SPH Presents: Concerts in the Chapel with Jeff Black
Doors 5:30pm
Showtime 6:30pm
As always, BYOB and complimentary beer and snacks while supplies last. Bring your instruments for a pickin' party at the conclusion of the show!
Steve Obermiller and Hilary Tipps will be opening this show, beginning at 6:30 for one set. Jeff Black showtime will be 7:30.
Jeff Black was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lives in Nashville, TN. His songs appear on recordings by Alison Krauss, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Douglas, John Oates, Dierks Bently, Blackhawk, Jo-el Sonnier and more. Sam Bush has championed him with recording many of his songs including "Same Ol' River" and "Gold Heart Locket". Jeff co-wrote the title track to Sam's Grammy nominated album "Circles Around Me". His music can be heard on the soundtracks of "The Thing Called Love", The acclaimed PBS documentary "The Appalachians" and Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize Winner for Best Drama "Steel City". BlackHawk's cover of Black's song, "That's Just About Right," was a Top 10 Country single. BlackHawk's cover of Black's song, "King Of The World" was a Top 30 Country single. A master songwriter and performer, Black was voted one of the top 100 Folk artists of the last 25 years by Boston's WUMB listeners. The new album, “A Walk In The Sun” Lotos Nile released in January 2020 is Black’s 12th release. Produced by Black and mixed by Dave Sinko (Chris Thile, Punch Brothers), the new album features Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Dave Roe, Jerry Roe and Kenny Vaughan. In the tradition of the great storytellers, his passionate, soul driven live performances of songs from his vast catalog are not to be missed.
“His words and voice hold down center stage with a craft so deeply in the artistic pocket that it obscures anything outside" - No Depression
"Nothing short of brilliant. Top to bottom, this stuff is special. Black is an artist of substance." - Billboard Magazine
It took over thirty-five years for Hilary Tipps and Steve Obermiller to find each other. But in no time at all, these Fort Worth, Texas songwriters fell in love and started their lives together. Yet it was another decade of trying to create life, deal with death and build careers in teaching and nursing before they wrote their first songs together.
Now fully invested in their passion for songwriting and performing, “Love (and other mysteries)” is a debut album that bursts open a dream deferred. It is a collection of songs with equal parts contemplation, wisdom and simple fun.
Though you might call them Folk or Americana, Tipps and Obermiller are not genre-specific songwriters. Just as they write about every aspect of life and living, they use every style of music to suit the song at hand. In doing so, they have created an album that takes the listener on a joyous ride: never predictable and worthy of playlist after playlist.
Americana Highways states, "Together they captivate the way Delaney & Bonnie once dignified music. An excellent duet with wonderful lyrical ornamentation scattered throughout their repertoire.”
Kelly Kieke, owner of The Tattler in Quitman, Texas says, “Every time Hilary and Steve walk up our 100 year old stairs they end up filling the space with an energy that you can’t ignore. Such amazing songwriters bringing their love for life and music to the stage for all of us to share. Such a blessing to us all.”
Whether performing in intimate listening rooms or on festival stages, they bring a connection of energy and charm unique to a couple dedicated to each other, their music and their audience.