<\/p>\n
Grammy-award winner Mollie O\u2019Brien embodies the Americana music genre with her mix of blues and folk, with some gospel and jazz thrown in.<\/p>\n
The singer-song writer will perform with her guitar-virtuoso husband, Rich Moore, at the Dolores River Brewery Friday, March 27 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re quite thrilled to be playing Dolores,\u201d O\u2019Brien said in an phone interview with the Star. \u201cOur shows are fun and relaxed, with a good variety of songs and Rich and I bantering back and forth a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien became known to the rest of the world in 1988 when she and her brother, Tim, released the first of three critically-acclaimed albums for Sugar Hill Records. Eventually, Mollie recorded five well-received solo albums, and was a regular on the radio show, \u201cA Prairie Home Companion\u201d from 2001 through 2005.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien says she doesn\u2019t recognize a lot of musical boundaries. She\u2019s not afraid to re-interpret folk classics, traditional gospel, and forgotten ballads.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always looking for stuff that has not been covered to death,\u201d she says. \u201cI comb online and go through old record stores. It\u2019s getting harder to find. Some of the original sheet music is so old it\u2019s crumbling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once she hones in on an old tune, the fun begins.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to turn it inside out, and make it tempo-wise a different arrangement,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cI like to change the song enough so the audience does not recognize it until the chorus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rich Moore also has impressive musical chops, and is well-known in the Colorado music scene. He produces some of the funniest onstage running commentary, and is a powerhouse guitar player who can keep up with O\u2019Brien\u2019s twists and turns from blues to traditional folk to jazz to rock and roll.<\/p>\n
Moore\u2019s played in bands with Pete Wernick and Celeste Krenz, but now is \u201cthe band\u201d behind his duo act with his wife Mollie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the drummer, the bass, the rhythm and the lead,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a joy to play behind Mollie, she leads the way and I enhance her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The early folk and blues scene in Philadelphia influenced Moore\u2019s guitar interests.<\/p>\n
\u201cChris Smithers, Dave von Ronk left a big impression on me,\u201d he said. \u201cI listen to a lot of ragtime and sneak that into my playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore said it\u2019s a secret how he and Mollie can tour so successfully as husband and wife, \u201cso I can\u2019t tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Denver-based duo has been touring smaller towns in Colorado, playing Ridgeway Thursday before heading to Dolores, and then on to Carbondale.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the small town feel with families and kids coming to hear the show,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be really cool with a variety of music styles.\u201d<\/p>\n