Musician Lonnie Glass visits with us in advance of his appearance at The Gnu’s Room. Just click on the button below to listen or check us out on iTunes!
Lonnie Glass and my wife turn out to have something unusual in common. My father-in-law is a professor of Southern History. Family vacations for my wife involved a lot of trips to visit a lot of Civil War battlefields. When Lonnie was touring with rock bands, he used to rise early while his bandmates slept off the previous night’s gig (and everything that comes with it), and tour Civil War battlefields, museums, and libraries.
These trips were the genesis of Lonnie’s latest album, Chapter of Night, and it was that CD that really caught my attention when Tina told me about his upcoming visit to The Gnu’s Room. When she told me that she was bringing an artist whose latest project was Civil War songs, I assumed vintage music, not originals. But, there’s strong precedent for such a project. Lonnie’s fellow Canadian Robbie Robertson drew on the Civil War for The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” Those years continue to capture our collective imagination, inspire art of all kinds, and even draw a touring musician to the site of battlefield early in the morning for quiet contemplation.
The Gnu’s Room (414 S. Gay St.) presents Lonnie Glass on Wednesday, September 8th at 7 p.m.
