Bret Mosley live at the Snack Bar
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 9 pm
at the Snack Bar (721 North Lamar Oxford, MS 38655)
Cost: Free
A dobro spanking yeller of poems, Bret Mosley’s raw, homegrown style of deep roots music and Americana funk offers a live music experience like no other. Heralded by Jerry Joseph as “one of greatest songwriters I’ve met in a long time,” Mosley grooves the folk & funks the blues with a milky voice that echoes his life on the road. On his current tour across Colorado and beyond, Mosley is joined by drummer Zechariah Tillotson, a veteran of the Mississippi blues scene who counts Jimbo Mathus and the Burnside boys among his favorite jamming partners. Come out listen to a sound straight-forward in its delivery and full of soul.
About Bret Mosley
A dobro spanking yeller of poems, Bret Mosley’s raw, homegrown style of deep roots music and Americana funk offers a live music experience like no other. Heralded by Jerry Joseph as “one of greatest songwriters I’ve met in a long time,” Mosley grooves the folk & funks the blues with a milky voice that echoes his life on the road.
The mystery of Bret Mosley’s identity isn’t lost on the dobro-slinging songwriter himself. Ask him where he’s from, and he’ll state ‘Brooklyn’ with a definitive tone. But although New York is home to the rambling bluesman, settle into a performance or his latest record, Light & Blood, and you’ll hear the baring of a Texas-bred, all-American soul. Bret’s the type of guy who drives 12,000 miles in a month with a smile on his face. He jokes that his ‘nine bedroom apartment’ spans an equal number of zip codes. On stage, he’s the picture of simple musical purity — a dobro laid across his lap, stompbox under his feet, and two long braids winding around his shoulders. Mosley’s style, a weird amalgam of urban and desert, defies the handy comparison labels of critics. ‘Chris Whitley meets Marvin Gaye,’ says one. ‘As if Van Morrison had come from a sharecroppers’ farm,’ writes another, while others immediately drift toward the obvious Ben Harper comparison. Bret himself jokes that he’s Bootsy Collins rolled in ZZ Top’s blend of Rio Grande mud.
Whatever genre Mosley’s music fits into, it feels good, and that’s why he’s still out there playing. Bret’s life story is an exercise in following one’s instinct, boasting histories as a linebacker, a ballet dancer, a stockbroker, and a yoga teacher before settling into music as his full-time calling. On his current tour across Colorado and beyond, Mosley is joined by drummer Zechariah Tillotson, a veteran of the Mississippi blues scene who counts Jimbo Mathus and the Burnside boys among his favorite jamming partners. “Raised on Jesus and cornbread,” as he puts it himself, Tillotson drums with a style true to the nature of Mosley’s authentic songwriting, instilling soul into every rhythm. In addition to touring and recording with his pal Jerry Joseph (including on the 2009 project Charge), Mosley’s solo release, Light & Blood, received widespread critical acclaim for its rich, confessional tone. Simple and straight-forward in its delivery, the album gets right to the heart of what makes Mosley great — a one-man band that commands but never demands your attention, sparking old emotions in listeners, most of whom inevitably end up smiling.
