An Evening with KARLA BONOFF
SATURDAY APRIL 29, 2023 8PM
THE OPEN CHORD
8502 KINGSTON PIKE | KNOXVILLE, TN | 865-281-5874
In her two-hour-plus show, where she played guitar and piano with confidence and offered up warm, sure, unpretentious lyrics with nimble guitarist Nina Gerber by her side as her ally/"band," Ms. Bonoff amply conveyed what she does, and also a sense of who she is and where she came from. While her songs tend to be less cut from the confessional cloth of songwriting than a more general, broadly poetic angle, a Karla Bonoff show can seem like a this-is-your-life narrative, replete with anecdotes from her 40-plus years and landscape in the song world and provocative tales from the road and the strange, elusive, muse-chasing existence of a songwriter. - JOSEF WOODARD, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Karla Bonoff has been described as one of the finest singer/songwriters of her generation. That description is not hyperbole.
Bonoff has enjoyed critical acclaim, commercial success, enduring popularity, and the unwavering respect of her peers. Karla has seen her songs become hits for Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna Judd, and Linda Ronstadt. Many of Bonoff’s ballads are classics.
Karla has continued to record and tour extensively, playing sold-out shows around the world. Hearing Karla’s moving vocals on her rich, expressive songs is like standing beneath a sparkling waterfall–refreshing, exhilarating, and restorative. Experiencing them live can be transformative. Fans and critics agree that Bonoff’s songs are timeless as are her recordings. Many prefer her versions, live with instrumentation that is clean and spare, giving Bonoff’s voice room to work its emotional magic.
In 2019, Karla released her first new album in over a decade, Carry Me Home, a 16-song set featuring brand new recordings of Karla’s classics along with new songs by Karla, Kenny Edwards, and a cover of a vintage Jackson Browne tune, Something Fine, which Karla performed on the 2015 compilation, Looking into You: A Tribute To Jackson Browne.
In late 2020, Karla released, Silent Night, her first collection of Holiday music, to wide acclaim, including a prominent listing on the New York Times Best New Holiday Albums of the Year. In 2021 Karla added two new songs to her Holiday collection including a duet with the legendary Michael McDonald.
The media continues to follow and shine a spotlight on Karla’s ongoing career milestones. She was featured in the acclaimed Linda Ronstadt documentary: The Sound of My Voice, highlighting her friendship with Linda and as the writer of several of her biggest songs, including Grammy Winner, All My Life. Bob Lefsetz, a longtime fan, interviewed her for his popular podcast and dug deep into her history as a pioneer of the Southern California Singer-Songwriter scene, Trisha Yearwood’s new album includes a lovely rendition of Karla’s, Home. Mary Sue Toohey of The Village on Sirius/XM hosted a performance & interview, and she was invited to sing on the longest-running radio program for acoustic music, Acoustic Café.
Karla Bonoff has been described as one of the finest singer/songwriters of her generation. That description is not hyperbole.
Bonoff has enjoyed critical acclaim, commercial success, enduring popularity, and the unwavering respect of her peers. Karla has seen her songs become hits for Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna Judd, and Linda Ronstadt. Many of Bonoff’s ballads are classics.
Karla has continued to record and tour extensively, playing sold-out shows around the world. Hearing Karla’s moving vocals on her rich, expressive songs is like standing beneath a sparkling waterfall–refreshing, exhilarating, and restorative. Experiencing them live can be transformative. Fans and critics agree that Bonoff’s songs are timeless as are her recordings. Many prefer her versions, live with instrumentation that is clean and spare, giving Bonoff’s voice room to work its emotional magic.
In 2019, Karla released her first new album in over a decade, Carry Me Home, a 16-song set featuring brand new recordings of Karla’s classics along with new songs by Karla, Kenny Edwards, and a cover of a vintage Jackson Browne tune, Something Fine, which Karla performed on the 2015 compilation, Looking into You: A Tribute To Jackson Browne.
In late 2020, Karla released, Silent Night, her first collection of Holiday music, to wide acclaim, including a prominent listing on the New York Times Best New Holiday Albums of the Year. In 2021 Karla added two new songs to her Holiday collection including a duet with the legendary Michael McDonald.
The media continues to follow and shine a spotlight on Karla’s ongoing career milestones. She was featured in the acclaimed Linda Ronstadt documentary: The Sound of My Voice, highlighting her friendship with Linda and as the writer of several of her biggest songs, including Grammy Winner, All My Life. Bob Lefsetz, a longtime fan, interviewed her for his popular podcast and dug deep into her history as a pioneer of the Southern California Singer-Songwriter scene, Trisha Yearwood’s new album includes a lovely rendition of Karla’s, Home. Mary Sue Toohey of The Village on Sirius/XM hosted a performance & interview, and she was invited to sing on the longest-running radio program for acoustic music, Acoustic Café.