(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- Canadian genre-bending band Cowboy Junkies will make a return visit to SOPAC Saturday, February 27 at 8:00pm. For more than 20 years, Cowboy Junkies has remained true to its unique artistic vision and to the introspective, quiet intensity that is its musical signature, creating a critically acclaimed body of original work that has endeared them to an audience unwavering in its loyalty.
Cowboy Junkies was formed in Toronto in 1985 after guitarist and songwriter Michael Timmins and long-time friend and musical partner, bassist Alan Anton, recruited Michael’s sister, singer Margo Timmins and brother, drummer Peter Timmins to join them. The band recorded its blues-inspired debut album Whites Off Earth Now!! (1986) and released it on their own Latent label. Touring the US in support of the album, they traveled extensively through the South and Southwest, soaking up the music of Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers and others, which provided the inspiration for the band’s second effort, The Trinity Session.
The group’s fame spread with The Trinity Session, recorded in 1987 at Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity. Their sound, again using the ambisonic microphone, and their mix of blues, country, folk, rock and jazz earned them both critical attention and a cult following. The Los Angeles Times named the recording as one of the ten best albums of 1988.
Albums like The Caution Horses (1990), Black Eyed Man (1992), Lay It Down (1996) and more recently, Open (2001), One Soul Now (2004), Early 21st Century Blues (2005) and At the End of Paths Taken (2007) chronicle a creative journey reflecting the independent road the band has elected to travel.
Tickets are $38-$60, and can be purchased online at SOPACnow.org, or at the box office at (973) 313-2787. SOPAC is located at One SOPAC Way in South Orange, NJ.