(Featured photo Aaron Lee Tasjan. Photo credit Shervin Lainez)
People in Augusta may not know Aaron Lee Tasjan, but Will McCranie believes they should.
He may not be a household name, but he has an impressive resume, McCranie said.
“No one else toured with both Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson,” said McCranie, who added that the Nashville-based musician has also performed with the likes of the New York Dolls and Drivin N Cryin.
And McCranie, through his brand-new project, Broken Compass Presents, is bringing Tasjan to the Southbound Smokehouse beer garden in North Augusta on Oct. 13. The event will begin at 7 p.m. and will also feature Elli Perry as well as McCranie, who was recently named in Augusta Magazine’s Best of Augusta issue. He placed second after Ryan Abel as best male vocalist.
McCranie met Tasjan while he was living in New York and had the chance to hear an amazing mix of musicians on a regular basis, he said.
Described at his website as a “synth-glam-rock-indie stalwart,” the GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter has recorded several albums with his next one due out in early 2024.
Called Interstellar Pop, Tasjan’s new project is “striking collection of hyper pop, indie rock, 80s synths and angular guitars,” his website said.
Also on Friday will be Elli Perry, who started her career as a singer-songwriter at the age of 12 by sneaking onto barroom stages around Georgia.
“On stage, she may be a melancholy mesmerist, a ballsy chanteuse, or a howling one woman vocal wrecking crew- sometimes all in the same note. On record, she has amassed a body of work that seems to defy genre- shifting from Southern Gothic blues and folk, to experimental alternative rock and roll” according to her website.
And lastly but not least is McCranie who has been a musician most of his life — performing solo as well as with bands such as Bodega Cat.
Tickets start at $20 and are available here.
The Oct. 13 concert isn’t the only one on Broken Compass’s schedule. The newly formed entity is a “boutique live music promotion team,” according to its website. And McCranie wants to bring in musicians who receive high marks bu don’t usually come this way.
The next concert will feature Angie Aparo on Nov.10. Aparo has written songs for Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Miley Cyrus.
Tickets start at $20 and are available here.
On the heels of Aparo will be T. Hardy Morris and the Howdies the following week, Nov. 17. The doors open at 7 with the concert at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.
All three concerts are at Southbound in North Augusta.
McCranie said he’s working on another show for February 2024, but it has not been confirmed yet. He plans to expand into different venues in 2024 as well.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
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