Lambchop with M. Ward

"ItÌs downright poetic that the boldest statement Lambchop could have made was also the softest one."ÛToronto Sun

Led by songwriter Kurt Wagner, Nashville's decidedly leftfield ensemble Lambchop have furthered their already remarkable sound. This year they've followed up Nixon (2000), which updated the link between Nashville country and Memphis soul, with the surprising Is a Woman, a recording of warm pastoral beauty and unabashed, unironic sentiment that demonstrates the band's new dimensions.

Revealing Wagner's art school roots and fascination with avant-garde ambience, Is a Woman leaves behind the erroneous "alt-country" label that Lambchop had been tagged with. Live, the 12-piece ensemble summon slow fire, stirring up Wagner's smoky-voiced ruminations. As a review of a recent performance notes, "every verse is like a symphony...the sound is impossibly deep and luxurious, the atmosphere veering between icy majesty and smoldering understated passion" (The Guardian).

Neo-folk talent M. Ward opens the concert. The young artist from Oregon recently released his second CD, End of Amnesia, to international acclaim.