On The Road, In The Round with Thom Schuyler, Craig Bickhardt, and Jack Murray
Schedule
Thu Jun 20 2024 at 07:00 pm to 09:00 pm
Location
Godfrey Daniels | Bethlehem, PA
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Join us for On The Road, In the Round song swap evening with three gentlemen of the Folk/Americana Songwriting tradition!Thom Schuyler, a Bethlehem native and acclaimed American songwriter, has left an indelible mark on country music, with his songs recorded by over 200 artists. Craig Bickhardt’s journey, punctuated by collaborations with icons like Bruce Springsteen and accolades from Johnny Cash to B.B. King, promises soul-stirring melodies and enduring narratives. Then, delve into the rich blend of folk, blues, and country-rock brought forth by Jack Murray, a troubadour from Sevierville, TN, who has graced stages alongside music legends and penned songs for Nashville’s finest.
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Bethlehem, PA native, Thom Schuyler, is an American songwriter whose songs have been recorded by over 200 artists including Levon Helm, Kenny Rogers, Michael Martin Murphy, Lisa Loeb, Tony Rice, The Judds and Tanya Tucker.
Thom founded the trio S-K-O (originally known as Schuyler, Knobloch & Overstreet) with J. Fred Knobloch and Paul Overstreet.[2] S-K-O charted seven singles in the mid-1980s, including the Number One hit “Baby’s Got a New Baby.” Overstreet later assumed a solo career and the trio was renamed S-K-B when Craig Bickhardt replaced him.
After S-K-B disbanded, Schuyler continued to write songs, and was eventually made chairman of the Country Music Association. He also headed RCA Records’ Nashville division from 1992 to 1995. In that role he signed singer Kenny Chesney, the band Lonestar and also had a significant role in launching the careers of Martina McBride and Sara Evans. Schuyler continued to write songs for Almo-Irving Music, administered several music catalogs and recorded a few independent albums. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.
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By the time Craig Bickhardt was 25 years old he’d signed a record contract with Bob Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman; inked an artist development deal with legendary talent impresario and head of Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegun; had one of his songs recorded by Art Garfunkel; shared the concert stage with Bruce Springsteen, Stephen Stills and Harry Chapin; lost nearly everything he owned in a California house fire; and had his only guitar stolen by a junkie in NYC. Three decades later, despite steady touring and achieving respectable success scoring music for the Academy Award winning film Tender Mercies and writing songs that have been covered by Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, B. B. King, Kris Kristofferson, Alison Krauss, Kathy Mattea and many others, Bickhardt remains a relatively undiscovered artist. His new CD, Outpourings, is being played on Folk and Americana stations worldwide and made it to #2 on the Folk/Americana DJ Chart.
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Being born in the same town as Dolly Parton (Sevierville, TN) and being kin to Merle Haggard, Jack Murray enjoys the unique challenges of navigating such elevated expectations. Jack was a founding member of the country-rock band Golden Rocket in the late 70s, which featured a unique mix of folk, blues, rock & roll, and traditional country music. That was followed by a hot “Rockpile”-like 4-piece rock and roll band called “The Rockin’ Eddies.” In the ‘80s, he was lucky enough to have written some songs -for “Alabama” and for other Nashville recording artists.
�Jack has become a popular headlining act as a singer/songwriter at many venues in the Philadelphia area, including the legendary Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, Landhaven in Huffs Church, MusikFest in Bethlehem as well as at the Sellersville Theater where he has opened the show for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Commander Cody Band, Chris Smither, Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, and many others.
�He’s been invited to perform In Bluebird-style ‘In The Rounds’ with Nashville songwriting legends Craig Bickhardt, Thom Schuyler, Tony Arata, Don Henry, and Poco’s Jack Sundrud. He was a featured guest on Gene Shay’s “The Folk Show” on WXPN and again with his band “The Midnight Creeps.” Jack has been a main stage performer at the Spring Gulch Festival and performed in back-to-back years at the prestigious Philadelphia Folk Festival.
�After learning that Nashville songwriting legend David Olney had adopted one of Jack’s songs “Bluebonnet Girl” in his final months among us, he found himself on stage at Nashville’s Belcourt Theater in March of 2020, having been invited to play and sing that song in a memorial concert for Mr. Olney after his untimely passing.
When not performing solo, Jack now fronts “The Blue Tarp Wranglers” –a band built to handle all manner of well-rooted American music, including his own. The line-up features charter members guitarist Alan Landes, bassist Nick Franclik, percussionist Josh Kanusky and pedal steel maestro Dave Van Allen. The Tarps often showcase special musical guests as well.
�Jack’s 2008 debut CD “Then There’s That…” features his distinctive guitar and vocal stylings and powerful original songs. He recorded ten tracks in Nashville, TN with twice Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Thomm Jutz. After much anticipation, those tracks, now an album titled “BlueTuxedo,” will be released in 2023.
Visit his website: jackmurray.net
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Where is it happening?
Godfrey Daniels, 9 E 4th St, Bethlehem, PA 18015-1655, United States,Bethlehem, PennsylvaniaEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
