Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks to perform 'Folk Jazz'

NEWTON — Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks will take the Newton Theatre stage on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 8 p.m.

Since the early 1960s, Singer-songwriter Dan Hicks has blended elements of Swing, Jazz, Folk and Country music to create the sound he sometimes calls "Folk Jazz".

Musically, Dan started out as a drummer, and by the age of 14 was playing gigs with area dance bands.

He took up the guitar around '59, and became part of the San Francisco folk music scene, playing and singing in local coffeehouses.

In 1965 Dan became the drummer for a San Francisco folk-rock group called The Charlatans, who at that time were more of a concept than an actual working band. In addition to drumming, Dan also played guitar and sang with The Charlatans, performing some of his original songs. The Charlatans played for several years at many San Francisco halls, but never achieved commercial.

Hicks left the Charlatans and put together an acoustic combo which included two female backup singers, who were dubbed "Lickettes". Billed as Dan Hicks And His Hot Licks. Their efforts resulted in a recording contract with Epic Records and Original Recordings was released in 1969, but with lackluster promotion it was not a commercial success.

After some personnel changes, what had then become the "classic" Hot Licks ensemble went on to produce the critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums "Where's The Money?, Striking It Rich and Last Train To Hicksville."

But, Hicks broke up the Hot Licks in 1973, at the height of the band's popularity. Hicks then began a low-key solo career of acoustic performances. He wrote music for commercials, television, and movies.

Beatin' The Heat, Dan's first studio opus since 1978, was released in August 2000 to rave reviews. It featured a return to the Hot Licks name and format - complete with new Lickettes. A live CD, Alive & Lickin', soon followed. Other CDs followed, including Selected Shorts, featuring contributions from such stars as Jimmy Buffett, Jim Keltner, Gibby Haynes, Van Dyke Parks and Willie Nelson and Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks Christmas in 2010.

Today, Hicks tours worldwide with an updated version of the Hot Licks, and occasionally gigs at various jazz venues in the San Francisco Bay Area, as a vocalist with his swingin' combo Bayside Jazz.

Tickets for Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks are $34 for premium seating, $29 for orchestra and $24 for balcony and are on sale at thenewtontheatre.com or call the box office at 973-383-3700. Newton Theatre is located at 234 Spring Street in Newton.