Cowboy Junkies at ByhamTheatre in October

For immediate release
Monday, August 3, 2009
Contact: Lauren Bracey, 412.471.3591, bracey@pgharts.org


CD Live! Presents Cowboy Junkies
8 pm, October 6, 2009, Byham Theater

Brought to you by 91.3 WYEP, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Three Rivers Arts Festival


PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 91.3 WYEP and Three Rivers Arts Festival are pleased to announce CD Live! presents Cowboy Junkies at 8 pm, Tuesday, October 6, 2009, at the Byham Theater in downtown Pittsburgh. Tickets go on sale Friday, August 7.

Cowboy Junkies formed in 1985 when Michael Timmins (guitar), Peter Timmins (drums) and bassist Alan Anton, one of Michael’s oldest friends, began jamming in a garage. Joined shortly thereafter by Michael and Pete’s sister, Margo Timmins, the band released its debut, Whites Off Earth Now!!, in 1986 on their own Latent Recordings label. The band toured the Southern and Southwestern US in support of the record, soaking up the music of Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers along the way, which, in turn, inspired their second album, The Trinity Session, self-released in 1988.

Recorded with a single microphone in Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity in one 14-hour session – at a cost of $250 – The Trinity Session featured spare, lilting originals alongside Jennings, Williams and Patsy Cline covers, as well as a haunting version of the Velvet Underground classic “Sweet Jane.” With “Sweet Jane” getting considerable airplay on college and commercial radio and reviewers lauding the band’s fresh sound, word soon began to spread and before long, the Junkies had signed to RCA Records, which reissued The Trinity Session to a wider audience and platinum sales. The band’s subsequent albums chronicle the band’s evolution, a process Michael describes as gradual and organic.

Cowboy Junkies returned to Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity for a day in November 2006, joined by Ryan Adams, Natalie Merchant and Vic Chesnutt to revisit the repertoire of The Trinity Session in celebration of the original recording’s 20th anniversary. Captured by filmmakers, Pierre and Francois Lamoureux, the resulting documentary, Trinity Session Revisited, was released as a DVD/CD in January 2008.

Cowboy Junkies are joined by special guest Lee Harvey Osmond. Tickets ($35) go on sale Friday, August 7, 2009, at 9 a.m. at the Box Office at Theater Square, by phone at 412.456.6666, and online at pgharts.org.

Calendar Listing
CD Live! presents Cowboy Junkies with special guest Lee Harvey Osmond. 8 pm, Tuesday, October 6, 2009, at the Byham Theater. Doors open at 7 pm. Tickets: $35; online at pgharts.org, by phone 412.456.6666 or the Box Office at Theater Square. CD Live! is a project of Three Rivers Arts Festival, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and 91.3 WYEP.

About CD Live!
CD Live! widens the creative expression of the Pittsburgh music scene while advancing the artistry of musicians from around the world. This collaborative project of Three Rivers Arts Festival, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and WYEP-FM was formed to build new music audiences and to welcome these listeners to the Cultural District.