From the moment he sits down on stage and picks up his guitar, Kelly Joe Phelps holds his audience spellbound with the astoundingly pure intensity of his music. A soulful, gravelly singer, Kelly Joe writes haunting lyrics that weave in and out through his superb playing on the 6 and 12-string as well as the slide guitar, raising echoes in the deepest shades of blue and ringing with bittersweet experience.

While Kelly Joe has long been known as a superlative guitarist, his six albums, including his new Tunesmith Retrofit (Rounder) and the live CD Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind, partly recorded at the Freight & Salvage, have displayed the steady honing of his songwriting, to the point where his subtle roots rock and blues guitar stylings, weathered voice, and rich, gritty lyrics blend powerfully as equal elements in one hypnotic tale after another. If we're lucky, he may also be trying out tunes from his soon-to-be-released CD, Western Bell. Tonight's show is definitely not to be missed!