Martin Grosswendt comes to Saturday Night in Marblehead January 21

Saturday Night in Marblehead will present renowned country blues and Americana musician Martin Grosswendt, a nominee for the W. C. Handy Blues Award, on Saturday, January 21.

An instrumentalist—playing guitar, mandolin, five-string banjo, and fiddle—as well as a singer, Grosswendt is best known for his interpretations of 1920s and 1930s blues. He began his career in the 1970s as a session player at Philo Records in Vermont, recording with U. Utah Phillips, Mary McCaslin, and other artists—and at the same time began a solo career playing music of legendary bluesmen such as Charley Patton, Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, and Blind Willie McTell. He has shared the stage, as a solo artist, with Jesse Winchester, Tom Rush, Sam and Dave, Taj Mahal, NRBQ, and other legendary performers.

Grosswendt’s most recent recordings include The Ragpicker String Band, with Rich DelGrosso and Mary Flower, which was nominated for Best Acoustic Album of the Year by the Blues Music Awards, and Old Songs, New Hats, recorded with singing partner Susanne Salem-Schatz.

Renowned folksinger and songwriter Bob Franke, artistic director of Saturday Night in Marblehead, says, “Martin Grosswendt knows and loves American vernacular music as deeply and plays it as well as anybody alive today. Country blues, old time dance music, composed songs that don’t suck, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and a Chaplinesque wit all come together in Martin’s shows to embody a one-person evening of truly enjoyable and truly American down-home musical theater.”

The concert begins at 8 pm; doors will open at 7:30. Tickets, available at the door, are $15. The Church of St. Andrew (www.standrewsmhd.org) is at 135 Lafayette Street (Route 114) in Marblehead, near the Salem line. The church is handicapped accessible.

For publicity: Penny Stratton, pennystratton@comcast.net

Bob Franke can be reached at bob@bobfranke.com