Plywood Cowboy Photo credit Kim Tyler Photography

Plywood Cowboy

Photo credit Kim Tyler Photography

NEW LONDON — Live music will return to the region's premiere folk music venue this week when Friday Night Folk at All Souls presents a concert with Plywood Cowboy, a band known for taking audiences "back to dusty country roads, carefree summers, and your radio tuned to music that was soulful and authentic."

Plywood Cowboy has a reputation for "crafting songs ripe with these nostalgic comforts, yet perfectly suited for the soundtrack of modern life."

Featuring Steve Dedman on piano, guitar, and vocals; Emmet Hale on drums; Shane Tanner on bass guitar; Gracin Dorsey on vocals, mandolin, and guitar; and Kat Wallace on violin and vocals. Plywood Cowboy won the 2018 Connecticut Folk Festival band competition and opened for the Grammy-nominated Yarn, Driftwood, and United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins.

“We either rock the hell out of the songs or we dim the lights and cry together,” said Dedman in a statement.

New York Blues Hall of Fame inductee Chris Bergson called Plywood Cowboy “one of the best new bands on the Americana scene.”   

Born in the Connecticut River Valley in 2015, Plywood Cowboy continues to expand nationally. In 2018, the band won the Connecticut Folk Festival band competition, giving them the opportunity to share the stage with Martin Sexton, the Alternate Routes, Jesse Terry, and Upstate Rubdown. The band has also performed with members of Keith Urban’s band and was selected to perform in the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance DJ Showcase.

Friday Night Folk at All Souls, which, since 1989, has "joyfully supported social and environmental justice by bringing live, traditional, contemporary and multicultural folk music to the community in a welcoming and accessible performance space," will continue with live music in October with Shawn Taylor on Oct. 22. 

 — Nancy Burns-Fusaro

Recommended for you

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.