No Words - The District

From the District - (1/13/10)

With his ever-present hat and guitar, Keb’ Mo’ looks like he could be standing at the Crossroads—a hundred years ago. In reality, few people realize one of Kevin Moore’s crossroads is the 710 freeway. Born in Compton in 1951 to parents of Southern descent, Moore immersed himself in the guitar as a child, learning the history of the blues—from the rural git-box pickers to the juke-joint slingers. In the early 1970s, he began sharing his findings with the listening public, backing psychedelic violinist Papa John Creach. But with the release of his solo debut in the mid 1990s, he became Keb’ Mo’, a blues-rooted troubadour with a grandfather-like approachability that brought him out of the blues circuit and into a wider public radio subscriber demographic.

An inoffensive blend of Delta blues and pop songwriting, 1994’s Keb’ Mo’ found a mainstream audience that helped to earn Moore a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for his second record, Just Like You. Since then he has released six more albums of 21st-century Delta blues to an ever-widening fan base (and with cred-questionable appearances alongside Amy Grant and on Touched By An Angel). Still, when he boils it down to just voice and guitar, Moore can silence a room, whether there are 10 or 1,000 people sitting before him. His voice, a soulfully deliberate tenor, belies his origins, implying more swamps than paved rivers. And while sliding up and down his dobro’s neck, Moore’s bottle-sheathed pinky can connect a string of choice notes in a way few other performers can.

For his homecoming show, Moore will be solo, multitasking his way through some loping blues with that inimitable voice, a harmonica, a guitar and a well-heeled shoe tapping out the downbeat. Last fall he self-released a live album highlighting his charm and effortlessness before a crowd. Dust off your fedora and witness it for yourself.

KEB’ MO’ CERRITOS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS • 12700 CENTER COURT DR SOUTH • CERRITOS 90703 • 800.300.4345 • SAT 8PM • $41-65 •

No Words @ the District