Actor, storyteller, musician, Ronny Cox in Marblehead on Friday

On Friday, April 12, the me&thee coffeehouse in Marblehead presents a special evening with Ronny Cox. Ronny’s biography describes him as an actor, singer-songwriter, and storyteller, but as far as he’s concerned, “storyteller” definitely comes first. He confirms that fact while delivering one fascinating anecdote after another about his music career, his vast experience on stage and screen, and about this marriage to Mary, his high-school sweetheart. Experiencing a Ronny Cox show is most memorable.

In concert, Ronny Cox captivates with stories and song, employing that age-old art form to forge connections that don’t happen as an actor. “I love acting,” he insists. “But not as much as music. With acting, there’s an imaginary fourth wall between you and the audience. With my show, a profound one-on-one sharing can take place.” “Personally greeting arriving audiences, he sets a tone of warmth and familiarity even before taking the stage. “I want it to feel like when were kids sharing stories and songs with our family,” he says, adding “To me, the story is as important as the song.” He didn’t begin telling his own until he hit 50, when he took a break from acting, went to Nashville and a record deal. He learned songcraft from the label’s hired guns; they liked his knack for creating vivid, cinematic imagery — a byproduct of his work in productions from Deliverance, Bound for Glory, RoboCop, The Onion Field, Total Recall and Beverly Hills Cop to the final season of TV’s Nashville.

Obviously, Ronny’s guitar-strumming “Dueling Banjos” scene in Deliverance wouldn’t have become one of filmdom’s most iconic moments if he couldn’t connect as an actor. But he’s proud that his debut role, and many since, came because he could play. For decades, acting paid the bills. He’s played dozens of “men of authority”: bad guys and presidents. Ronny eventually combined his talents for the 2017 film Pure Country: Pure Heart with Willie Nelson. In it, he sings an original, “Silver City.” Another, “I’ll Waltz You Home,” is on Nashville’s final soundtrack, as well as his 2012 album, Ronny, Rad and Karen, with Radoslav Lorkovic and Karen Mal.
Ronny is often found at events like Folk Alliance International, Woodyfest in Woody Guthrie’s Okemah, Oklahoma, and Florida’s 30A Songwriters Festival. He’s recorded ten albums, a DVD (Songs, Stories . . . .and Out & Out Lies) and an audio autobiography (Dueling Banjos: The Deliverance of Drew); 2017’s Lost in the Words, Lost in the Music was recorded live.

Radoslav Lorkovic will accompany Ronny for this show, making this his third time playing the me&thee. He draws from a multitude of influences ranging from elegant classical and jazz styles to the rawest, most basic blues, country and soul. Rad has taken on an unusually broad musical spectrum and refined it into his distinctive piano style. His tenue on the R&B and folk circuits has culminated in five critically acclaimed solo recordings and numerous appearances on the recordings of and performances with artists including Odetta, Jimmy LaFave, Ribbon of Highway Woody Guthrie Tribute, Greg Brown, Richard Shindell, Ellis Paul, Ronny Cox, Dave Moore, Andy White, and Bo Ramsey.

me&thee coffeehouse

28 Mugford Street, Marblehead, MA

www.meandthee.org

Tickets are available until 5:00 on Friday and then at the door at 7:30 p.m.