Tuesday 02.15.11: Susan James CD release party featuring Susan James, Tony Gilkyson/Kip Boardman, Old Californio, Evie Sands, The Quarter After, Double Naught Spycar, Anny Celsi & Nelson Bragg and others @ Echo

Susan James
Critically-acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician Susan James’ versatile voice and virtuosic guitar work engage her fans on disc and onstage, as she has toured nationally as a solo act with artists including Lindsey Buckingham, Bob Weir, Ratdog, and Richard Buckner, as well as opening for artists such as Son Volt, Rufus Wainright, Billy Bragg, Richard Thompson, David Lindley, Daniel Lanois and others.

This California native picked up the guitar at eight years old and never looked back, eventually earning a UCLA ethnomusicology degree. Her recording career was jumpstarted in the late ‘90s when a legendary Apple Computer founder heard her playing a Bay Area coffeehouse and handed her a paper bag of cash to finance her first album, Life Between Two Worlds.

“In her 45-minute opening set, James shows that she is already a master at exploring the emotional and sonic possibilities of the minimalist format of voice and acoustic guitar …James long blond hair and folk-based songs have caused her to be compared to Joni Mitchell. The inventiveness of her eightsong set, however, showed that James is perhaps most like Mitchell because she is like no one else.” – Noel Davis, Los Angeles Times

7PM / $5; $10 w/CD / 18+