JJ Grey & Mofro celebrate new album with live performance in Buffalo

Press Release

Renowned singer, songwriter and artist JJ Grey will celebrate the release of his highly anticipated new Alligator Records album, “Olustee,” with a live JJ Grey & Mofro performance at Electric City in Buffalo on Wednesday, April 10.

On “Olustee” (Grey's first self-produced album and his first release in nine years), the North Florida-born and bred Grey sings his personal stories with universal themes of redemption, rebirth, hard luck, and inner peace. With his music, Grey also celebrates good times with lifelong friends, oftentimes mixing the carnal with the cerebral in the very same song. Fueled by his vividly detailed, timeless originals spun from his own life and experiences in the Northern Florida swampland, Grey’s gritty baritone drips with honest passion and testifies with a preacher’s foot-pounding fervor.

According to Grey, “The best songs I’ve ever written, I never wrote. They wrote themselves. The best show I ever played, played itself and had little to do with me or talent. To me, those things come from the power of an honest moment, and I guess I’m trying to live in that power and not force life to cough up what I want.”

The Buffalo concert begins at 8 p.m. at Electric City, 433 Pearl St. Tickets are priced between $48 and $192.50. Visit www.electriccity.com for complete performance information.

WATCH:

With “Olustee,” JJ Grey has once again pushed the boundaries of his own creative musical, lyrical and vocal talents, delivering an album that is destined to become a stone-cold classic. Many of the songs are steeped in the mythical Southern stories of his ancestral Florida home and filled with people from JJ’s life. The songs overflow with the sights and sounds of the region as told through the eyes of a poet and sung with pure, unvarnished soul. The album’s 11 songs range from the introspective opener “The Sea”; to the raucous, celebratory first radio single, “Wonderland”; to an escape from an out-of-control wildfire in the title track; to the inward-looking closer, “Deeper Than Belief.” Singing of his own personal triumphs and struggles, his hopes and desires, his friends and family, Grey’s message is simple and strong: Respect the natural world and always try to live in the moment. And never forget the importance of having a good time.

Grey made his recording debut in 2001 with “Blackwater,” following up in 2004 with “Lochloosa.” Both albums were released on the Fog City label under the name Mofro, a moniker the young Grey chose to describe his music and sound while still working his day job at a lumberyard. He has since used the word to name his band of world-class players. In 2007, Grey signed with Alligator Records and released a string of five popular and successful albums: 2007’s “Country Ghetto,” 2008’s “Orange Blossoms,” 2010’s “Georgia Warhorse,” 2011’s live CD/DVD “Brighter Days” and 2013’s “This River.” “Ol’ Glory” was released on the Provogue label in 2015. Throughout this amazing run of releases, press, radio and years of touring helped catapult JJ Grey & Mofro further into the mainstream.

JJ Grey & Mofro have played countless festivals, including Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Austin City Limits Festival, Byron Bay Blues Festival (Australia), Montreal Jazz Festival and Fuji Rock (Japan). Over the course of his career, Grey has shared stages with the likes of Lenny Kravitz, B.B. King, The Allman Brothers Band, The Black Crowes, Los Lobos, Jeff Beck, Ben Harper, Booker T. Jones, Mavis Staples, and many others. Grey and his band continue to play over 75 shows a year across the U.S. and around the world.

From his early days playing cover music behind chicken wire at a westside Jacksonville juke joint, to playing sold-out shows at some of the largest venues and music festivals in the world, JJ Grey has always delivered his soul-honest truths. Now, with “Olustee,” JJ Grey & Mofro will bring their music directly to fans as they hit the road for a massive months-long tour across the country and throughout the world.