The Brownville Concert Series loved Nora Jane Struthers’ past performance as a member of “Bearfoot.” She is making a return to Brownville, Nebraska, with a new partner, Joe Overton, making a duo that presents the best of the world of Bluegrass music. They will perform in cabaret Friday and Saturday, August 12 and 13, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. and in concert Sunday, August 14, at 2 p.m. The Brownville Concert Series would like to recognize Renee & Mac McGuire for helping to sponsor these concerts.
Nora Jane Struthers is an American singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee, who is notable for her critically acclaimed Americana music and roots rock. Rolling Stone Country debuted a video for “Let Go” from Struthers’ album Wake with an article in which Stephen L. Betts wrote that “the ever-widening scope of Nora Jane Struthers’ musicality means that placing a neat, easy label on the genre she best represents is virtually impossible.” In a post for Amy Poehler’s blog Smart Girls, Alexa Peters wrote that “Nora Jane is entirely and unequivocally herself, and wants to encourage you to do the same.” National Public Radio described Struthers as “quietly brilliant” in article headlined “Country Music’s Year of the Woman.” Struthers’ 2013 album Carnival, recorded with her touring band The Party Line, spent more than three months in the Top 20 of Americana Radio charts and peaked at No. 7. Carnival ranked 24th on the 2013 Americana Airplay Top 100 list. In a review of Carnival, the Tampa Bay Times wrote that Struthers’ unique brand of “rich storytelling, repeat-worth melodies and a modern mashup of traditional, bluegrass folk, country and rock influences” sets her apart from many roots-inspired contemporaries.
Joe Overton was raised in Smithville, Tennessee, a small town 65 miles outside of Nashville where he now abides. Overton’s country is equal parts the country of Yoakam, Owens and Charlie Feathers as it is Prine, Guthrie, and Jean Ritchie. Overton, 29, spent several years as a community organizer in southwestern Virginia and Tennessee fighting against mountaintop removal. He comes to country music with deference for the genre’s history of empowering working folks and a deep love of heartbreak. Overton powerfully delivers his introspective songs with an earnest, rich, reedy voice.
Cabaret tickets are $25 ,concert tickets are $20 ($15 for students). To purchase tickets online, go to www.brownvilleconcertseries.com or call 402-825-3331. Stay overnight at the River Inn Resort and get a 10% discount on tickets. Eat dinner at the Lyceum before the show. The Nebraska Arts Council (www.nebraskaartscouncil.org), a state agency, supports this program through a matching grant funded by the Nebraska Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.