Spend an evening with American singer-songwriters Rickie Lee Jones and special guest Anders Osborne, Sunday, Sept. 30, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.
Two-time Grammy winner Jones exploded onto the pop scene in 1978 and has made a career of fearlessly experimenting with her sound and persona throughout 15 critically acclaimed albums. Jones is both a character in the songs and the songwriter singing, defying convention with her sometimes-brazen sexuality and the mixed bag of jazz, rock and what has come to be known as “confessional” songwriter performances.
Jones’ most recent work, “The Other Side of Desire,” was written, recorded and rooted in the city of New Orleans, where Jones lives on the opposite side of the street made famous by the Tennessee Williams play. Produced by John Porter and Mark Howard, “Desire” is the first new music Jones has written in over a decade.
Between the potency of his richly detailed songwriting, his intensely emotional, soulful vocals and his piercing, expert guitar work, New Orleans’ Osborne is a true musical treasure. Guitar Player calls him “the poet laureate of Louisiana’s fertile roots music scene.”
Osborne’s latest release is “Flower Box,” his second full-length album of 2016, recorded in his hometown of New Orleans. Flowerbox is a heavier, guitar-driven follow-up to the acclaimed “Spacedust & Ocean Views.”
“I love the way this record comes out stout and determined right out the gate, a four-piece rock ‘n’ roll band making beautiful and conquering noise,” Osborne wrote in his artist statement.
A New Orleans Cajun lobby party will begin at 5:30 p.m. with food, drink and live entertainment by Birmingham’s own Glen and Libba; the party is free for ASC members. Tickets to the lobby party are $20 advance, $25 at the door.
Performance ticket prices are $53, $43 and $33, with a limited number of $10 student tickets. ASC members may receive $10 off single tickets (limit two). UAB faculty and staff may receive $15 off single tickets (limit two). A limited number of student, member, and faculty/staff tickets are available. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or visit www.AlysStephens.org.