Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Chris Hillman and his Desert Rose Band – Acoustic featuring John Jorgenson on guitar and mandolin, Herb Pedersen on guitar, and Bill Bryson on bass will be making their long anticipated first appearance on California’s Central Coast. The group is back together for a rare reunion concert Sunday, July 28, 2013 at the Spanos Theatre on the Cal Poly Campus in San Luis Obispo.
Chris Hillman
John Jorgenson Herb Pedersen Bill Bryson
The Desert Rose Band ~ Acoustic
The three-time Academy of Country Music Awards winning lineup was honed to perfection by their work with such leading bands as The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Manassas, The Dillards, The Laurel Canyon Ramblers, Emmy Lou Harris, Dan Fogelberg, The Hellecasters, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Laurel Canyon Ramblers, Dan Fogelberg, and the Bluegrass Cardinals.
The Desert Rose Band became one of the most sought after country music acts throughout the 1980s and 1990s compiling numerous “Top 10” and “Number 1” hits. Their success led to three Country Music Association Awards and two Grammy nominations. This special reunion concert will give the Central Coast an opportunity to hear what the Washington Post described as “rich, four-part vocal harmonies with plenty of space for hotshot improvisational chops”. In an enthusiastic review of a live Los Angeles area concert, the LA Times observed, “In the opening number of their 90 minute set, guitarist Jorgenson coaxed riffs that magically segued from bluegrass to Beatles in the course of a single phrase while he, Hillman and Pedersen knocked off exquisite three-part harmonies almost without batting an eye.”
Chris Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds, who were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. After his departure from The Byrds, Hillman, along with collaborator Gram Parsons, was a key figure in the development of the country-rock genre. He had stints with “The Flying Burrito Brothers” and “Manassas” with Steven Stills. In addition to his work as an accomplished guitarist, Hillman is also a talented songwriter. His songs have been recorded by Emmylou Harris, Patti Smith, The Oak Ridge Boys, Beck, Steve Earl, Peter Yorn, Tom Petty, and Dwight Yoakam.
Herb Pedersen began his career in Berkeley, California in the 1960s playing 5 string banjo and acoustic guitar with Jerry Garcia, The Dillards, Old and in the Way, David Grisman and David Nelson. Pedersen is highly respected among both musicians and music aficionados. He has worked with artists as varied as Earl Scruggs, Peter Rowan, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Stephen Stills, Linda Ronstadt, John Prine, and Jackson Browne to name a few.
John Jorgenson has been honored as the Academy of Country Music’s Guitarist of the Year three consecutive times. He is also considered a pioneer of the American Gypsy Jazz movement. Long time Desert Rose Band fan, Elton John, recruited Jorgenson to perform on a worldwide tour that eventually morphed into six years of concerts and recording dates. The Washington Post proclaimed, “If there were a Summer Olympics for guitarists, Jorgenson would be a sure-fire gold medalist”.
Bill Bryson, the group’s bassist, brings a pulsating style rooted in laid-back rhythms with country rock overtones which compliment the bands variety of musical moods. As a song writer, one of Bill’s original songs, “The Girl at the Crossroads Bar” was recorded by the Grateful Dead as well as the Laurel Canyon Ramblers.
Brad Paisley, the 2010 Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year said, “In high school, I saw the Desert Rose Band, and it changed my life,”
It’s the one summer concert scheduled for the Central Coast you will not want to miss. Seating is limited, so don’t be left out. Tickets are $40 on sale now and can be purchased here or by calling 805/756-4TIX.
This all-star concert is a benefit for St. Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox Church in San Luis Obispo. The only Greek Orthodox Church between the Santa Barbara and Monterey/Salinas area, the church shares its faith and culture with the community through its San Luis Obispo Greek Festival in the summer and its “Evening in Greece” dinner/dance in October.