JJ Grey and Mofro heading to Newton

NEWTON — Rock and Blues band JJ Grey & Mofro are heading to The Newton Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 8 p.m.
Tickets range from $39 to $54 and may be purchased by visiting www.TheNewtonTheatre.com or contacting the Box Office at 973-383-3700.
From the days of playing greasy local juke joints to headlining major festivals, JJ Grey remains an unfettered, blissful performer, singing with a blue-collared spirit over the bone-deep grooves of his compositions. His presence before an audience is something startling and immediate, at times a rock rave-up, other times a sort of mass-absolution for the mortal weaknesses that make him and his audience human. Live in concert JJ Grey is absolutely fearless.
As a boy, Grey was drawn to country-rockers, including Jerry Reed, and Otis Redding and the other luminaries of Memphis soul. Run-D.M.C., meanwhile, played on repeat in the parking lot of his high school (note the hip-hop inflections on A Night to Remember). Merging these traditions, and working with a blue-collar ethic that brooked no bullshit, Grey began touring as Mofro in the late '90s, with backbeats that crossed Steve Cropper with George Clinton and a lyrical directness that made his debut LP Blackwater (2001) a calling-card among roots-rock aficionados. Soon, he was expanding his tours beyond America and the U.K., playing ever-larger clubs and eventually massive festivals, as his fan base grew from a modest group of loyal initiates into something resembling a national coalition.
With his most current release Ol’ Glory, Grey does his idols proud. It's a country record where the stories are all part of one great mystery; it's a blues record with one foot in the church; it's a Memphis soul record that takes place in the country. It’s a record by JJ Grey — the north Florida sage and soul-bent swamp rocker.
JJ Grey is as genuine as they come, a do-it-yourselfer who is committed to making music that's true to his heritage and full of integrity. In this day and age, that's a rare thing.