Photo by Marilyn Stringer
(WOODBRIDGE, NJ) -- Award-winning Texas guitar slinger, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Wonderland will perform as part of the Woodbridge Wednesdays free concert series at Parker Press Park in Woodbridge Township on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. Admission is free, showtime is 7:30pm.
Wonderland’s latest release is her Alligator Records debut album, Tempting Fate. The album, her 11th, was produced by famed master roots musician Dave Alvin, and features Wonderland's signature, blistering six-string and lap steel playing, her intense vocals and her original songs melding blues, rock and Americana. Wonderland won two top 2021/2022 Austin Music Awards. In addition to winning for Best Blues Artist, she took home the award for Best Guitarist. Look for a new Carolyn Wonderland album later this year.
Tempting Fate is the next chapter in Wonderland’s remarkable career, one that is already overflowing with countless, colorful, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. She spent the last three years as lead guitarist in blues legend John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, and has now joined the Alligator Records family as the first female guitar hero in the label’s storied 50-year history. But that's not all. Her spine-chilling, soul-deep singing matches her guitar prowess note for note. And she has a knack for writing songs that sound like instant classics.
The album finds Wonderland delivering ten riveting songs, including five fiery originals and one co-write. Her vocals range from raw and fierce to subtle and gentle. Her guitar work, on both six-string and lap steel, is often explosive and always melodic. According to Dave Alvin, “Carolyn is unique, strong, soulful and sincere. She can pick and belt out the blues with the best of them, but her powerful, melodic vocals and six-string stylings are truly her own. Traditional yet innovative, tough yet tender, Carolyn always sounds like no one else but herself.”
Wonderland has been performing professionally since the age of 15. Her music is a bold mix of timeless original songs and reinventions of some of her favorites, ranging from blistering electric blues to deep, heartfelt ballads to cosmic country to soulful Tex-Mex. Every song is fueled by Wonderland’s forceful yet melodic Texas-flavored guitar work and her full-throated, heart-on-her-sleeve vocals. She has been a road warrior for over 20 years, and has played all over the U.S. and in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, the Canary Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Japan. She concluded a three-year stint as the lead guitarist in British blues master John Mayall’s iconic Blues Breakers. In addition to his legendary musical skills, Mayall is among the world's greatest blues-rock guitar talent scouts. He personally chose Carolyn for the role formerly filled by Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, and more six-string luminaries.
The Boston Herald describes Carolyn as “a dollop of Janis Joplin, a slice of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a big load of soulful individuality. That’s Wonderland, a seething-hot Texas singer-guitarist. And she can write, too.” Now, with Tempting Fate , Carolyn Wonderland is excited to get back out on the road and reconnect with her fans and friends. “We will play dang near anywhere that’ll have us,” she says. Of her chosen profession, the effervescent Wonderland told NPR Music’s Mountain Stage, “I wouldn’t recommend it for the faint of heart, but it sure is a good time.”
Woodbridge Wednesdays are held in Parker Press Park (400 Rahway Avenue) in Woodbridge Township. This beautifully wooded park is located between the new Modera Apartment complex, the Woodbridge Train station and Walgreens.
Seating: Bring a chair or a blanket to the show. A few benches and picnic tables are scattered about as well.
Food and Drink: A food truck will be present serving grilled items such as cheese steaks and burgers. Woodbridge Brewing Company will be serving their own beer in addition to wine and hard seltzers. A number of eateries are located just around the corner on Main Street and nearby the park.
Free Parking: is available in the train station parking lots and the Berkley College lot directly opposite the park entrance on Rahway Ave. Additional entrances can be found under the train station and off the path that parallels the train tracks between Main and Green Streets.
Accessibility: The grounds are flat and wheelchair friendly. An accessible portable toilet is available.
Upcoming concerts in the Woodbridge Wednesdays series include Alysha Brilla (June 26), The Suffers (July 3), Nella (July 10), Taj Farrant (July 17), Taimane (July 24), Honey Island Swamp Band (July 31), Fantastic Cat (August 7), Charlie Halloran & The Tropicales (August 14), Mary Fahl (August 21), Light of Day Benefit Concert (August 28), House of Hamil and Jann Klose (September 4), Bandits on the Run and Kat Wright (September 11), and Colebrook Road and Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light (September 18).
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