Greg Brown said he’s shocked that people still come out to see him play.
The Iowan folk singer and former regular performer on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion released 31 albums from 1974 to 2012, but he’s since conceded that times have changed and “I pretty much had my turn.”
“Every time I show up at a gig and there’s people there I’m like, ‘Wow.’ It’s always a surprise to me,” he said.
On Aug. 23 Brown will perform for a new audience when he makes his Nanaimo debut at St. Andrew’s United Church. It’s the only Vancouver Island date on his current tour, which also takes him to Salt Spring Island for a sold-out show the following day.
With such a deep repertoire from which to draw, Brown said settling on a set list is an extemporaneous exercise, based on the mood of the crowd and which songs continue to resonate for the singer.
“The only [songs] I keep doing are ones I can still get into, and some of them drop for a while and then I remember some old tune I haven’t done for years and I’ll pull that out again,” he said.
Brown continues to write songs when they bother him enough that he has to stop what he’s doing and put them on paper. Despite spending most of his life penning tunes, Brown said, “I don’t know what I’m doing as a writer.”
“I don’t think most writers do. I mean, we try to say a few things, but it’s just a gift and if you got it, you try and do something with it. But I never really understood where songs come from,” Brown said.
“My personal opinion about that is that the muse, or whatever you want to call it, finds people that aren’t really up to too much because she knows she can get them whenever she wants them. So I’m one of those guys.”
WHAT’S ON … Greg Brown performs with accompanist Bo Ramsey at St. Andrew’s United Church on Thursday, Aug. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the door. Available at Arbutus Music, Fascinating Rhythm and online.
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