Many will remember Edward David Anderson from the rootsy Rock band Backyard Tire Fire, in which he wrote virtually every song the band performed and recorded. When the group opened for Los Lobos a few years ago, sax player and keyboardist Steve Berlin was listening backstage and was instantly impressed with Anderson’s music. That led to Berlin producing Anderson’s excellent new album, Lies & Wishes. The 10 original songs written for the project represent themes of pain and enlightenment that have come from recent true-life experiences, yet the album is refreshingly upbeat in tempo and scope.
An excellent solo musician who plays guitars, banjo and a small drum kit onstage, Anderson is a magnificent songwriter who should be bigger than he is in this day and age when artists like Jason Isbell and others are (deservedly) finding big success.
Anderson grew up in Illinois outside Chicago and has resided in Bloomington, Ind., for awhile now. For the last several years, however, he and his wife have rocked the snowbird route, living in an RV and performing near the ocean in southern Alabama over the winter months. This time of year is when they head north again, and Anderson’s free gig at the Southgate House Revival will be a part of that yearly homecoming to the Heartland.
EDWARD DAVID ANDERSON plays a free show at Newport’s Southgate House Revival (Lounge) this Thursday. More info
here .
This article appears in Mar 25-31, 2015.