One-man jam band Keller Williams performs at Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Dec. 8
From a press release:
After a standout performance at the Susquehanna Breakdown in May, it was announced today that acclaimed musician and songwriter Keller Williams will bring his unique live solo performance to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. as part of the venue’s “Live from the Chandelier Lobby” concert series, presented by City Market & Café.
Tickets, which are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the show, plus fees, go on sale this Friday, July 14 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Kirby Center box office (71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre), online at kirbycenter.org, and by phone at 570-826-1100. A Kirby Member pre-sale begins on Thursday, June 13 at 10 a.m.
Since he first appeared on the music scene in the early ’90s, Keller Williams has defined the term “independent artist.” And his recordings tell only half the story. Williams built his reputation on his engaging live performances, no two of which are ever alike.
For most of his career, he has performed solo. His stage shows are rooted around Williams singing his compositions and choice cover songs while accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. With the use of today’s technology, he creates samples on the fly in front of the audience, a technique called “live phrase sampling” or “looping,” with nothing pre-recorded; the end result often leans toward a hybrid of alternative folk and groovy electronica, a genre Keller jokingly calls “acoustic dance music” or “ADM.”
That approach, Williams explains, was derived from “hours of playing solo with just a guitar and a microphone, and then wanting to go down different avenues musically.
“I couldn’t afford humans and didn’t want to step into the cheesy world of automated sequencers where you hit a button and the whole band starts to play, then you’ve got to solo along or sing on top of it. I wanted something more organic yet with a dance groove that I could create myself.”
Williams’ solo live shows – and his ability to improvise to his determinedly quirky tunes despite the absence of an actual band – quickly became the stuff of legend, and his audience grew exponentially when word spread about this exciting, unpredictable performer.
“K-Dub” has also been a busy man in the studio, releasing 23 albums – all with monosyllabic titles – from 1994’s “Freek” to 2017’s “Raw.” He has recorded with Bob Weir, Bela Fleck, and the String Cheese Incident, among others, recently collaborating with Scranton jamgrass band Cabinet on stage. He will also return to The Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton in August for The Peach Music Festival with his band Kwahtro.
See NEPA Scene’s photos of Williams playing at the Susquehanna Breakdown here.
