PUTNEY — On Thursday, June 26, at 7:30 p.m., Martin Grosswendt brings his masterful take on American roots music to the intimate stage of Sandglass Theater on Kimball Hill.
In this rare appearance, Grosswendt is accompanied by guitarist and singer Susanne Salem-Schatz.
Grosswendt, an extraordinary instrumentalist and powerful singer, covers a wide range of American roots music. He is particularly well known as an interpreter of the country blues of the 1920s and 1930s.
His performances encompass the breadth and depth of American roots music, from classic Delta and East Coast blues to early country music from the upland South to Creole and Cajun music from Southwest Louisiana. His singing and mastery of numerous regional styles on guitar, mandolin, five-string banjo, and fiddle make his concerts events that audiences don't soon forget.
Grosswendt began his musical career in the early 1970s as a session player at the original Philo Records in Vermont, recording with and accompanying musicians including Utah Phillips, Jim Ringer, Mary McCaslin, and Rosalie Sorrells.
His first recording, “Dog on a Dance Floor,” was released by Philo in 1979.
As a solo artist, Grosswendt has shared the stage with legendary performers such as Sonny Terry and Brownie Magee, Sam and Dave, Taj Mahal, Paul Geremia, and Henny Youngman.
In recent years, Grosswendt has delved even more deeply into Southern roots music. He plays bass (and occasionally fiddle, guitar, and accordion) and sings with the popular Cajun dance band Magnolia, and plays guitar and sings with the Rhode Island Bluegrass super group The Pegheads.
A devotee of older country music and Western swing, he plays Telecaster and sings with the Boston-based Honky Tonk Masquerade.