A double header of American roots music is heading our way on Tuesday and Wednesday. May 8th and 9th. On Tuesday, the truly legendary BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA, one of the longest running partnerships in gospel music will grace the Bottom Line stage. Their presence alone should be enough to bring the proverbial house down, but on this occasion they will be joined by an all-star assemblage of musicians calling themselves THE SPIRIT OF THE CENTURY BAND. The personnel includes blues stalwart John Hammond; harmonica wizard Charlie Musselwhite; bassist extraordinaire Danny Thompson and multi-instrumental wunderkind David Lindley. The occasion for this unprecedented collection of talent is the release of the Blind Boys' new recording "Spirit of the Century" which features all the above musicians interpreting a wide range of material, both traditional and contemporary. Musical chestnuts like 'Amazing Grace' and 'Motherless Child" share the disc with songs by the likes of Tom Waits and Ben Harper. All the selections receive a thorough transformation in the hands of the Blind Boys of Alabama, whose gospel journey has taken them from a small vocational school near Birmingham, to the Broadway stage as the stars of 'Gospel at Colonus'. And its only taken sixty years!! And, as the group's leader Clarence Fountain has said, "I never went hungry for one day...the Lord has always taken care of us."

The following day, May 9th, if he has any strength left, DAVID LINDLEY will perform two shows, mixing his unique song selection and mastery of every conceivable stringed instrument into a night of mirthful virtuousity. I have seen him perform an evening of material on more than a dozen instruments, without ever picking up a conventional guitar. Lindley long ago established his reputation as an incomparable sideman with artists like Jackson Browne, and as an innovative collaborator with cohorts like Ry Cooder. Don't miss the chance to see him in action as the star of his own musical universe.