Photo by Jay Blakesberg/Wikimedia Commons
Steve Forbert
At age 21 Steve Forbert, who plays Shank Hall on Friday, left his home in Meridian, Mississippi and took a train to New York City’s East Village. There, in 1976, the folksinger found himself in the middle of the CBGB’s scene and began carving out a career. In 1979, his second album included “Romeo’s Tune,” a song that reached number 11 on Billboard’s chart. That song set Forbert on a winding path which found him navigating record labels and collaborations that included members of Wilco on the album Rocking Horse Head.
In 2002 Forbert recorded Any Old Time, an album paying tribute to country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, who also hailed from Forbert’s hometown. It was Rodgers’ cousin who taught Forbert how to play guitar.
With 20 albums to his credit, Forbert also began releasing albums on the Rolling Tide Records imprint. To date he has released 14 of these exclusives, documenting his heartfelt story songs. More info here shankhall.com/schedule.php
