Bowerbird is excited to present Glenn Jones & Laura Baird at University Lutheran.
Glenn Jones is a master of American Primitive Guitar, a style invented in the late 1950s John Fahey, whose traditional fingerpicking techniques and wide-ranging influences were used to create modern original compositions. Jones, who led the post-rock ensemble Cul de Sac, brings his own made-up tunings, the use of custom-crafted partial capos, and a highly skilled picking style on both banjo and guitar, to create personal compositions that are lyrical, emotive and elegant. What sets him apart from the myriad guitarists playing today is his ability to tell stories with the guitar and banjo, and to convey a range of emotions. This process starts with the compositions themselves and carries through to his selection of recording environment and engineer.
Jones turned away from standard tuning years ago, inventing tunings as a way of escaping the known. The pieces he writes in these tunings are his way of navigating new and unfamiliar landscapes. “But it’s my hope,” he says, “that what you hear are not the tunings and partial capos and all that, but the music — the feeling within these pieces.” Fleeting is a journey that Jones invites his listeners to take with him.
Laura Baird is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and recording engineer. Since 2001 she has performed and recorded as The Baird Sisters with her sister, Meg Baird. She enjoys crossing and blending genres like folk, pop, classical, and electronic, and frequently collaborates with other artists and musicians who work in and between these genres.