Chris Smither

With his own “towering” style of folk-blues music, singer, songwriter and guitarist, Chris Smither is a true American original. Performing and writing songs for three decades, he’s been influenced by everyone from guitarist Lightnin’ Hopkins and Mississippi John Hurt, to the writers he hung out with in the Cambridge folk scene, to the miles of travel and stories accumulated along the way. Rolling Stone noted that Smither is “bathed in the flickering glow of passing headlights and neon bar signs, [his] roots are as blue as they come.” Smither emerged in 1970 with his debut album I’m a Stranger Too! and his 1972 follow-up, Don’t It Drag On, after which Smither didn’t release another record for more than a decade. By the early 1990s, he was back touring and recording full time. He has toured with B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt and Nanci Griffith, and was part of the ‘Monsters of Folk’ tour with Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Dave Alvin and Tom Russell. Smither has released 12 highly acclaimed recordings including Leave the Light On. His latest CD, Time Stands Still, was released this fall.