© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

Live At The Linda: "Going Solo"

Steve Katz/ John McEuen/ Richard Julian
Steve Katz/ John McEuen/ Richard Julian
Steve Katz/ John McEuen/ Richard Julian

Each Wednesday and Sunday evening at 8 p.m. “Live At The Linda” brings you some of the best musical acts to grace the stage at The Linda - WAMC's Performing Arts Studio. This week, we feature three artists who have branched out from successful bands to pursue something new: Steve Katz (Blood Sweat & Tears), Richard Julian (The Little Willies), and John McEuen (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band).

Steve Katz is a guitarist, singer, and record producer who is best known as a member of the Blood, Sweat & Tears. Fun fact. Steve Katz's professional career started in the late fifties on the local Schenectady, television program Teenage Barn. So he’s also got local roots and apparently teenagers in the 50s hung out in barns? Steve was a founding member and played with Blood, Sweat & Tears for six years, during which time the group won three Grammys, were voted best band by the Playboy Jazz and Pop Poll two years in a row, and won three major Downbeat awards, to name a few. Steve wrote many songs during his tenure with BS&T, including his well-loved “Sometimes in Winter.” Since leaving BST Steve has produced albums for Lou Reed, transitioned into an executive role with A&R and Mercury Records, become an ambassador of all things Gaelic, released a solo album and he lives in Connecticut with his wife Alison their African Grey Parrots, TuTu and KuKu , there dogs Paco and Frankie and Guinee pig , Sid. This concert is from 2013, here is Steve Katz, solo, live at The Linda.

A gifted songwriter that has garnered much respect in the underground, folk singer Richard Julian demonstrates a talent for strong melodies and his own distinct sound. Most famous for his time with the Nora Jones lead The Little Willies Richard has paved a rod of song all his own. Julian became a classically trained pianist at a young age and found himself writing his own songs in his early teens. A planned move to Los Angeles got him as far as Las Vegas, where he became a keyboard player for several big-name cocktail singers. After spending a year in the town, he moved to New York City and managed to score a recording contract within a few months of arriving. Releasing a self-titled debut on Blackbird/Sire, Julian got his name out nationally and received some good notices. But the following year's Smash Palace was a more varied effort, showcasing his talents for orchestrating many different instruments at once. An excellent effort, it still didn't make much of a financial difference and his label left him before 2000. Still playing live and working on new material, Good Life arrived in 2002 and coincided with a cover of the first album's "Young and Free" by Art Garfunkel. This show is from the Linda vault circa 2009, here is Richard Julian live at The Linda.

John McEuen brings with him 45+ years of worldwide performing with his banjo, fiddle, guitar, and mandolin. Often referred to as 'the String Wizard', he weaves stories of his travels and family life (he has raised 7 kids), taking us through where his musical path has taken him.

A founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1966, John instigated the 1972 classic “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” album, (inducted in to the Library of Congress as 'one of America's most important recordings). He has Emmy nominations, Grammy Awards, CMA acclaim, The Western Heritage Award, and many other accolades

Proud to be an integral part of the first American band to go to Russia (in 1977!), John's love of performing is evident when during his shows he takes us 'behind the curtain' of the music world that so many of us know of only as listeners, and shows us how we have all been a part of it, more than we may know.

McEuen's XM radio show, Acoustic Traveller, is in its 6th year, and you can find his new Americana Music Show on Syndicatednews.net (of which he is CEO) As winner of the 2010 Best of the West Performer award from the Folk Alliance organization, John's show is sure to be one enjoyed by all. He also won Best Bluegrass Album Grammy that year for his production of The Crow – by high school best friend Steve Martin. John in June of 2013 was honored with the Charlie Poole Lifetime Achievement Award in North Carolina.

With music from 1860's to now, original songs laced with known hits, and a special tribute to the 'Circle' album music (and the stories behind it), it all comes to life in an evening of acoustic music in overdrive.

We were out of our heads proud to host John earlier in the year, and call him a friend. From February 2022, here is John McEuen live at The Linda.

Thanks for sticking with us this week. Tune in next week for our “British Invasion,” featuring James Elkington 2017, Bobby Long 2011, and Ian McLagan 2014. For more information about The Linda or any upcoming events follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or visit thelinda.org.

Stay Connected
Peter Hughes is the General Manager and Programmer/Presenter for The Linda: WAMC Northeast Public Radio’s Live Performing Arts Studio. He is also the on-air host of "Live at the Linda" a twice-weekly variety music program on WAMC on-air and online that broadcasts concerts and content both recorded and live from The Linda studio in Albany NY, but also interviews and conversations with artists of all stripes.