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Monday, January 1st at The Bowery Electric
327 Bowery (between East 2nd & 3rd streets), NYC
Doors at 7pm. $15 in advance. 21+ with ID.
Showing posts with label Cliff Westfall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cliff Westfall. Show all posts
The Odds Were Good
"Hot damn. I don’t know who the hell Cliff Westfall is or where he’s been hiding out for so many years, but he just released a hot shit country record that will whip the pants off of most others released this year and many from years prior, and get you making room on your list of favorite artists...You will not be able to get enough of Baby You Win, and it will continue to impress you at every turn." -Saving Country Music
New York-based country songwriter Cliff Westfall writes songs about heartache, loss, addiction... you know, funny songs. Or he can turn on a dime and dive headlong into a sentimental weeper. The Kentucky native delivers with a mixture of wit and bravado that, for Westfall, is central to what country music is all about. On his album Baby You Win, he assembled a crew of some of New York’s best musicians to explore a new idea of Americana, drawing inspiration from sources often forgotten by the current country scene.
“I feel like the humor of people like Roger Miller, Don Gibson, and Del Reeves is neglected nowadays,” Westfall says. “A lot of current country music makes you want to ask, ‘Hey, does anybody remember laughter?’ And you know, it’s not really anything against what anyone else is doing, it’s just that the ability to laugh at your troubles seems to have gotten lost.” The songs on Baby You Win are bitingly acerbic, dependent on the twisty puns, bittersweet humor, and turns of phrase that used to define country music. Westfall’s a true son of Kentucky and an honest student of the genre, but refuses to be constrained by its definitions. He cites Chuck Berry as his favorite lyricist, arguing that some of Berry’s songs were much closer to their country cousins than lines of race and genre might have suggested. This is Americana outside the box, made by an artist gleefully rifling through the dusty record bins of American roots music and converting them into something new.
Friday, February 28th at Berlin
25 Avenue A (under 2A), New York City
Doors at 8PM. $12 cover. 21+ with ID.
Everything I Do Is Wrong
Abdication… For Your Love record release show
Produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and Reigning Sound frontman Greg Cartwright, Abdication… For Your Love was originally available solely as a promotional giveaway. This 2019 reissue marks the first wide release of the record.
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Cliff Westfall's debut album, Baby You Win, appeared on multiple Best of 2018 lists, and received acclaim in publications including Saving Country Music, No Depression, Magnet, PopMatters, Country Music People (UK), Lonesome Highway (Ireland) and many others. Backed by a crew of some of NYC’s finest musicians, his songs combine clever and insightful lyrics with classic honky tonk hooks.
Friday, April 26th at Hank's
345 Adams Street, Brooklyn U.S.A.
Doors at 8PM. $12-$15. 21+ with ID.
Happiness Is You
(Belated) Johnny Cash Birthday Bash!
WFMU's DJ Radio Honky Tonk Girl will be spinning top-flight 45s before and after the show.
Saturday, March 9th at Hank's
345 Adams Street, Brooklyn U.S.A.
Doors at 8PM. $12-$15. 21+ with ID.
Brooklyn Country
SEAN KERSHAW & THE NEW JACK RAMBLERS • CLIFF WESTFALL
Plus: WFMU's Honkytonk Radio Girl
For all of you who miss the old Hank's Honkytonk Brunch, we’ve got a treat coming your way when Sean Kershaw & The New Jack Ramblers play the new Hank's for the first time! Sean and co. play hi-octane honkytonk straight outta Brooklyn
Cliff Westfall writes songs about heartache, loss, and addiction… you know, funny songs. Or he can turn on a dime and dive headlong into a sentimental weeper. The Kentucky native delivers with a mixture of wit and bravado that, for Westfall, is central to what country music is all about. His debut album, Baby You Win, appeared on multiple Best of 2018 lists, and received acclaim in publications including Saving Country Music, No Depression, Magnet, PopMatters, Country Music People (UK), Lonesome Highway (Ireland) and many others. Backed by a crew of some of NYC’s finest musicians, his songs combine clever and insightful lyrics with classic honky tonk hooks.
DJ sets before, between, and after by WFMU's Honkyonk Radio Girl!
Saturday, February 23rd at Hank's
345 Adams Street, Brooklyn U.S.A.
Doors at 8PM. $10. 21+ with ID.
Off The Wagon
CLIFF WESTFALL
GIRLS ON GRASS
New York-based country songwriter Cliff Westfall writes songs about heartache, loss, addiction… you know, funny songs. Or he can turn on a dime and dive headlong into a sentimental weeper. The Kentucky native delivers with a mixture of wit and bravado that, for Westfall, is central to what country music is all about. On his new album, Baby You Win, to be released July 13, 2018, he’s assembled a crew of some of New York’s best musicians to explore a new idea of Americana, drawing inspiration from sources often forgotten by the current country scene.
“I feel like the humor of people like Roger Miller, Don Gibson, and Del Reeves is neglected nowadays,” Westfall says. “A lot of current country music makes you want to ask, ‘Hey, does anybody remember laughter?’ And you know, it’s not really anything against what anyone else is doing, it’s just that the ability to laugh at your troubles seems to have gotten lost.” The songs on Baby You Win are bitingly acerbic, dependent on the twisty puns, bittersweet humor, and turns of phrase that used to define country music. Westfall’s a true son of Kentucky and an honest student of the genre, but refuses to be constrained by its definitions. He cites Chuck Berry as his favorite lyricist, arguing that some of Berry’s songs were much closer to their country cousins than lines of race and genre might have suggested. This is Americana outside the box, made by an artist gleefully rifling through the dusty record bins of American roots music and converting them into something new.
Thursday, June 7th at Hank's Saloon
46 Third Avenue (at Atlantic), Brooklyn, U.S.A.
Doors at 8PM. $8 cover. 21+ with ID.
Dont Make Me Break You Down
ERIC AMBEL
KASEY ANDERSON • CLIFF WESTFALL
Eric Ambel is a roots-rock renaissance man who has worked as a guitarist, songwriter, and producer with the likes of Nils Lofgren, Mojo Nixon, Freedy Johnston and Mary Lee's Corvette, as well as an original member of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, The Del-Lords and The Yayhoos. Ambel — known to friends, associates and bandmates as Roscoe — is the possessor of an estimable musical resume that’s established his credentials as a deeply committed rocker as well as a witty and thoughtful songwriter. Between his current duties as producer, bandleader, studio proprietor, bar owner, member of uber-bar-band supergroup the Yayhoos and lead guitarist of Steve Earle’s band The Dukes, he’s found time to launch his own label, Lakeside Lounge Records, to redress the longstanding absence of Ambel solo product from the marketplace.
Thursday, March 8th at Hank's Saloon
46 Third Avenue (at Atlantic), Brooklyn U.S.A.
Doors at 8PM. $10 cover. 21+ with ID.
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