Photo by Paul Natkin
(TUCKERTON, NJ ) -- Devastatingly soulful vocalist, dynamic harmonica master and superlative songwriter Chris O'Leary will celebrate the January 12 release of his Alligator Records debut album, The Hard Line, with a live performance at the Lizzie Rose Music Room in Tuckerton on Sunday, January 21, 2024. Showtime is 7:30pm.
The Marine veteran and ex-Federal police officer and former lead singer of Levon Helm’s Barn Burners has walked a hard line from his upstate New York home to stages all over the world. His keenly written songs come directly from his colorful and sometimes harrowing life experiences. No Depression magazine says, “O’Leary’s voice contains startling emotion…reaching an intensity and emotional rawness [that’s] primal. The performances practically vibrate with an authenticity that stays with you.”
O’Leary’s original songs are sung with pure, unadulterated soul fueled by his driving harmonica playing. A disciple and friend of both The Band’s legendary drummer/vocalist/songwriter Levon Helm and iconic blues harmonica giant James Cotton, O'Leary has been playing professionally since the 1990s, with five previous solo albums to his credit. He is beyond thrilled to be with Alligator. On The Hard Line (the sixth album of his career) he set his sights high and created what he says is “the best work I’ve ever done.”
The Hard Line, produced by O'Leary and featuring 12 striking originals, has many stories to tell. ranging from the intense slow-burners Ain't That A Crime and Lay These Burdens Down to the rollicking Love's For Sale and Need For Speed to the hard Chicago blues Could've Been My Fault to the pleading Who Robs A Musician?. The deeply personal I Cry At Night is the emotional centerpiece of the album, drawn from the singer's own personal experiences as a Marine. It's a wrenching performance, and one that O'Leary hopes will resonate with both soldiers and civilians. "I write and sing what I know," says the seven-year U.S. Marine combat veteran. "And as long as I have a platform, I'm always going to use it to shed light and raise awareness about the realities our veterans face."
With The Hard Line, Chris O'Leary is at the peak of his creative powers, delivering memorable, thought-provoking original songs informed by the complex road he's traveled. "I've lived a life," he says. "Going to war, playing with Levon, getting to know Cotton." And now, at long last, O'Leary is set to take his place among the blues world's most passionate and exciting blues and roots artists. His astonishingly honest material, fierce harmonica work and torrid vocals stun his listeners to attention and bring his live audiences to their feet, all while making a lasting, personal connection.
Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at door. Tickets are available for purchase online.
Born in Schenectady, New York in 1968, Chris O'Leary was raised in a house filled with music and fell hard into the blues after hearing Muddy Waters on The Band’s famous album, The Last Waltz, and then devouring Waters’ Hard Again record. Hard Again also features the great James Cotton blowing some of the most forceful harmonica of his career. This was the first time O'Leary heard Cotton, and he was hooked. He acquired a Hohner Marine Band harmonica and taught himself to play the real Chicago blues.
In 1986, O'Leary joined the Marines, following a tradition of military service in his family. Deployed to the Middle East, he and his fellow infantrymen experienced life-threatening combat. The raw emotions left by this experience would soon find expression in his deeply personal songwriting. He left the service in 1993 and headed to Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he soon fell into the local music scene. Before long he was jamming with area musicians. Not long after, he formed his own band, quickly making a name for himself as the area's foremost practitioner of authentic, classic Chicago blues. As luck would have it, Levon Helm, who was still recovering from throat surgery at the time, heard a tape of the band and liked it enough to meet up with O'Leary and record on some of O'Leary's demos. Helm soon began showing up unannounced at many of O'Leary's local gigs, often sitting in with the band and playing drums.
In 1997, Levon asked Chris to move to New Orleans and front the house band--featuring Helm on drums and his talented daughter Amy sharing vocals--at his new club, Levon Helm's Classic American Café. For over a year, O'Leary and Helm performed five nights a week, often backing famous touring musicians, from Hubert Sumlin to Bobby Keys to O'Leary's harmonica hero James Cotton, whom O'Leary befriended. While in New Orleans, O'Leary's musical vision grew to include soul, jazz, country and straight-ahead rock 'n' roll. With each performance, O'Leary was becoming a more fully formed artist.
O’Leary has always been a monster road warrior, playing hundreds of shows a year all over the world, personally connecting with his audience through his fervent, heartfelt performances. Outside of the U.S., he’s played in Canada, Ireland, Spain, France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Portugal.
The Lizzie Rose Music Room is located at 217 E. Main Street in Tuckerton, New Jersey. The Venue is a "listening room", not a bar or restaurant. They present a variety of music including blues, jazz, bluegrass, country, rock, soul, singer-songwriters, and more.
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