He is becoming another one of those Cleveland darlings, a regional artist from somewhere else who comes through town once a year or so, and solely by word of mouth each time the crowd gets a little bigger. Paul Thorn is becoming the latest in the long line of semi-unknowns who has gathered a solid fan base here in Northern Ohio, even though his music isn’t played on the radio here (hear that 107.3!), and he lives 1200 miles away in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Last Thursday before a good crowd in the ballroom at the Beachland, Thorn and his band put on another well-received show, featuring Thorns blend of blues, rock, and small town humor and wisdom. He played crowd favorites including “Long Time from Tupelo,” “I Have a Good Day (every now and then),” “Mood Ring,” and his Elvis Presley tribute “Even Heroes Die.” He has a new album coming out in June, and the songs from it also sounded good, including a tribute to Tequila (“there’s no sure fire remedy when love tears you apart/but tequila is good for the heart”), and a song filled with things his mother told him titled “Enjoy the Journey that is Life.”
Paul Thorn is a great songwriter, a solid performer, and an American musical original. His observations of the world around him are priceless. If there was any justice in the world, he’d be sitting on the top of the music industry. His show last Thursday was part old time revival, part roots music, part blues show, part old time rock and roll concert.
For more about Paul Thorn and his music visit www.paulthorn.com. As always, there are a lot of great shows coming up at the Beachland, including Fred Eaglesmith April 8; Drive-By Truckers on April 11; The Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue featuring Tommy Castro on April 12; the Deadstring Brothers with California Speedbag on April 17; and Shelby Lynne on May 5. I’m really looking forward to the Shelby Lynne show; her last time around at the Beachland in support of her Dusty Springfield tribute album was one of the best Beachland shows ever. http://www.BeachlandBallroom.com
Greg Cielec is a local writer who covers mostly music and sports for a variety of publications and websites. He is also a full time English and creative writing teacher at Streetsboro High School; an adjunct professor at BGSU Firelands College and Lakeland Community College; and a football coach at John Carroll University.
He has published two books of fiction, My Cleveland Story (1998) and Home and Away Games (2006), and the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Michael Heaton has called him “the Mark Twain of Cleveland.” Check out his website and blog at http://www.GregCielec.com.