Carolina’s “traditional-plus” MerleFest,
and he routinely sells out performing arts theaters and distinguished music clubs and listening rooms around the country.
Stints in his band have helped launch the careers of Noam Pikelny (Punch Brothers), Luke Bulla (Lyle Lovett), and Scott Vestal, among others.
From 2010 he plays regularly with The Doobie Brothers and now also with Darin&Brooke Aldridge Band, where they play a lot of New Grass Revival songs together.
Darin and Brooke Aldridge Band
Darin was a member of legendary band Country Gentlemen (1995-2004), now they join with his wife to duo Darin & Brooke Aldridge. They draw on the traditions of their native North Carolina,
the savvy of a young, gifted band and their own dedication to ingenuity to create the most adventurous album of their career with their latest release, Faster & Farther.
Darin and Brooke Aldridge arrived at the International Bluegrass Music Awards this year as finalists for three awards. They won two of them.
Brooke was named “Female Vocalist” and Darin was recognized as “Mentor of the Year”.
Their bandmate, Carley Arrowood, was also awarded a special ”Momentum Instrumentalist Award”
for her proficiency as an outstanding fiddle player at such a young age.
Grammy winner Matt Menefee plays banjo in the band. He is the creator of the band Cadillac Sky and played and toured with Grammy Winner Mumford and Sons.
Concerts´ photogallery (by Jiří Nedvěd)
