Doors 4pm, Music 7:30pm

Sarah Borges Band

Featuring Eric Ambel

One way or another, Sarah Borges connects with casual mastery. Whether it’s with the comrades she’s collaborated with over nearly 20 sparkling years of music-making, or the vivid portraits of people’s lives – and occasionally her own – she’s sketched in scores of emotionally resonant songs. But most of all, Borges has built a loyal following by connecting, through her own charismatic, down-to-earth spirit, with her audience – whether they’re longtime fans from back when she broke through with her terrific “Silver City” debut in 2004, or newcomers just now joining the party with her brand new 2022 album, “Together Alone”, her eighth. “Sarah’s a fearless writer and performer,” says producer Eric ‘Roscoe’ Ambel, “and she’s a very good musician.” As anyone familiar with Sarah’s songs and performances knows, genuinely soulful music that connects with us -- and connects us to each other -- can simultaneously steal, and heal, hearts. This connection is what has kept Sarah touring and making music for many years, and what keeps us coming back to see her do it.

To call Eric Ambel “The Godfather of Americana” would be doing Ambel a disservice, as his career as a singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer stretches beyond the boundaries of even that seemingly all-encompassing genre. Before Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings were piling up Grammys behind the boards, Ambel was working with bands like the Backsliders, Bottle Rockets, and Blue Mountain, producing records that would form the foundation of what people now call Americana. 

This isn’t even taking to consideration Ambel’s debut solo album, Roscoe’s Gang (1988), which Rolling Stone called “the record Keith Richards should have made,” and which, along with his bona fide rock ‘n’ roll pedigree (a member of Joan Jett’s original Blackhearts lineup, The Del-Lords, collaborations with Syd Straw and Mojo Nixon) earned Ambel a reputation as the go-to producer and guitarist for anyone seeking that raw, loose, electric sound that Ambel made seem so effortless, but proved elusive for so many. Nils Lofgren enlisted Ambel to produce his landmark solo record Crooked Line and the aforementioned Backsliders, Bottle Rockets and Blue Mountain followed, leaning on Ambel to produce the albums that remain their most memorable and enduring works. 

https://sarahborges.com/

https://www.ericambel.com/gigs/

Tickets; $20 and on sale right now at https://abilene.showare.com and tonight at the door

Special thanks to our good friends at Bop Shop Records!