Preview

Dychweliad i'w groesawu gan y cyfansoddwr ifanc canu gwlad/gwerin/canu'r felan o Wisconsin. Caneuon llenyddol cain, chwarae gitâr hyfryd, a llais hindreuliedig yn cyfuno i gynnig noson gartrefol a chyfoethog o gerddoriaeth.

For the first of an occasional series of 'outreach' solo gigs in the intimate surroundings of the Foelallt Arms, Llanddewi Brefi, we're delighted to welcome back this outstanding young Wisconsin country/folk/blues singer-songwriter. Jeffrey first appeared at the Talbot back in 2003, as part of the Chautauqua Tour, and his 'Crossing Mississippi' is the opening track on our Live! at the Talbot CD.

Although he's still in his late twenties, Jeffrey has built an enviable reputation as a writer and performer of rare maturity and substance. His two critically acclaimed CDs, Miles from the Lightning (2001) and 2004's Stripping Cane, are packed with emotive and atmospheric songs that record, with compassion and wisdom, the day-to-day lives and dreams of small-town backwoods Americans: Foucault's literary songcraft bears comparison with the work of Steinbeck, Faulkner, and Townes Van Zandt. His guitar work is an essay in nimble blues-inflected technique, while his outdoor-weathered voice lends a timeless sepia beauty to his live performance. For anyone who cares about quality acoustic songwriting and the future of American folk music, this is a night not to be missed.

'His music is the kind so many aspire to but never attain: beat-up troubadour folk whittled to dolorous perfection. **** ' - Uncut

'Striking ... strong songs, a voice and blues guitar that sound wiser tha his years' - Mojo

'... moving, very personal and fabulously charismatic ... this is a serious artist with great songs and words spilling from his pen ...' - No Depression

PLEASE NOTE: Capacity at the Foelallt is strictly limited, so ALL TICKETS ARE TO BE SOLD IN ADVANCE - available from the regular ticket outlets or the Cambria Arts office (see front of flyer or website). Book NOW to avoid disappointment.

Review

Many, probably the majority, of the aficionados who packed into the intimate surroundings of the Foelallt for this, the first of a projected occasional series of midweek 'outreach' showcase gigs for touring songwriters, were already hip to the qualities of this highly respected young Wisconsin singer-songwriter - his Talbot appearance alongside his friends Peter Mulvey and Kris Delmhorst (now Jeffrey's wife!) in early 2003, and the resultant appearance of his 'Crossing Mississippi' as the opening track on our 'Live at the Talbot' CD, made a big impression on us all, so it was a real delight to welcome him back. He held us all enthralled with songs from his 'Miles from the Lightning' (2001) and 'Stripping Cane' (2004) CDs, both favourites with the critics as well as here at HQ, together with some intriguing covers - indeed, he kicked off with a lesser-known Bob Dylan song, and threw in a couple by his friend the inimitable Greg Brown (''Cept You & Me Babe' and 'Downtown'), Billy Bragg's incisive 'Between the Wars', and a nice take on the venerable 'St James Infirmary' during the course of the evening.

It's Jeffrey's own songs that shine the brightest, though. His lyrics, sparse and to the point, often elegiac, are honed with the true poet's touch, revealing Foucault to be a wordsmith and storyteller of exceptional standing: examples abound: in 'Every New Leaf Over', for instance, he combines a lover's regret with a tranquil rural landscape to touching effect, while 'Cross of Flowers' movingly encapsulates the traveller's return to his home landscape; on 'Pearl Handled Pistol' the retelling of the last days of Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill is vividly filmic; '4&20 Blackbirds', one of his earliest songs, trawls familiar blues waters but sidesteps cliche, and 'Stripping Cane' has a complex sultriness about it that reveals fresh truths with every listening. 'Crossing Mississippi' has a new arrangement that contrasts intriguingly with the 'Live at the Talbot' recording, and Jeffrey employs some audacious open tunings that surely intrigued the guitarists in the crowd, on songs such as the bluesy 'Mayfly' and the up-tempo 'I'm Alright'; and he pulled out some fine slide work from time to time ... he's a guitarist of rare subtlety, and these skills, when paired with a distinctive prematurely weatherbeaten voice, evoke his home environment and its scattered inhabitants like no other songwriter that readily springs to mind, save perhaps the late Townes Van Zandt, or the wilfully unprolific Willis Alan Ramsey. Called back for an encore, Jeffrey closed with the simply beautiful 'Northbound 35', and a lightly jazzy 'My Kind of Heaven' (lyrics by his producer/sidekick David Goodrich), before some vigorous and plentiful CD merchandising. Comfortable and charismatic onstage, modest and sociable company offstage, Jeffrey was an unalloyed pleasure to host once more, and helped us to prove that, with the odd logistical tweak here and there, the Foelallt is a reasonably practical venue for the occasional specialist evening.