Kevin Pakulis & his Band
Kevin Pakulis performs his first two CD’s — Yeah, Yeah, Yeah and Mockingbird Radio — from cover to cover on the Plaza stage.
Award-winning Americana singer-songwriter Kevin Pakulis is a master musician and storyteller. Emerging in 2004 from Tucson’s deep pool of talented musicians, his award-winning edgy, guitar-driven compositions, delivered with plenty of raw energy, have earned him national and international attention. On the night of November 19, Pakulis will perform all the songs off his first two CD’s Yeah Yeah Yeah and Mockingbird Radio from cover to cover.
On his first album, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, No Depression Magazine put it most succinctly in their review: “His music represents the best of a genre.” Kevin’s songwriting ranges from introspective and reflective to satirical and political, from rocking blues anthems to quiet acoustic pieces. Whatever the message or the sound, the constant is the soulful honesty of the art. Anyone who has ever been to Tucson in the summer cannot help sing along when they hear the chorus of the title track to Yeah Yeah Yeah: “It’s hot here, hot as hell here, swamp cooler and a cold beer,” a bluesy haiku on the Sonoran Desert summer.
2007’s Mockingbird Radio (San Jacinto Records), Chris Hansen of the Phoenix, Arizona Tribune captured the feel of the album in his review: “Brilliant new disc…” veering from “…bluesy-Mark Knopfler- and Stevie Ray Vaughan-esque guitar workouts to acoustic folk to Tejano-influenced country to Springsteen-styled rock, with Pakulis peeling off a smattering of tasty hooks, riffs, and solos…” No Depression agreed, “…big fat rhythms you could drive a truck through. Kevin Pakulis outright nails it.”
Tempered by time and experience, Pakulis excels at themes of life in the Sonoran Desert, love in its many forms, and the nuances of social disparity.
Pakulis has opened for numerous major acts including Billie Joe Shaver, Willie Nelson, Leon Russell, Dwight Yoakam, Sonny Landreth, John Gorka, Little Feat, and Merle Haggard.
Kevin Pakulis, guitar, vocals
Karl Hoffmann, bass, vocals
Gary Mackender, drums, vocals
Duncan Stitt, keyboards