Part of the fun of my job is finding talented young performers and making them part of the Palladium family. A few years ago, one of those youngsters was a guy right out of the University of Tampa named Selwyn Birchwood.
We loved him from the start – even when his first show sold less than 50 tickets. And he’s been coming back since then for a string of sold-out shows in our Side Door nightclub.
These days, Selwyn is a headliner at theaters and festivals around the world. His two Alligator Records albums both topped the charts and he was on the cover of a couple of blues and music magazines in Europe earlier this year
But he loves playing the Side Door, so he’s back this month for two nights, Friday, Dec. 13, and Saturday, Dec. 14. Both nights are selling fast, so get your tickets now if you want to be in the room when Selwyn and his band take the stage. For tickets you can call our box office at 727 822-3590 or follow this link for on-line purchases.
Here’s what some big-time publications have said about Selwyn:
“A powerhouse player and emotive performer…his band, his material and both his skilled guitaring and soulful vocals are the essence of fully-formed. Birchwood is a major player. Highly recommended.”
–Rolling Stone
“Selwyn Birchwood is an indelibly modern and original next-generation bluesman; his tough vocals, guitar and lap steel touch on classic Chicago blues, Southern soul and boogie.”
— Washington Post
“Watch out for Selwyn Birchwood…a genius revelation and a pleasure. Roaring Fender Strat and down-south lap steel guitar.”
— Blues Matters
“Selwyn Birchwood is making waves, surprising people and defying expectations. Be on the lookout. He revels in the unexpected.”
— Living Blues
And my buddy Marty Clear did a preview of a recent Selwyn show for the Bradenton Herald and an excerpt from that story appears below:
By Marty Clear
If you’re a blues fan in Bradenton, you’re really lucky. You get to see an dhear Selwyn Birchwood. Birchwood is one of the hottest young blues musicians around. He won the International Blues Challenge four years ago — a huge competition that attracts musicians from all over the world — and that same year, he took home the Albert King Guitarist of the Year Award. Not long after that, he signed with Alligator Records, one of the most prestigious independent blues labels. 
He lived in Tampa until recently, and now he lives in Orlando, so he performs around here a lot, at places like the Blue Rooster and at Bradenton Blues Festival’s events.
Blues magazine describes the new album as “urgent” and “uncompromising.” The Washington Post calls Birchwood a “tough, indelibly modern next generation bluesman.” The Wall Street Journal says he is “fiery and original.”
Birchwood, is a lanky 30-year-old who plays scorching but fluid electric guitar and writes songs that are influenced as much by blues forefathers as they are by Jimi Hendrix. There’s raw emotion in his songs and his signing and polished virtuosity of his playing, and his live shows are always a treat.
Leave a Reply