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Steve Gunn, Lee Ranaldo and Meg Baird are headed to Stuart’s Opera House Jan. 18. (Submitted)

Stuart’s Opera House Hosts Steve Gunn, Lee Ranaldo and Meg Baird


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Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville will host an evening of music with solo performances from Steve Gunn and Lee Ranaldo, with Meg Baird opening the show on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

With over 30 years as a musician and visual artist, Lee Ranaldo is a founding member of legendary experimental rock and roll group Sonic Youth. Although songwriting and performing with his band The Dust (Steve Shelley, Alan Licht, Tim Lüntzel) is his current focus, Lee Ranaldo also premiered a new work Hurricane Sandy Transcriptions, for Berlin-based string ensemble Kaleidoskop (with Lee on guitar) at the Holland Festival in 2013.

Lee continues to perform experimental events with partner Leah Singer as well. Their recent live performances have been large scale, multi projection quadraphonic sound+cinema events, with Lee performing suspended electric guitar phenomena. Ranaldo’s visual and sound works have been on view in gallery and museum shows all around the world

Steve Gunn’s music has always embraced expanse and movement. It springs from the simple and profound relationship between humans and their environment. Eyes On The Lines is his most explicit ode to the blissful uncertainty of adventure yet. Gunn’s roots in the underground run deep, from his days in GHQ to his collaborations with Black Twig Pickers and Mike Cooper. He’s toured and recorded with Michael Chapman, and released two remarkable duo albums with drummer John Truscinski.

His solo ventures, emerging over the past decade and culminating most recently the highly-acclaimed Way Out Weather, have been pastoral, evocative affairs. Here he embraces his urban surroundings through a series of songs that fully showcase his extraordinary ability to match hooks to deftly constructed melodies.

Gunn is a consummate guitarist, that rare fingerpicker who can harness the enigma of the American Primitive vernacular without lazily regurgitating it. His playing is inventive and full of personality. His instrumental virtuosity calls upon a vast library of technical skills at will, but he’s never showy — his riffs and runs are always in the service of the song at hand. Check out his interview with WOUB’s Emily Votaw right here.

Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Meg Baird will open the show. In addition to her own solo work, Baird is a founding member, vocalist, and drummer with the psychedelic rock and roll band Heron Oblivion and formerly played with the Philadelphia based psychedelic folk band Espers.

Tickets are on sale now, reserved seats are $17 in advance or $22 at the door, and box seats are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. For more information or to purchase tickets call 740-753-1924 or visit our website at stuartsoperahouse.org.