It's All in the Family

Famous bassist Tommy Stinson hits the city with a fresh selection of rock ‘n’ roll, recorded right in Delaware County.

Tommy Stinson, along a SEPTA railway.When Tommy Stinson comes to town, he doesn’t have to go too far because he lives in the Philly area. For the past couple of years, the Guns N’ Roses bassist has been busy with a tour that has taken him everywhere from Australia to Abu Dhabi. With a few idle months and a lot of new music on his hard drive, he’s chomping at the bit to get out with a little combo for a few dates and road-test his soon-to-be released material. That’s what brings him to the North Star Bar on Feb. 18.

This mini-tour—which extends to New York City, Boston and Arlington, Va.—will be a showcase for the new music he’s been working on for several years now. Recorded in a Delaware County basement, as well as an L.A. studio, the music is a range of styles and influences that include Stones-y, punked-up blues rave-up and even a cowboy yodeling around a campfire. The set list will also draw from his post-Replacements projects like Bash & Pop and Perfect, along with his first solo outing, Village Gorilla Head. Plus, he’s been known to jump on a classic cover or two in performance.

The combo is a family affair, with fiancée Emily Roberts singing on the songs that she performs on the record. For the North Star show, Chip Roberts will accompany on guitar, as he did on much of the forthcoming record. Longtime Philadelphia local music fans will remember Roberts’ “chicken pickin'” playing with bands like The One-400’s and The Drinkers. (Full disclosure: I’m married to Roberts, and Emily is my niece. So that makes Stinson my “almost nephew.” I’m a tad biased, but the new music is really good.)

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It’ll be a one-hour show with an opening act that’s still to be determined.

SHOW INFO
When:
Feb. 18, 9 p.m.
Where: North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St., Philadelphia.
Tickets: $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Call (215) 787-0488, or visit northstarbar.com.
 

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