Blues star returns in unique collaboration
Saratoga Springs, NY --- Guitar goddess Sue Foley was well into her successful career by 2006, having garnered the prestigious Juno Award (aka “The Canadian Grammy”), performing at hundreds of gigs around the world and receiving numerous media accolades. But it was a chance backstage encounter with American singer-songwriter Peter Karp that summer at the Ottawa Blues Fest that would lead to a new path in both her future musical direction as well as in her personal life.For the next two years, the two artists exchanged frequent emails, a process which acted as a catharsis to the individual trials and tribulations that each was going through at the time.
"What started as a casual exchange became a revealing account of the personal struggles and dramatic changes that were happening in our lives,” Karp shared with a writer. “Our shared thoughts became intimate. Then, we turned those letters into songs and made a great CD together."
The end product is “He Said - She Said," an inspired collaboration of originals based on the content of those correspondences and which runs the gamut from folk to jazz to roots-rock to (naturally) scorching electric blues. Released in 2010 on Blind Pig Records, the title reigned at #1 on the Blues Chart for 6 weeks while also cracking the all-encompassing Billboard Top 10.The couple will bring the touring version of that collaboration – in a full band format – to the Parting Glass in Saratoga on Thursday, September 29 for an 8PM show as part of that venue's Autumn Blues Series.
Sue Foley first hit the blues scene with the release of Young Girl Blues in 1992. Her rapid ascent can be attributed as much to her unique I'm in Charge Here vocal delivery as to her fearless guitar licks, which have consistently landed her in Best Guitarist polls year after year. The ten subsequent releases were highlighted by her Juno winner “Love Comin' Down” in 2001.
Meanwhile, Perter Karp embarked on his journey in '96 by playing solo gigs in a New Jersey dive. Former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor caught wind of his third release, and their joint efforts put Karp on the national radar. That got him signed to the prestigious Blind Pig label.
A followup schedule of 150+ gigs each year was brought to a halt by the serious yet long-lingering illness --- and subsequent death -- of his wife of 24 years. Ms Foley became his disembodied, long distance confidante. 2009 found them reconnecting in the real world, and the current dual-definition partnership was sealed.
The reviews of the musical aspect of this collaboration are in – and they are resounding in praise:
With Karp's lyrics and Sue's guitar, you wanna get your hands on this album." (House of Blues)
“...the results are as compelling as they are candid." (Philadelphia Inquirer)
“one of the most intriguing album projects in a long time." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Discounted Advance Tickets: Here
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