Jane Onojafe
925.931.4855
jonojafe@cityofpleasantonca.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TONY FURTADO: Americana roots music at its finest. Pleasanton native son and nationally celebrated artist Tony Furtado returns to the Tri-Valley for a special concert appearance with his trio. Joining Furtado are current Grand National Fiddle Champion Luke Price, and Sam Howard (of Ruth Moody/Wailin Jenny’s fame) on acoustic bass. An evocative and soulful singer, a wide-ranging songwriter and a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist adept on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele, Furtado mixes and matches sounds and styles ‘with the flair of a master chef.’ Sunday, October 11, 7:00 p.m. Reserved seating tickets are $17.00 – $27.00; available at www.firehousearts.org, 925-931-4848, or at the center Box Office, 4444 Railroad Avenue, Pleasanton.
Press Release
Tony Furtado Brings Roots Music Home
Pleasanton native returns for Firehouse Concert
Pleasanton, Calif. Tony Furtado embodies Americana roots music. An evocative and soulful singer, a wide-ranging songwriter and a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist adept on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele, Furtado mixes and matches sounds and styles with the flair of a master chef. Tony has been dubbed “an indie label’s dream artist.”
Pleasanton native son and nationally celebrated artist Tony Furtado returns to the Tri-Valley for a special concert appearance with his trio on Sunday, October 11, at 7:00 p.m. at the intimate Firehouse Arts Center. Joining Furtado are current Grand National Fiddle Champion Luke Price, and Sam Howard (of Ruth Moody/Wailin Jenny’s fame) on acoustic bass.
Reserved seating tickets are $17.00 – $27.00, and can be purchased online at www.firehousearts.org, by calling 925-931-4848, and in person at the Box Office, 4444 Railroad Avenue, Pleasanton. Box Office hours are Wednesday – Friday 12:00 noon-6:00 p.m. and Saturdays 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., and two hours prior to performances.
Born in Pleasanton, California of Portuguese and Italian heritage, Furtado first attracted national attention in 1987, when he won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas. A second victory at Winfield, in 1991, book-ended his years performing full-time with Grant Street. Then in the 90s Tony recorded six critically acclaimed albums for the Rounder Records label, one of the country’s preeminent independent record companies, collaborating with such master musicians as Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Kelly Joe Phelps and Mike Marshall.
He added slide guitar, singing and songwriting to his musical toolbox, and in the late 90s began leading his own band, and logged tours with such legendary musicians as Gregg Allman, David Lindley, Derek Trucks and Sonny Landreth. “I love playing live,” he says. “All my energy is focused on the love of playing music and rolling with the moment. It’s a give and take from the audience to the stage, and back. And the music that is created is something that otherwise might not occur without that flow.”
Having now recorded and produced almost a dozen CDs for various labels, Tony enthusiastically describes his newest CD, The Bell, as “the most personal of my career.” According to his website, (the album) “represents a return to Tony’s banjo-playing roots, with the banjo and cello-banjo more prominent than in recent years; the original songs concern such weighty themes as the loss of his father, the birth of his son and his own creative rebirth…It’s his music, done his way.”
David Lindley sums up: “Tony Furtado is a major musical force without a doubt. He has his black belt in voice and bottleneck guitar and his banjo playing scares the (blank) out of me.”
The Firehouse Arts Center is dedicated to inspiring passion through the arts. The center is comprised of the 227-seat Firehouse Theater, the 2000 square foot Harrington Gallery, classrooms and rehearsal space, the grand atrium lobby, and the famous interior glass bridge. With world-class performing and visual arts, exciting interactive programs for all ages, and a state-of-the-art venue which opened in 2010, we combine the sophistication of the culturally rich Bay Area arts landscape with the hospitality and intimacy of our own home town. The Firehouse Arts Center is located at 4444 Railroad Avenue in downtown Pleasanton. Media: Jane Onojafe, jonojafe@cityofpleasantonca.gov, or 925-931-4855
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