James Hunter at The Newton Theatre

The James Hunter Six plays at The Newton Theatre at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 14.
James Hunter has certainly paid his dues. Over the span of 30 years, he’s worked on the railway, busked in the streets of London, provided backup vocals and guitar for Van Morrison, played clubs and theatres all over the world, written scores of original songs, and recorded some of the most original and honest rhythm & soul albums of the last two decades. By 2006, Hunter was recognized with nominations for a Grammy Award (“Best Traditional Blues Album” for People Gonna Talk (Rounder)) and an American Music Award (“Best New/Emerging Artist”). He and his band then hit the road for a decade of extensive touring and recorded three additional critically-acclaimed studio albums: The Hard Way (Concord), Minute by Minute (Concord) and Hold On! (Daptone). By 2016, MOJO magazine had crowned him “The United Kingdom’s Greatest Soul Singer.” Throughout his celebrated career, Hunter has remained true not only to his musical roots but also to his loyal bandmates—the newest of which joined him over 20 years ago. As always, he steps into the studio as one of the irreplaceable "The James Hunter Six": Rudy Petschauer, drums; Michael Buckley, baritone saxophone; Freddy DeBoe, alto saxophone; Kyle Koehler, organ; and Myles Weeks, upright bass. In February of 2018, renowned soul label Daptone Records released James Hunter’s most ambitious album to date, Whatever It Takes, which offers ten new and original songs written by Hunter and recorded live to 8-track tape by Daptone's two-time Grammy Award-winning Gabriel Roth.
The Newton Theatre is located at 234 Spring Street in Newton. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.skypac.org or call 973-THE-NEWT.