Ken Will Morton Live at Euro Street

by Rick Grant
A couple of years ago, I covered Ken Will Morton at the European Street on Beach Blvd., since then, Ken has been busy touring and recording for Sojourn Records. Slowly but surely, Ken has been making his bones as a quality songwriter, rising above the tangled jungle of wannabes.
So, I was curious about Ken’s new music and album “True Grit” and decided to crawl out of my self imposed exile from live music to catch his set at the European Street last Saturday night. I previewed “True Grit” on Rhapsody before covering Ken live.
The album was slickly produced and has a quasi-Buffalo Springfield vibe. The sound quality and mix is flawless. Overall, the work represents Ken as a top rated songwriter and singer, whose gritty voice is reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen.
Ken is a great believer in just let it happen. To overcome any diversity he jokes with the crowd. In a bizarre pre-show incident, Ken was accidentally locked in his friend’s car. He was writing a set list and she took the keys and locked the doors. Ken was trapped like a car thief. The car wouldn’t let him out until someone rescued him. As a seasoned road dog, Ken took it in stride and joked about it to the audience. In any live gig, Murphy’s Law is in play.
Ken’s solo set was a compilation of his songs from previous albums plus new material from “True Grit.” Remarkably, Ken’s songwriting passes my test: “Would I listen to this album multiple times? The answer is yes! The title song, “True Grit” is a folk anthem lauding the salt of the earth people who struggle every day to make it to the next day. Ken performed many other songs that his fans associate with him, such as “Oh Lord,” from his CD King of Coming Around, which was used in the Discovery reality show, “Deadliest Catch,” in 2008.
Halfway through his solo set, Ken brought up Bill Sheffield to jam with him. The format allowed Ken to play a song and Bill to play one of his original tunes. Both experienced guitarists played backup to each other despite not knowing each other’s songs. It worked out great. As Ken said, “Bill has scary skills.”
Bill Sheffield has toured for years and released five albums of his blues styled folk music. Like Ken said, he bought a new energy to the room with his clever songs like the witty “I Don’t Hate Nobody.”
Bill’s body of work is impressive. His songs have contemporary lyrics with his finger-picking blues style of playing and his excellent slide work. His new album, “In Other Words” joins my car collection of select music. You can find out more about Bill at www.myspace.com/billsheffield or at www.billsheffield.com
Ken Will Morton has quickly risen above the cacophony of other folk artists who produce poorly written songs and go nowhere. Ken will be again playing the Athfest in Athens, Georgia June 25, 2010.