Award winning Singer Songwriter Keith Greeninger and legendary guitarist Nina Gerber join forces for a powerful night of music, song and community celebration. Both artists share deep roots in the rich California music scene and are well know for their dynamic and improvisational performances.
Keith Greeninger is a compelling singer and performer whose writing has been deeply influenced by his work with Native American and Latin cultures. His songs cut an honest, hard worn path to places of simple truth about good people holding on to hope and instinct in a world that often tries to strip these things away.
Guitarist Nina Gerber started her music career playing along side of the now iconic Kate Wolf and has gone on to perform record and produce for many of the county’s finest singer song writers.
“One of the finest writers on the scene today. His songs always find a way to touch, inspire, celebrate... and when necessary, enrage" Mike Meyer, KRVM Radio, Eugene OR
"KEITH GREENINGER was on fire, every chord he touched turned epic, every conviction he put forward resonated with an incredible power." Steve Palopoli Good Times Santa Cruz
Keith Greeninger is a seasoned troubadour and award-winning singer songwriter, who paints intricate portraits of the human condition with powerful melodic images, deep engaging guitar rhythms and compelling, heart-wrenching vocals.
What he brings to his brand of songwriting and performing is authenticity. As a result, there are no barriers between the artist, his music and his audience. This bond stems from an underlying philosophy that music is first and foremost a gift and a soulful medicine to connect us and take part in together.
As a soloist and with his band he has toured the national Folk and Americana circuit extensively for the last three decades. His masterfully crafted tunes and powerful presence have earned him top songwriting awards at the legendary Telluride Blue Grass, and Kerrville Folk Festivals and he’s performed at legendary venues, appeared on countless national radio shows, and shared stages with some of the country’s best-known artists including Crosby Stills and Nash, Bruce Cockburn, John Hiatt, Jessie Winchester, JJ Cale, Los Lobos, Michael Franti and many more.
He has performed on the main stage of music festivals through out the US and Canada including The Telluride Blue Grass Festival, The Kate Wolf Festival, The High Sierra Music Festival, The Strawberry Music Festival, The Kerrville Folk Festival, The American River Music Festival, The Sisters Folk Festival, The Oregon Country Fair, and the Gathering at Island Lake just to name a few.
Whether playing with his band or alone with just a guitar, he completely captivates an audience. From the deep grooves of a soul stirring ballad to the uplifting intensity of a hard-driving anthem his rich vocal range conveys strength tempered with vulnerability, political struggle reflected in personal experience, and a deep connection to the land, community, and family. A third generation Northern Californian Keith has traveled and lived throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America. His music has been deeply influenced by his work with Native American and Latin cultures, and his songs cut an honest, hard worn path to places of simple truth about good people holding on to hope and instinct in a world that often tries to strip these things away.
His latest release Human Citizen emerges as a voice of welcome sanity above the challenges of the times we find ourselves in. Without dividing or preaching Greeninger has a way highlighting and embracing our better selves and our shared humanity. Drawing respectfully from his influential 1970’s musical upbringing Greeninger embraces the elements of Folk, Rock, Soul and Gil Scott Heron type jazz influences by introducing horns and flute on a number of the albums tracks. This is a record built both for effective radio play and for long term full scale listening with a healthy blend of melodic and sonic hooks balanced with rich multilayering and inspired musical performances by a cast of world class musicians that include Lead Guitarist Doug Pettiebone ( Lucinda Willams, John Mayer) Key Boardist Billy Payne (Little Feat, Jackson Browne, James Taylor) Bassist Tiran Porter (Doobie Brothers) Drummer Jim Norris (Lacy J Dalton, Larry Hosford) Guitarist Randy Ray Mitchell (Warren Zevon, Donna Summers) Drummer Ricky Fatter (Bonnie Raitt, Beach Boy’s) Bassist Hutch Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt Band, Neville Brothers). While surrounded and inspired by some of his musical hero’s Greeninger is never overwhelmed or buried. His songwriting narrative and compelling vocals are always at the forefront of Human Citizen guiding the listener through the compelling and uplifting emotional terrain the the record navigates.
Along with his touring and performing Keith records and produces music for other artist and is currently working on material for his next release at his Wind River Studios recording facility in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California.
“I field calls on countless artists, and no one has captured my listeners more than Keith”
Brian Terhorst, KVMR, Nevada City CA
"Greeninger's music has a dramatic quality to it. A storyteller in song, he paints masterful portraits of humanity in both its splendor and strife."
STEVEN SAWADA Eugene Weekely
After carving a career out of what some might call the shadows, guitarist Nina Gerber is at last beginning to dare the light. Her first album as a leader, Not Before Noon, follows two decades which brought her to prominence without ever placing her name on the front of an album cover. Since her accompaniment of Kate Wolf first earned her recognition, her acute skills as performer, producer and arranger have continued to deepen. Her contributions to acoustic music have earned her a following as loyal as for the numerous high talents she has accompanied - proving the shadows equal to the spotlight in the creation of honest, powerful, and beautiful music.
Nina has a unique ability to completely free herself within an eclectic range of styles. Presented with folk, country, bluegrass, rock, or blues, she is able to fall into leads which have rare reverence for the true feeling of a song, always emphasizing taste over technical display. She seeks to express through her hands, rather than gain attention, and it is this integrity which makes her expressions worth intent listening.
That kind of intent listening will reveal Nina's melodic touch in more places than many realize. Nina has performed and/or recorded with: Karla Bonoff, Peter Rowan, Nanci Griffith, Greg Brown, Lucy Kaplansky, Mollie O'Brien, Dave Alvin, Rosalie Sorrels, Laurie Lewis, Terry Garthwaite, and many others. Her soulful enhancement of their music easily explains why several return the favor by appearing on Not Before Noon and Good Music with Good People.
That qualities of honest heart inform Nina's music should be of no surprise, given Kate Wolf's initial influence and inspiration. It was Kate's heart and honesty which inspired Nina to realize music as her calling. After seeing Kate perform in 1975 at a pizza parlor in Sebastopol, California - Nina's home town - Nina dared to set working with Kate as a specific goal, and by 1978, the goal was accomplished. Nina came to be an essential part of Kate's music, as she grew into being her accompanist and close musical companion. It was a partnership which lasted until Kate's passing in 1986, and in its effect, has lasted long beyond that. It's an achievement which is a testament to the power of clear desire and single-minded purpose; it's also evidence of the daring Nina has shown throughout her career since, whether through seeking out the challenging rush of unrehearsed performances, driving her van alone cross-country (1985) to explore the music scenes of Austin and Nashville, taking a sabbatical to study at the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, or just keeping on as a musician in a country where artistic integrity rarely pays.
Whether it's on her own "solo" CDs - collaborations with many of the folk world's finest - or producing, arranging, or performing with countless others, Nina continues to prove with her guitar that some of the truest and most emotional communication requires no words. Still, when combined with the voice of another musician of heart, the result is affecting in an unforgettable way.