Singer/songwriter Ken Stringfellow will be coming to town next month for a show at downtown’s Christ Cathedral Church. Tickets are available now starting at $25 for the special Sept. 25 concert.
Stringfellow would be a Power Pop legend for his work with The Posies alone. Formed in the late ’80s in the Pacific Northwest with Jon Auer, The Posies had a Modern Rock hit with “Dream All Day,” but their debut, Failure, and subsequent ’90s albums for DGC Records are considered by many to be Power Pop masterworks. Stringfellow and Auer received what was basically the Power Pop Presidential Medal of Honor when they were asked to join Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens for a Big Star reunion in 1993; the twosome continued their role as one-half of the third greatest Pop Rock band of all time until Chilton died in 2010. Stringfellow also toured and recorded with R.E.M. from the late ’90s through the mid-’00s.
Along with continued work with The Posies and production work, Stringfellow has done numerous session/sideman jobs and indulged in a variety of side projects. He also has a strong solo discography that began with 1997’s This Sounds Like Goodbye.
Stringfellow’s sophomore solo album, Touched, had the unfortunate release date of Sept. 11, 2001, but its sublime mix of expected hook-heavy Pop Rock gems and more subtle and rootsier tracks was widely acclaimed by critics. (Pitchfork said, “No one really knows at this point what will become of the Posies, but as long as Stringfellow keeps putting out music in some form, the future of power-pop looks okay.”) The album also holds a special place in the hearts of many of Stringfellow's fans.
Stringfellow’s forthcoming North American tour includes house, private and secret concerts, as well as regular club shows and performances at more unique venues, like a Georgia comic book store and, as mentioned, Christ Church Cathedral here in the Queen City. Most of the dates (including the Cincinnati one) will be at venues with real pianos, on which Stringfellow will be playing Touched and other songs.
Stringfellow’s Cincinnati visit was booked by local singer/songwriter Kim Taylor, who hosts occasional concerts at Christ Church Cathedral. Taylor acted in an experimental film alongside Stringfellow based on his life (sorta) called Ken – The Movie.
