Thorn Will Take The Stage At Old School Theater Grand Opening On June 4

Thorn Will Take The Stage At Old School Theater Grand Opening On June 4

WATER VALLEY – The old expression, “In for a penny, in for a pound” pretty much describes the approach of Foster Music and Arts.  Water Valley’s new music promotion organization is opening its Old School Theater with one of the biggest and best acts in North Mississippi, Tupelo’s own immensely popular roots-rock performer Paul Thorn and his band.

Thorn, one of the leading acts in North Mississippi, boasts a healthy 49,000 Facebook fans, fills auditoriums around the country, tours widely and is respected around the world – and it seems these days only rarely gets to play in his home state. An acclaimed singer and songwriter and a formidable guitarist and performer, Thorn has been pleasing crowds for years with his muscular brand of roots music – bluesy, rocking, and thoroughly Southern. 

The Tupelo native worked in a furniture factory, jumped out of airplanes, and was a professional boxer before sharing his experiences with the world as a singer-songwriter. His 2010 album Pimps and Preachers topped the Americana charts for three weeks and broke into the Billboard Top 100, perfectly exemplifying the vivid scope of his songwriting and illuminating his family background. While his father is a Church of God Pentecostal Minister, his uncle (his father’s brother) spent time as a pimp, and Thorn was influenced by both of these men. Mining these “saint and sinner” scenarios, Thorn crafted a disc that the All Music Guide lauded as “a great rock & roll album,” while The Nation labeled it “an incredible find.”

In 2014, Thorn released his eighth and most recent album, Too Blessed to Be Stressed, which he describes as a collection of “positive anthem songs.” Thorn says “In the past, I’ve told stories that were mostly inspired by my own life. This time, I’ve written 10 songs that express more universal truths, and I’ve done it with a purpose: to make people feel good.”

The big vocal hooks on Too Blessed to Be Stressed are reinforced by the sound of Thorn’s flexible and dynamic band, as they have been doing for years in concert. During their two decades in the club, theater and festival trenches, the four-piece and their frontman have garnered a reputation for shows that ricochet from humor to poignancy to knock-out rock ‘n’ roll.  

Thorn has possessed the ability to charm his audiences right from the start, not only with his music, but also with the stories he tells from the stage. “Showman-ship is a dying art that I learned from watching Dean Martin on TV when I was a kid,” Thorn explains. “He could tell little jokes and then deliver a serious song, then make you laugh again. And he would look into the camera like he was looking right at you through the TV. That’s what I want to do – make people feel like I’m talking directly to them.”

That’s really Thorn’s mission for Too Blessed to Be Stressed, which can be heard as a running conversation about life between Thorn and listeners – a conversation leavened with gentle insights, small inspirations, and plenty of cheer. “

The Old School Theater is a revitalized 250-seat school auditorium with brand new stage, sound, lights, and seating located inside the Melonvine Marketplace on the south side of Water Valley at 817 South Main Street. Foster Music & Arts will use it to regularly present both national and regional music acts with the stated mission of “cultivating the best live music in North Mississippi.” 

It all begins with Paul Thorn on June 4.

All shows at the Old School Theater are sponsored by the The Caryl Company and the Melonvine Marketplace. The Paul Thorn show is also sponsored by the generous support of The Radiosonde Museum and Turnage Drug Store of Water Valley.

The show is general admission, tickets are $20 and they can be purchased online only at:

http://fostermusicarts.com

https://www.facebook.com/fostermusicarts/

https://www.facebook.com/thornpage

Foster Music and Arts information Line: (662) 473-7143.