NHT! Nashville: Catch JJ Grey & Mofro at the Cannery Ballroom

If you like good music that comes from the soul and has depth, passion and style then you need to check out JJ Grey & Mofro at The Cannery Ballroom in Nashville. On their fourth album, Southern blues rockers JJ Grey & Mofro deliver just what their hard-earned fans have come to expect: Southern influenced rock and roll drenched in sexy, sweaty soul sensibilities born of the swamplands of the dirty south. It is from this oft-maligned area of the country that smoldering front man JJ Grey draws inspiration for his front-porch roots style of storytelling reminiscent of such great southern storytellers as Flannery O’Connor and Muddy Waters or John Lee Hooker.
His poignant song craft relies heavily on the complex simplicity of minimalist compositions that provoke emotions and prod the heart with a pointy finger of truth that is as unflinching as it is penetrating and evocative. His powerful vocals have elements that fall somewhere between a younger John Fogerty or Van Morrison and a more recent Eddie Vedder.
Grey's delivery is equally informed by gospel soul of the church house and the funky R&B of darkened honky-tonks across town. Impressive as it is Grey’s presence is only one half of the alchemic magic that is JJ Grey & Mofro. Grey’s pointed lyrics and unmatched vocal delivery and presence are perfectly framed by his second-to-none band who deliver stylistic arrangements that are texturally fascinating and musically entrancing.
Their stage presence is something akin to a bluesy version of the roots rock of veteran southern rockers The Drive-By-Truckers. JJ Grey & Mofro will be performing at The Cannery Ballroom in Nashville on Friday, June 5th, 2009. If this band is half as good live as their album makes them out to be, then you’re in for one hell of a performance.