NASHVILLE, Tenn.– Nashville’s boutique booking agency, Live Arts and Attractions, announced the signing of multi-platinum recording artist, Steve Wariner, to its roster.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be working with Steve and to represent his newest show.” said agency General Manager, Dan Mann. “I know him to be one of the finest guitar players in the world and a legendary songwriter. Now I get to represent his show that puts all those talents and more on display.”
His new multi-media show will feature photos and videos of his 4 decades in Nashville showing friends, legends, and mentors along the way. It will also feature his virtuosic guitar work along with intimate arrangements of some of his biggest hits and new material from his recent release of All Over The Map.
Steve Warnier: Twenty albums into his five-decade career, Steve Wariner still has plenty of musical tricks up his sleeve.
With the recent release of All Over The Map, his fans will hear him like never before. For the first time, Wariner displays the astonishing breadth of his talents on one album.
“People know me as an artist and a guitar player, but I don’t think they know the full musician side of me, including playing steel, lap steel, drums and even upright bass,” Wariner says, all of which he tackles on the new set. “This album pulls back all the layers.”
Throughout All Over The Map’s five instrumentals and seven vocal songs, Wariner brings a sense of joy to his music that rings out as an expression that is at once deeply personal, but also universal.
“This album is me. It is what I do,” the four-time GRAMMY Award winner says. “This just shows off everything that I love and what I’m about—not only the writing, but the musicianship and where I come from, my roots and my blood. This is me right here.” It’s so thoroughly him, that Wariner, an accomplished artist, even painted the cover artwork.
Top among Wariner’s collaborators on this album is the late, legendary Merle Haggard. The pair co-wrote a heartbreaking, traditional country ballad, “When I Still Mattered To You” in 1996 and Wariner revisited the track after Haggard’s death last year.
The Grand Ole Opry member brought in brilliant guitarist Eric Johnson for lilting, jazzy instrumental, “Meanwhile Back In Austin,” Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Duane Eddy for the twangy “Nashville Spy-line,” and Jack Pearson, known for his work with The Allman Bros., for rollicking album opener, “Drop Top,” a remake of Billy Love’s 1952 Chess Records cut. The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin plays on the swampy “Way It Goes,” which features a rare social commentary from Wariner, while his longtime buddy Ricky Skaggs provides exquisite mandolin accompaniment on bluegrass delight, “Down Sawmill Road.”
“This is about the highest level of musicianship you can get, these guys,” Wariner says. “That’s what I wanted and what’s amazing is they’re all my friends. In the case of Eric and Jack, I’ve known them forever but never did have a chance to go in and cut with them. That part of the bucket list is pretty much being fulfilled.”
Wariner started crafting the album more than 20 months ago, beginning with the breezy “CGP,” shorthand for Certified Guitar Player, a designation lovingly bestowed upon him and four other guitarists by Chet Atkins for their exemplary playing prowess. He’s joined by the other two remaining CGPs, Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles, in the tribute to their friend and mentor.
Wariner even manages to duet with himself on guitar and steel guitar on tangy “Modulation Situation.” The shootout came at the suggestion of his son, Ryan, whose bluesy rocker, “The Last Word,” Wariner recorded for All Over The Map, playing alongside his son.
The most personal song on the album is “Mr Roy,” a western swing tribute to his dad, featuring Wariner on lap steel. “This is really a tip of the hat to my pop, who is such a dear influence for me,” he says. By the time Wariner was 10, he was playing drums with his father’s band. He then picked up the bass, and as a teenager, moved from his native Indiana to Nashville and joined Dottie West’s band. It was only a few years later that Atkins signed him to RCA and produced his first recordings. More than 30 Top 10 hits followed, including 14 No. 1s such as “All Roads Lead To You,” “Some Fools Never Learn,” “ Lynda,” and “Where Did I Go Wrong.” The moving “Holes In The Floor Of Heaven” garnered Wariner the ACM award for Song Of The Year in 1999, as well as CMA awards for Song and Single Of The Year. Additionally, artists ranging from Garth Brooks, Keith Urban and Clint Black have all scored hits with Wariner-penned songs.
Forty years after signing his first record deal with RCA, Wariner’s passion for writing, playing and singing music remains undiminished. “I was every bit as enthusiastic about recording this project as I was the very first day I went in with Chet Atkins in 1977 and recorded my first stuff. I still get as excited, especially when the room is full of great players. The joy is in creating for me, and it never goes away.”
Live Arts and Attractions: Live Arts and Attractions is a boutique, Nashville-based talent agency, focusing on selling live performances and attractions to Performing Arts Centers, symphonies, historic theaters, casinos, fairs, and festivals. In addition to Steve Wariner, their artist roster also now includes:
- Shenandoah – 30th anniversary tour
- Maureen McGovern – Award-winning star of stage and screen
- The Fabulous Equinox Orchestra – THE Southern big band for the next generation
- Hits and Grins – the comedy and hit song, songwriter show
- Alison Brown – Grammy Award winning banjo virtuoso
- Next Generation Leahy – Canadian family of award-winning fiddlers and dancers
- Mountain Faith – IBMA’s 2016 Emerging Artist of the year
- Mandy Barnett – singing the Nashville Songbook
- Larry’s Country Diner – RFD TV’s highest rated entertainment show on the road
- The Malpass Brothers – Reimagining traditional country music
- American Big Band’s Home for the Holidays – The swinginist holiday show around