Harper Welcomes Alejandro Escovedo June 30

Alejandro Escovedo, the singer-songwriter, whose musical styles have spanned everything from underground rock to alt-country, and who has become “something of a legend,” will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 30, in the Performing Arts Center of , Roselle and Algonquin Roads in Palatine.

The son of Mexican immigrants, Escovedo started his career when he formed his first band, the punk-rock five-piece, the Nuns, after a film project flopped, a press release from Harper College states. Escovedo went on to co-found two great “but ill-fated” 80s bands, Rank and File and the True Believers. He then settled into the Austin, Texas music scene.

“I love his deep roots and storytelling sense that he has in his songwriting,” said Steven Vasquez, a Harper guitar instructor, who is in the rock/indie/proto-punk band Blue Eyed Jesus. “I love the fact that you can hear Southwest-style Americana mixed in with the attitude of an LA punk. His Latino heritage also has always sparked an extra smile from me.”

The press release quotes David Frick of Rolling Stone: “Musically, Escovedo is in his own genre.”

“Life takes it course and led me to a direction of writing an album full of love songs, or songs about love,” Escovedo said in an interview about his latest release Street Songs of Love, from which he’ll perform tunes at his Harper concert.

Bruce Springsteen shares a duo called “Faith” on the album.

The press release quotes Greg Kot, music critic of the Chicago Tribune: “This is an album about the heart, but it hits below the waist—it wants to make you move.”

Tickets are $20 for general admission with discounts for Harper students.  For tickets and more information, call 847.925.6100, or harpercollege.edu