Paul Metsa to headline Range show May 3

Musician Paul Metsa, a singer and songwriter originally from Virginia, Minnesota, on the Iron Range, will perform Friday, May 3rd at The Loft @ Lyric Center for the Arts on Chestnut Street. The opening act is the The Hutter Bunch beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.

The press release:

Paul Metsa, a Minnesota musical treasure, an acclaimed author, and a raconteur extraordinaire, will appear one night only, Friday, May 3rd at the Lyric Center for the Arts Loft space to celebrate the release of his new retrospective CD Blues, Ballads & Broadsides (2012 MaximumFolk.com). The CD spans 30 years of recordings and features the new track “Blue Guitar Highway,” which shares the name of Metsa’s 2011 memoir published by the University of Minnesota Press. Featuring solo work, Cats Under the Stars material, and the duo Paul Metsa & Sonny Earl, Blues, Ballads & Broadsides is the ideal companion to Paul’s well-received memoirs. The CD release was made possible through fan support via Kickstart.org.

In a 2011 article titled “The Long, Strange Trip of Paul Metsa,” the Star Tribune describes the memoir “Blue Guitar Highway” as having “so many compelling stories that you can’t put it down.” The same can be said about Blues, Ballads & Broadsides. Whether in print or in song, Metsa is first and foremost a storyteller in the grandest of traditions. His solo debut Paper Tigers, represented here by three tracks, served early notice that Metsa has an uncanny knack for all three: blues, ballads and broadsides. (It also demonstrates that Metsa lyrics written decades ago tend to be all the more relevant today.) The “hits” are here as well. The 1993 release Whistling Past the Graveyard features “Jack Ruby” (possibly Metsa’s most requested song) and other gems featured on Blues, Ballads & Broadsides. The album was recorded in Nashville and produced by Bucky Baxter (of Bob Dylan fame). Garry Tallent of the E Street Band plays bass on the album, a tribute to Metsa’s stature in the music biz. From the 1982 single by Cats Under the Stars, Metsa’s fabulous Iron Range-bred early band, to the country-drenched new tune “Blue Guitar Highway,” the compelling stories just keep coming.

Paul Metsa, a Virginia, Minnesota native left for Minneapolis in 1979 to make a little music. Thousands of gigs later, he’s played Farm Aid at Willie Nelson’s request, the Tribute to Woody Guthrie at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the request of Woody’s daughter Nora Guthrie (sharing the stage with Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger and others), and hundreds of dive bars. He has even gigged in Iceland and Siberia, skillfully avoiding international incident. Metsa has won eight Minnesota Music Awards and has released several recordings and an acclaimed memoir, “Blue Guitar Highway” (2011 University of Minnesota Press).