Peter Bradley Adams

Peter Bradley Adams is touring with a sweet pale peach from Georgia, Molly Parden, and of course his long-time sidekick, the very bearded and all-pro Lex Price. Lex plays some sort of C-tuned 4-string Epiphone guitar in this set, I think it's his Tenor Guitar, but it's only got 4 strings so with the open tunings it might as well be a bass Mandolin.
Starting with Molly Parden, this gal opened with four of her own songs, notably "A Song For My Mother". I have to mention Todd, backing her up, he pretty much hid in the background, but his tone was good. Molly's is pitch perfect, and a very brilliant alto; her very dry sense of humor is completely engaging on stage, the expressions she makes with her dead-pan face are a riot. She later performed several songs in duet with Peter Bradley and the harmonies were spot-on. She made faces at his hair angst (Man-bun or not to Man-bun).
Lex Price and Tenor Guitar work in a completely complementary way with Peter Bradley's intricate fingerpicking. Adams uses many alternate tunings (the tuner on the floor is his best friend) and the way Price keeps up with him could only happen over years of acquaintance. Notable songs played were "I May Not Let Go," "Katy," and "I Cannot Settle Down". On "Katy" Price and Adams shared the hook with Adams picking off a double stop eighth note D to A followed by Price finishing the four measure figure on the Mandolin. There was another entrancing bridge where you think Adams is going to pick a fourth next, but he unexpectedly slips down to the sixth, and clears it back to the root somehow. It makes the ears crazy. The book for his songs is really the good stuff; ex, "But you see I cannot settle down, There's just too much left unfound".
If you live anywhere near LA and have never been to the performance space in McCabe's Guitar shop, you are missing some sound-space perfection. It's an insider's musical temple. And oh, yeah, in case of fire, wait until the staff pulls the guitars off the wall before exiting (thanks Lincoln).

Alabama folk musician Peter Bradley Adams began his musical career as part of the acclaimed outfit eastmountainsouth yet appears to have come into his own since embarking on a solo career in the mid 00s. Although his music has not been met with a deserved amount of commercial success, it is well known in the States due to featuring heavily in television and film so many people would know a Peter Adams song without perhaps not necessarily knowing who wrote it.

Those people who clearly are in the know continue to sell out Adams infrequent live performances in order to see this modest and personable singer/songwriter doing what he does best. The intimacy of the situation suits the music perfectly as you hear every warm guitar string plucked due to the brilliant sound qualities of the venue. Peter also enjoys chatting to the crowd on a more one to one level as he talks about the inspiration and meaning behind the tracks chosen for tonight's setlist. The finale of the Americana drenched 'My Love Is My Love' receives a smattering of applause before he exits coyly but contented.

This was my first time seeing Peter Bradley Adams in person and the show exceeded all my expectations! A tight, studio-quality performance, with lots of heart and soul. Lydia Luce opened up with a very enjoyable performance and then joined Peter and his virtuoso accompanist, Lex Price, to sing harmonies and play viola on many of the songs. At one point, later in the show, Peter mentioned that he was just getting over a cold that he'd had for more than a week. I heard no indications of it, though, as his voice was strong and sure. Peter is a wordsmith and paints mental images with every line. His songs are short stories that are personal, yet open enough for the listener to insert themselves and own for themselves. You can tell that Peter has spent years refining his craft and cares very deeply about giving a great performance. Mission accomplished. I am already looking forward to the next time he comes through our area!

The first time I listened to Peter Bradley Adams' music was by chance due to a Pandora station. I discovered he was playing in NYC soon after I fell in love with his music and decided to see him for the first time in 2008.

His shows are personal, inspirational, and intimate thanks to the small venues he chooses to play at. His soothing voice, amazing guitar and piano playing cannot be faithfully described by my words, but know that indie folk rock is not dead.

The first time I saw him, was during a very rough time period in my life. His music helped get me through the bad times and I let him know that, personally after one of his shows. He is very personable and down to earth. I couldn't recommend his music more.

This show was really special. The venue was small and intimate and just perfect for his music. I liked that it was just Peter and no opener. We got to hear close to 2 hours of beautiful music. He spoke to the audience like we were old friends and was so comfortable in his own skin. It felt like we were in someone's home, just watching this amazing singer/songwriter play a little show for us. Loved it!

We had a great time at this show! Peter is genuine and charming and performs wonderfully live.

Anna Tivel was a wonderful, unexpected enhancement to the show. We'll be keeping an eye out for her and would love to see her at a local venue solo, perhaps on a visit to Portland.

Great evening. Thanks to both artists for an awesome show.

Peter was great. PLayed some of his best songs along with one or two new ones. We particularly liked the addition of Molly Parden singing harmony. She compliments his songs incredibly well.