THE GRAHAMS music is like "a train ride through the Americana musical landscape - with a first class ticket”. So said music magazine Turnstyled Junkpiled, of the husband and wife duo who are coming to Galway.
Alyssa and Doug Graham, who play Monroe’s Live on Thursday November 19 at 8pm, have won huge praise from music critics and bloggers for their particular take on Americana. Their 2013 debut album, Riverman’s Daughter, spent 11 weeks in the Top 40 at Americana Radio. Their reputation further expanded with the release of Glory Bound, which No Depression declared "easily one of the best Americana albums of 2015".
“From country rock, blues harmonica infused boogie, honky tonk, country and gospel, The Grahams guarantee a good time that captures the rhythms of the past with some cracking vocals and a healthy head of contemporary steam," said Get Ready To Rock! While The Irish Post said "Alyssa has a great voice, crystal clear full of fire and passion, perfectly complemented by Doug on Dobro and vocals with a talented bunch of additional musicians who play as if their lives depended on it.”
Glory Bound draws inspiration from the American folk songs based around the railroad. “There is a special connection between American folk music and the railroad that has no parallel elsewhere in the world," said Alyssa and Doug. "Rail lines stitch together the sprawling fabric of American song. As writers of Americana music, our goal is to draw on the deep, recurring, sources of American folk culture, giving them new shape.”
“Our methodology is to follow the paths and revisit the places that inspired our predecessors, not because we want to imitate them or faithfully reproduce their work, but because we are looking for the modern echo of older sounds, and hope to give shape to these enduring reverberations. Nothing can serve that methodology better than riding the rails.”
Doors 8pm, Tickets €10/€8. See www.monroes.ie and www.thegrahamsmusic.net