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Arts & Entertainment

An Evening with Steve Forbert

Singer-songwriter Steve Forbert had his first major hit in 1979 when he was only 25 years old, shortly after moving to New York City from his hometown of Meridian, Miss where he had been working as a truck driver. Thirty-plus years later, he's still writing acclaimed songs and has released 14 studio albums, including a Grammy-nominated tribute to another Mississippi legend, Jimmie Rodgers. He performs around the world and even finds time to pursue his latest artistic adventure, this time in photography: an exhibit of his cell phone photographs recently opened at a Nashville art gallery.

From those humble beginnings Steve eventually moved to New York City to focus on his music, and found that his artful mixture of introspective pop, rock, folk, country and soul could not be ignored by the music industry. In 1978, just months after arriving in the big city, Forbert signed his first record deal with CBS Records. His debut album, Alive On Arrival, showcased his distinctive musicality and became one of the year's most acclaimed albums. After being compared to folk-based stars like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, Forbert still managed to forge his own, more modern path with his hit sophomore record Jackrabbit Slim. The highlight of the album was the #11 Billboard hit "Romeo's Tune:" an upbeat song with timeless lyrics sweetened by a poetic sensibility, which has since become Steve's signature style. His brash-yet-sensitive take on songwriting and his unaffected delivery propelled the album up the charts, leading to sold-out shows and a feature in Rolling Stone magazine and even a high profile cameo a Cyndi Lauper's tux-wearing, flower-toting boyfriend at the end of the "Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun" video from 1983.

Steve was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame in 2006, and "Romeo's Tune" was covered by Keith Urban in 2007. Forbert is one of the few artists who can mesmerize a crowd with nothing but a distinctive voice, an acoustic guitar and his trusty harmonica slung around his neck, letting the purity of his music stand on its own. As one reviewer recently remarked, "Forbert is a hardcore troubadour who, artistically speaking, continues to fight the good fight by releasing one excellent album after another and working his ass off show after show to earn every single fan's loyalty."

Meet me in the middle of the night
Let me hear you say everything's alright
Let me smell the moon in your perfume
- "Romeo's Tune"

http://www.steveforbert.com/

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