An Evening With Ray Wylie Hubbard

In conjunction with the Americana Music AssociationFrom his humble beginnings as an Oklahoma folkie in the ’60s to his wild ride through the ’70s progressive country movement, and onward through the honky-tonk of the ’80s, to his sobriety-powered comeback in the ’90s, Americana icon Ray Wylie Hubbard was already a legend by the time he found his groove at the turn of the century. That’s when he felt confident enough in his guitar playing to dive headfirst into his own take on the blues — a form he’d admired but steered clear of for decades. In lieu of drugs and alcohol, that language became Hubbard’s new addiction — and the title of his 2001 album Eternal and Lowdown. Fourteen years further down the road, Hubbard is still chasing hellhounds deep into the underbelly of the blues. With a Lightnin’ Hopkins gleam in his eyes and a Rolling Stone swagger in his boot steps, on April 7 he released his 16th album, The Ruffian’s Misfortune. The follow-up to 2012’s acclaimed album The Grifter’s Hymnal, The Ruffian’s Misfortune features 10 new songs and marks the most focused record of his career. The album, which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Blues Album chart, features shared lead guitar contributions from Hubbard’s 21-year-old son, Lucas, and the talented Gabe Rhodes, along with bassist/co-producer George Reiff and drummer Rick Richards. Sonically, The Ruffian’s Misfortune picks up where The Grifter’s Hymnal left off, with Hubbard and his wrecking crew confidently jumping from jagged roots rock to ’60s-style garage stomp, Mississippi and Texas blues, and even earnest country-gospel name-checking Sister Rosetta Tharpe (“Barefoot in Heaven”). The songs themselves are rife with wayward souls worthy of both words in the album’s title — sinners, luckless gamblers, drunks, thieves, and at least one beautiful, fierce woman. Currently in the midst of a U.S. tour in support of his new album, the GRAMMY Museum welcomes Ray Wylie Hubbard to the Clive Davis Theater as part of the Americana Series for an intimate performance and discussion surrounding his career and new music, moderated by Scott Goldman, Vice President of MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation.