Paul Thorn w/Steve Forbert: at 3rd & Lindsley (Nashville, TN) Sat. December 29, 2012

Paul Thorn w/Steve Forbert

Pop/Rock

Nashville Scene Critic's Pick …

The money’s on Paul Thorn, whose six albums — including this year’s bristling What the Hell Is Goin’ On? — have made him a silver-tongued favorite of the contemporary Americana and blues scene. But don’t write off Steve Forbert, a formidable silver fox of a songster who handily survived the “next Dylan” curse after his 1980 smash “Romeo’s Tune” propelled him to fame. Of course, Thorn has actually been a prizefighter, which gives him a physical advantage in this battle of the balladeers. Forbert’s new Over With You, however, is also formidable, and exhibits the depth of a mature writer at the height of his powers. Will Thorn’s brawny delivery triumph over Forbert’s burnished attack? Or will Forbert rise up like a righteous George Foreman pummeling Michael Moorer? Get a ringside seat as these six-string-strumming Southern realists battle it out.

—TED DROZDOWSKI