Grammy-winning rock legend Steve Winwood plays ‘Greatest Hits’ in Bethlehem on March 15
From a press release:
It has been announced that legendary singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, mandolin player, producer, Grammy winner, and BMI icon Steve Winwood will bring his Greatest Hits Live Tour to the Sands Bethlehem Event Center on Thursday, March 15, 2018 at 8 p.m.
Tickets, which are $59.50, $69.50, and $99.50, go on sale this Friday, Dec. 8 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at sandseventcenter.com, the Event Center box office (77 Sands Blvd., Bethlehem), ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 800-745-3000.
Steve Winwood has sold over 50 million records in the course of his five-decade career. His compositions include “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “Back in the High Life Again,” “Can’t Find My Way Home,” “Arc of a Diver,” “Higher Love,” “Roll with It,” “While You See a Chance,” “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “Split Decision,” “The Finer Things,” “Valerie,” and “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys,” among many others.
For more than 50 years, Winwood has remained a primary figure in rock ‘n’ roll, a respected innovator who has helped to create some of the genre’s most celebrated achievements. His skills as a composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist have developed an impressive catalog of popular music.
Winwood burst into prominence in 1963 at the age of 15 with the Spencer Davis Group. The band enjoyed a string of chart-topping hits by way of such enduring classics as “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “I’m a Man,” and “Keep on Running.” The international success of these singles bolstered his confidence and strengthened his resolve to seek out new rhythmic possibilities.
In 1967, he left the Spencer Davis Group and co-founded Traffic. Beloved for their eclectic style and superbly crafted songs, Traffic routinely defied convention to celebrate a host of diverse sounds and influences. Landmark albums such as “Mr. Fantasy,” “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys,” and “John Barleycorn Must Die” confirmed their position as one of the most important British groups of the 1960s and 1970s.
Eager to try his hand with other creative partnerships, Winwood left Traffic in 1969 to form a new group called Blind Faith with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker. The pairing of Winwood with Cream’s Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and, later, former Family bassist Rick Grech created what many critics dubbed Rock’s first supergroup. The international popularity of “Blind Faith,” the group’s sole No. 1 album, confirmed their special chemistry. Blind Faith staples written by Winwood such as “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Had to Cry Today” continue to rank among his finest achievements.
In 1970, Winwood reformed Traffic with Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood and guided a highly successful run with the innovative albums “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys,””John Barleycorn Must Die,” and “Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory.” By 1975, Traffic splintered as the allure of solo projects and new creative partnerships proved too tempting to resist.
1977’s solo debut “Steve Winwood” signaled a bold new artistic direction, including writing partnerships with Viv Shanshall and Will Jennings. This shift kickstarted the creation of Winwood’s landmark solo albums, including “Arc of a Diver,” the three-time Grammy Award-winning “Back in the High Life,” and the Grammy Award-winning “Roll with It.” Winwood has always nurtured a restless creative spirit, mining rich musical traditions such as Delta blues, English folk, plainsong, R&B, and Afro, Caribbean, and Brazilian rhythms, merging these diverse influences within his own unmistakable sound.
Winwood’s solo career has yielded a rich catalog of popular songs, including “Back in the High Life,” “While You See a Chance,” “Roll with It,” “Valerie,” and “Higher Love.” The latter was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning three: Record of the Year, Best Engineered Non-Classical Album, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. “Roll with It” received four Grammy nominations in 1989 and won Best Engineered Album. Winwood’s most recent solo albums, “About Time” and “Nine Lives,” have received critical acclaim, earning him one of his highest Billboard chart entries.
Winwood released his first-ever live album as a solo artist in September. “Winwood: Greatest Hits Live” is a new two CD/four LP collection sourced from his personal archives of live performances. The 23-song tracklist was handpicked by Winwood, featuring his best-loved songs and offering fans a definitive musical portrait of his five-decade career.
The expanded gatefold package features rare, previously unreleased material touching on all aspects of Winwood’s extensive catalog, including contemporary arrangements of the music he
created with the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, and on his classic solo recordings.
Winwood forges ahead undaunted, continuing to create and perform new and exciting material. He remains one of the most important and influential artists in all of popular music.
“I’m excited about the release because I have recorded every show for many years, and so it evoked many memories of the performances and reactions from the fans over the years who have supported me. I suppose it is sort of a tribute to the band members and crew I’ve been fortunate to have with me on the road,” Winwood said.
“The songs were chosen for being the ones most recognized throughout my career which have left an impression, and so I hope the record will be a souvenir that brings to mind happy memories of a good time experienced at one of my shows.”
