Eric Sommer Solo Concert • The Arts Center • May 18 • 7:30PM

Eric Sommer  at The Carrboro Arts Center on May 18 for an evening of songs, stories and antedotes from the archives…

“I miss the beautiful funkiness of the Old Arts Center; But when “Eric Sommer And The Fabulous Piedmonts” played there at The Carrboro Music Festival, we were amazed at the crisp, world-class newness of this brand new spot!

WHOA!! And this new location, with all the bells and whistles, is killer!!

Which is one of the reasons I am excited to be there on my own, with all the guitars, amps and a a few pockets full of new songs, ready to hear the pure acoustics of this wonderful room and see what trouble we can get into!

Eric Sommer is a singer, writer and guitar player with a style that’s a cross between Billie Joe Shaver, Taj Mahal, Willie Porter and Steve Howe, delivered like a velvet hammer – Crown Royal poured over #2 sandpaper. With a unique set-up that generally includes 4-5 guitars, 3-4 small amps and a stompbox, it is guitar, slide & open tuning stuff wrapped around songs for people who care about things that matter: insane ex-girlfriends, wrinkled shirts, failed love, broken hearts, bad coffee, flat tires, gas station hot dogs, dumb pets… and checkout lines. Not to be missed.

Chuck Bennis • Musical Express

I will be doing stuff from my punk and power pop days with The Atomics, then a smattering of tunes from the Studio sessions in Brooklyn with the “Brooklyn Bolero” guys Jim Oakley and Zach Smith with Ted Young (Allman Bros., Joe Jackson, Beyonce) producing, then we’ll ease into the “Turning Point” record with more songs from my Europe days in London and Denmark, ending up with some of the newest stuff from The Fabulous Piedmonts.

“Singer/songwriter Eric Sommer is an unbelievable intersection of improbable influences and experiences, channeled into an amazingly diverse catalog and a résumé that reads more like a musical adventure novel than a series of career bullet points.”

Best of Cincinnati

It’ll be a full evening, with some stories and highlights of my days with Little Feat and Lowell George, John Mayall, Leon Redbone, Dave Van Ronk and Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds plus their acts Wreckless Eric and Bram Tschikovsky!

If there’s any interest and time, I will cover some of the Atomics materials from tours with Mission of Burma, Gang of Four and The Dead Kennedy’s, plus the crazy days at CBGB’s and Hilly Crystal, Television, Buster Pointdexter and on and on…”

“How do you call this sidekick to unique personalities ranging from Nick Lowe to John Koerner an under achiever? This multi instrumentalist bad boy could easily be a superstar in his own right but he seems to be under the spell of Holy Modal Rounders, Guy Clark and others that could have really made it but seemed to make a concerted effort not to.

Mixing organic writing and playing skills with personality, he has what it takes to be a massive, under the radar treat. Singer/songwriter? Rocker? Folkie? He’s got all the bases covered and has back up in place to insure no errors are made.

Killer stuff you really have to be a grinch to dislike, this cat is the real deal throughout.

Chris Spector, Editor, Midwest Record

Please plan on joining me, and help christen this incredible new music and arts venue in the heart of Carrboro! See you there!

Tickets available at The Arts Center

www.ericsommer.com || www.ericsommer.com/piedmonts || www.linktr.ee/ericsommer

Making Magic in Three Pieces

Eric Sommer and The Fabulous Piedmonts are a roots rock powder keg wrapped around a burrowing bass clef. Huh? Yeah, one that’s headin’ down to 96 octaves below absolute zero. It hit Miami, turned around on a dime, and came back on a red eye.

The Piedmonts are a unique musical force. Ok, everybody says that, but this is one amazing combination of influences. So much so, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher just trying to describe it… but here goes:

This is North Carolina’s Americana Standard!

It’s a high-octane mix of rock-steady percussion supplied by Amanda Sycamore, mixed with the bottom-driven bass gymnastics of Jimmy Hauer and the guitar-laced lines of lead singer Eric Sommer.

But this simple collection of words is nothing like see this show live.

Right off the bat, the slide guitar that opens “Red Dress” will grab you in mid-sentence, and when the rhythm section kicks in a few bars later, if you are not up and moving around or swinging from the stage lights, check your pulse. You might be dead…

As the engine keeps revving up, The Piedmonts’ musical wall of sound starts to hit you like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist: a combination of punk, power pop, Motown ballads, Muscle Shoals and blues-based Charlie Musslewhite-type grooves that pick you up, bounce you across the room, put you up on the ceiling and then ease you down slowly while you try to pick your jaw back up.

Don’t take anyone’s word for it. Go see for yourself!

The Piedmonts are:

Jimmy “Four Fingers” Hauer • Bass, Double Bass, Vocals
Amanda Sycamore: Percussion, Chimes, Vocals
Eric Sommer: Guitar (Telecaster, Stratocaster), Acoustic Guitars, Harmonica,

Wait, what? You’re still here? GO!

Open Tunings, and so much more

With open tuning, slide guitar, lap-slap tone guitar, this show is exciting. And a remarkably aggressive fingering style approach makes watching Eric Sommer so fun and crazy! It’ll make you jump out of your seat and holler for joy! There are very few players who have maintained this authentic American style of guitar and Eric Sommer is one of the very best

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“How do you call this sidekick to unique personalities ranging from Nick Lowe to John Koerner an underachiever? This multi-instrumentalist bad boy could easily be a superstar in his own right…” Midwest Record, Lake Zurich, IL

“Eric Sommer is an astounding guitar player, a virtuoso on acoustic and electric… Eric has worked with everybody who is anybody; His resume’ reads like a musical encyclopedia…” Nashville Music Reviews, Don & Sherry’s Blog

“It’s a wonderful evening whenever Eric Sommer is part of it… Not to be missed!” Austin Record, Steve Barron

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CityBeat/Best of Cincinnati

Guitarin’ and Singin’ are what Eric Sommer is all about.

Singer/songwriter Eric Sommer is an unbelievable intersection of improbable influences. That and insane experiences channeled into an amazingly diverse catalog. His is a résumé that reads more like a musical adventure novel than a series of career bullet points.