It’s often said that a particular guitarist is a “guitar player’s guitar player.”
Well, Anders Osborne is the singer-songwriter’s guitar player. For decades he’s been well known as the poet laureate of Louisiana’s fertile roots-music scene. But Osborne is also an electrifying guitarist with a super-funky rhythmic sensibility who plays lead with ferocious intensity.
He’s also a hugely underrated bottleneck blues master. OffBeat named him the Crescent City’s Best Guitarist on three occasions, and the Best Songwriter twice in its Best of the Beat Awards.
The last time we did a Guitar Player Presents promotion with Osborne, he was trading tunes with Warren Haynes fronting the Last Waltz tour. This time he’s previewing the set he’ll be playing at the BottleRock Festival in Napa, California, along with opening act Bella Rayne, the 17-year-old NorCal phenom who just signed with Madison House booking and management and is preparing for her big time in the limelight.
Osborne is supporting his 17th full-length album, Picasso’s Villa , and says he’ll be playing “a few selections from that as well as some of the popular ones from my catalogue.”
“I’ll probably break it down for a few acoustic numbers," he says, "but otherwise it’s a power trio with Chad Cromwell [Mark Knopfler, Bonnie Raitt] on drums and Bob Glaub [Steve Miller, John Fogerty] on bass guitar, plus a special local mystery guest.”
Osborne is giddy about his new Gibson Les Paul Standard ’60s.
“The Standard ’50s have thicker necks, while the Standard ’60s have thinner necks and hotter humbuckers," he notes. "I switched from using the ’50s to using the ’60s about a year ago, and I’m falling in love with it. My Gibson Standard ’60s model plays as good or probably better than any of the other special reissues or even some of the vintage stuff I have. It’s amazing.”
“I’m also crazy about a Klon copy made by Ryra called the Klone overdrive pedal. It’s a little bit brighter than the original, but you can roll the tone off and make it sound round, or even dark if you want. I can’t live without that Ryra. And I just love the Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker, which is a stereo pedal with tape delay and saturation.”
Osborne adds, “Everyone’s been telling me about Bella Rayne, so it’s nice to see her name on the bill. I’m curious to check out what she’s doing.”
Local folks got a glimpse of Bella Rayne’s prodigious presence on a big stage at the Fillmore in a guest spot with the Allman Betts Family Revival last December. I happened to get called up on the same tune, “One Way Out,” and bore intimate witness to Rayne, as she did a hell of a job holding her own in an improvisational situation along with Duane Betts and Devon Allman.
Rayne has a heavy Jerry Garcia influence and is currently putting together her first album. Her band on the 23rd features Alex Jordan on keyboards, vocals and second guitar, along with über bassist Angeline Saris (Adrian Belew, Santana, Sammy Hagar) and drummer Danny Luehring (Terrapin All-Stars).
“The show will be super jammy and psychedelic, and largely instrumental," Rayne explains. "My new baby is a custom hand-wired Fender ’64 Princeton Reverb, and this will be one of its first shows. We’ll throw in a bit of folky stuff as well. Alex sings, so we might do a few Bob Dylan tunes. I’m just getting into singing now. I’ve been taking a little time off before festival season to work on some original music and sort of find myself.”
“I’m excited to kick off the whole BottleRock weekend doing this show with Anders Osborne,” Rayne continues. “This will be my first time even attending the BottleRock Festival, and I’ll be turning 18 years old on Tuesday, the 20th, so, we’ll be celebrating the whole weekend. I can’t imagine a better way to spend it.”
We’re thrilled to be working with KC Turner Presents for this special show on Friday, May 23. It’s part of the summertime Cookout Concert Series that takes place on the spacious and gorgeous back patio at the Hopmonk Novato located just a few clicks north of San Francisco.
If you’re planning to be in Northern California over Memorial Day Weekend, don’t miss this chance to catch a unique bill with Anders Osborne and Bella Rayne at the perfect place to soak in some Cali sunshine and warm musical vibrations.
WIN TICKETS!
For a chance to win a pair of tickets to see GP Presents Anders Osborne and Bella Rayne in Novato, California, on Friday, May 23, 16, send an email and put “Osborne Rayne” in the subject line. Include a sentence about yourself and why you want to go. Phone contact greatly appreciated for confirmation.
The winner must provide their own transportation to the Hopmonk in Novato, California, on Friday, May 23, and have his or her own accommodations in the Bay Area.
Best of luck!
EVENT DETAILS
GP Presents Anders Osborne plus Bella Rayne
Friday, May 23
4 pm doors, 6pm show
All ages
Hopmonk Tavern
224 Vintage Way, Novato, CA 94945
We'll be handing out free packs of Martin Strings.
