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Craig Finn On Mountain Stage

Craig Finn
Brian Blauser
/
Mountain Stage
Craig Finn

Craig Finn makes his first solo appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, W.Va. Perhaps best known as the frontman of The Hold Steady, Finn does occasionally step out on his own to examine a different side of his songwriting.

His latest, Faith In The Future, finds Finn expanding the boundaries of his writing — and confidence as a performer — as far as they've ever been stretched. The images of suburbia and Catholicism from his Hold Steady songs still make appearances, but they all intertwine with quiet themes of loss, perseverance and redemption.

Finn is backed here by Arun Bali on electric guitar, Will Berman on bass and Falcon Valdez on drums. Finn closes his set solo, though, with the short-story narrative ballad "Dennis And Billy," which calls to mind some of the most haunting songs from Bruce Springsteen's solo masterpiece Nebraska — a tall order, indeed.

SET LIST

  • "Maggie I've Been Searching For Our Son"
  • "Christine"
  • "Newmyer's Roof"
  • "Trapper Avenue"
  • "Dennis And Billy"
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