About The Band
» News » Praying for Rain
As the L.A. Weekly aptly put it, "This West Coast group deftly dashes across decades of American
music to create a sound that's steeped in tradition but never bogged down by traditionalism."
An eclectic aggregation composed of singer/multiinstrumentalists Dan Wheetman, Jon Wilcox, Mike Phelan, Ed Littlefield Jr. and Jerry Fletcher – the band can sing and play anything with spot-on feel, from roots to rock, blues to bluegrass, gospel to stone country, which is what they've been doing - to the ongoing delight of a fervent cult that includes many of their fellow musicians - throughout their first quarter century as a working unit. Their trademark multi-part harmonies never cease to captivate, whether on record or in live performance.
The band recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with the scintillating tour de force, Jubilee. The album, produced by the late and legendary Nashville cat Cowboy Jack Clement and recorded at the city's venerable Sound Emporium,
which Clement built, features guest performances from artists Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Old Crow Medicine Show, Marty Stuart and Larry Campbell.
Campbell, a master musician of all things stringed, three-time Grammy winning producer, and Americana Music
Association Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, was so impressed with the band during his session work
on Jubilee, that he signed on to produce its follow-up album. That effort, much of which was recorded at the venerable Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY, turned out to be a perfect match of artist and producer and will hit the streets later this year.
Also on board for 2014, Marley’s Ghost is launching Praying for Rain: The Dust Bowl and Beyond, a multimedia theatrical performance piece about one of the worst environmental disasters of the 20th century, the toll it took upon the land and those wed to it, and its echoes as a warning about our own impact on today’s environment. Fueled by the band’s
deep musical roots, narrative prowess, and passion for history, Praying for Rain promises a thoughtful and resonant evening of theater and song.
See All
News
Mauris accuml dia in lacus ediscng aliqIn pdeiquetsit amet euis inuctor ut liguliquam dapibus tincidturent justo dolor loboeittis euisr piciatis unde omnis iste natus errorptatem accusantium doloremen emque laudantium totam remeaque ipsa.
Read More
Mauris accuml dia in lacus ediscng aliqIn pdeiquetsit amet euis inuctor ut liguliquam dapibus tincidturent justo dolor loboeittis euisr piciatis unde omnis iste natus errorptatem accusantium doloremen emque laudantium totam remeaque ipsa.
Read More
Mauris accuml dia in lacus ediscng aliqIn pdeiquetsit amet euis inuctor ut liguliquam dapibus tincidturent justo dolor loboeittis euisr piciatis unde omnis iste natus errorptatem accusantium doloremen emque laudantium totam remeaque ipsa.
Read More
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Praying for Rain:
The Dust Bowl and Beyond
Through evocative songs and narration, musicians and actors forge a compelling tale from first hand accounts, various historical sources, and the sobering vantage point of hindsight. Onscreen projections augment the story with graphic images of the toll taken upon the land and those wed to it
In the late 19th Century, the land beyond the Mississippi, the Great Basin, witnessed a dramatic change that would profoundly affect its future. Large tracts of land were sold off, plows broke the buffalo grass, and wheat farmers made a killing. Less than 30 years later, poor farming practices and a cataclysmic drought created The Dust Bowl, one of the worst environmental disasters of the 20th Century. Three million people left their farms on the Great Plains; half a million of them migrated to other states. Many others stayed on, tied to the land, often at devastating cost and hardship.
PRAYING FOR RAIN is a multimedia performance about the coming of the plow, the tragic results of the Dust Bowl, and its echoes as a warning about our own impact on today’s environment. Through evocative songs and narration, musicians and actors forge a compelling tale from first hand accounts, various historical sources, and the sobering vantage point of hindsight. Onscreen projections augment the story with graphic images of the toll taken upon the land and those wed to it.
Original tunes, folk songs of the early settlers, the Dust Bowl ballads of Woody Guthrie, the diaries and personal narratives all combine to evoke the courage, humor, and enduring spirit of the people who lived through what’s been called “the worst hard time.” Often blinding in their intensity, the great dust storms known as the “black blizzards” of the Dirty Thirties, cast a long shadow. With its pathos and parallels to our present day lack of vision, PRAYING FOR RAIN makes for a thoughtful and resonant evening of theater and song.
Press Quotes
…remarkable, distinctive voices…giddily eccentric eclecticism…a heady, subversive treat.”
Marley's Ghost has earned cult-band status over years of spirited musicianship, multi-part harmonies and irreverent humor.”
Jubilee is a joyous record that more than earns its title. . .Marley’s Ghost is a fantastic band who have themselves figured out.”
If there is a group, in the era after the sad passing of Levon Helm, who can push forward the ageless Americana blueprint of The Band, it might just be Marley’s Ghost.”
The vocals will blow you away with their purity…the group sings with the heartfelt conviction that only those who embody music’s spirituality can convey.”
The real draw is the band itself, showcasing the kind of ensemble performances that come only from a lifetime of playing together, thriving across the decades as virtuosic, unsung heroes of country, folk, and Western swing.”
…goes down smooth, rich and delectable.”
At the core of Marley’s Ghost and this project is timeless music that’s superbly executed.”
What makes Marley’s Ghost’s music so remarkable is the way the band melds so many different influences into a cohesive sound – not Americana (an industry buzz word) but actual American music.”
The cavalry has arrived in the form of Marley’s Ghost’s bluegrass-cum-country blues version of Bobby Womack’s (and early Rolling Stones') “It’s All Over Now,” a moment of pure musicmaking joy and esprit de corps.”
Individually and collectively, the five musicians that make up Marley’s Ghost are among the true masters of American music. On their 25th Anniversary album, Jubilee, they prove it with every note.”
They’ve proven themselves not only extremely adept as an instrumental ensemble, but also remarkably fluid to the point of defying description, producing a sound that seems both effortless and illuminating in equal measure. An exceptional outfit that's consistently creative and compelling.”
Tight and soaring harmonies, expert musicianship, lyrics that tell stories, and an underlying beauty all combine to make their music memorable.”