Press Release

Jay Buchanan to perform

Date:2.3.2010

COLDWATER, MI—  Randy Jackson, of American Idol fame, had this to say about acoustical guitarist, Jay Buchanan, “No one is doing what he’s doing. So many try, but no one is actually DOING it.”

For one night only, Buchanan, one of the most celebrated underground folk artists in the United States, will be performing at 8pm, Friday, Feb. 12, 2010 at the Tibbits Opera House.

A former funeral home worker, chef and avid hiker, Buchanan can be found performing with only a guitar, conviction and voice while filling large performance halls from Los Angeles to London with shows that are moving, desperate and soaring. Because of this, Buchanan has been voted “The Best in the West” by critics.

John Roos, a Los Angeles Times critic, had this to say, “In an era of easily digestible pop confections, the baby-faced, soft-spoken Buchanan prefers to unveil a hypnotic, unsettling mix of contradictions. Perhaps a spellbound fan named Lisa sums it up best in this e-mail posted on the band's Web site: "Your music hauntingly soothes me . . . or does it soothingly haunt me?"

Buchanan had an interesting childhood and teen years. For the first five years of his life, he had a speech impediment so severe even his mother couldn't understand him and he grew up extremely self conscious of his voice whenever he spoke. At 15 he turned down a possible fruitful recording career with a major label producer after literally being told "we believe you are the Debbie Gibson for your generation." By 17 he had started or disbanded six different bands, turned down a scholarship to the Berkley School of Music as well as an invitation to tour nationally with a renaissance fair as the court jester.

Buchanan’s early adulthood continued in this vein by experiencing life his way. By age 20 he sold every possession except his guitar (1967 es335) to spend five months as a hitchhiker in Alaska hoping to write compulsively. He didn't write compulsively but he did grow a beard and learn to starve. Then at 23 he spent the year working as a service director for a funeral home burying and collecting bodies by day while recording his record at night.

Most recently as vocalist and songwriter for L.A. based Rival Sons, the band sold out venues like the House of Blues in Hollywood as well as the Hard Rock in Las Vegas all in the last year.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Buchanan and become a fan for life! Tickets are $19 for adults and $8 for students. For reservations call 517-278-6029 or visit www.Tibbits.org. Tibbits is located at 14 S. Hanchett St., Coldwater.