Chris Smither celebrates new "Hundred Dollar Valentine" CD with 2 shows at The Focal Point

Chris Smither celebrates his 12th studio CD, HUNDRED DOLLAR VALENTINE, with two performances at The Focal Point , 2720 Sutton Avenue in Maplewood on Saturday, October 13.  Showtimes are 7:00 & 9:30 pm.  Tickets are $25 advance, $30 at the door and are now available at www.thefocalpoint.org or by calling 314-560-2778. 

Hundred Dollar Valentine, Chris Smither’s 12th studio
record, is a masterwork.  It sports the unmistakable sound which has become his trademark: fingerpicked acoustic guitar and evocative sonic textures meshed with spare, brilliant songs, delivered in a bone-wise, hard-won voice.  It is also his first recording to feature all self-penned, original songs.  Along with longtime producer, David “Goody” Goodrich, other featured musicians on Hundred Dollar Valentine are drummer Billy Conway (Morphine, Treat Her Right), Jimmy Fitting on harmonica, and Goodrich’s ex-Groovasaurus bandmates, Anita Suhanin (vocals) and violinist Ian Kennedy (Page/Plant, Lemonheads, Juliana Hatfield, Peter Wolf, Susan Tedeschi).  MOJO called it a “Perfect recording from a well travelled blues singer,” and awarded it 5 STARS. 

Having distilled his own signature sound of blues and folk for over 40 years, Chris Smither is truly an American original. A profound songwriter, Chris continues to draw deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers with this 14th record of his lengthy career.  From his early days as the New Orleans transplant in the Boston folk scene, through his wilderness years, to his reemergence in the 1990s as one of America’s most distinctive acoustic performers, Chris Smither continues to hone his unique sound. He has always traveled his own road, eschewing sophisticated studio tricks and staying true to his musical vision.  He has developed and maintained loyal friendships over the years with kindred-spirited musicians like Bonnie Raitt and the late Stephen Bruton while at the same time throughout his career been inspired by and inspiring to today's next generation of musicians. Reviewers continue to praise his dazzling guitar work, gravelly voice and songwriting. The New York Times: With a weary, well-traveled voice and a serenely intricate finger-picking style, Mr. Smither turns the blues into songs that accept hard-won lessons and try to make peace with fate.