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John Gorka
Rolling Stone magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement."
His work is built around little more than his unmistakable voice and the simple, clean sounds of his guitar
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TICKETS: $20 Advance/ $25 Door; Front-of-House $25 Advance/ $30 Door
Cabaret Seating $35 Advance/ $40 Door
John Gorka's music demonstrates an easy melodic sensibility: Nothing is contrived or overproduced. His work is built around little more than his unmistakable voice and the simple, clean sounds of his guitar.
Rolling Stone magazine dubbed
him the " preeminent male singer-songwriter of the New Folk movement" for
good reason. Quirky, insightful and perceptive songs coupled with a
hilarious live show have made him a favorite with audiences , and peers, for
more than 25 years.
John cut his musical teeth at Godfrey Daniels coffeehouse in Bethlehem, PA in
the 1980s, before becoming a pivotal part of the growing Fast Folk music
scene in NYC, along with his friends Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin, among
others. After encouragement from Nanci Griffith, John won the Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk Competition, began touring nationally and internationally,and released his first album, I Know, in 1987 on Red House
Records. He was then signed with Windham Hill as the artist they built
their songwriter label around, High Street Records. After a number of
very successful releases on High Street, John decided that the shifting
dynamics of the music industry were not for him, and resigned with Red House
Records.
John always had a clear vision of priorities; art and audience first..and success will follow...and it has. He added family to that priorities list, and now maintains a successful touring schedule of nearly 100 dates per year: not enough for all the promoters who want him, but it gives him the balance he values in his life...which has always been more important to him than any potential commercial success in the music industry.
Without talented artists such as Gorka and his contemporaries to mind the path, this kind of personal, meaningful and human music might have slipped away. That would have been a tragedy, because Gorka's songs tell real stories about real people — you, me, your family and friends. It helps that he's a great writer who knows how to put a tune to a tale.
