Sixto Rodriguez is one of the most enigmatic singer-songwriters who ever lived. He grew up in Detroit during the birth of Motown, but branched off into folk. The best tracks from his two 1971 albums, COLD FACT  & COMING FROM REALITY, create what is for me an ultimate album – that is a flawless selection of ten classic songs, five each vinyl side, arranged in the best order.

I swear down, his tunes are cracking, poetical folk furies but in 1971 tastes were changing & he slipped into obscurity. His music, however, resonated with apartheid South Africa & he became absolutely massive in that country, selling more than Elvis, without even realising, a story beautifully told in the film ‘Searching for Sugarman’ (2012). Despite a second surge of fame, Rodriguez lives a quiet life in Detroit’s historic Woodbridge neighborhood, occasionally popping over to South Africa to top up his bank balance.

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SET-LIST

Sugar Man
Hate Street Dialogue
Inner City Blues
Climb Up on My Music
This Is Not a Song, It’s an Outburst: Or, the Establishment Blues

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I Wonder
Crucify Your Mind
Street Boy
Like Janis
Heikki’s Suburbia Bus Tour

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