Joel Streeter at Offbeat Roadhouse, March 18
By WTJU
Singer/songwriter Joel Streeter will pull into Offbeat Roadhouse Friday night, March 18, for a concert which will also be broadcast on WTJU.
This is a free event, open to all. Masks are required for all attendees. You can also listen to Offbeat Roadhouse on the radio (91.1 FM) or on-line, and even video stream it at WTJU’s Facebook page or YouTube channel. But concerts always sound better with you as part of the studio audience. WTJU is located at 2244 Ivy Rd in Charlottesville, right next door to Vivace. There is plenty of parking, both in our lot as well as the Sentara lot next door.
Joel Streeter has been hailed as “one of pop’s best kept secrets”, as “a true pop talent”, as “an indispensible songwriting talent”, and as an “avowed melody junkie” drawing comparisons to Paul McCartney, Elliott Smith, Neil Finn, XTC and Wilco among others. Matador, the follow-up to his debut album, Hear Me Out continues to draw praise and attention from music lovers everywhere. Matador is a CD Baby’s Editor’s Pick and was named #34 on Absolute Powerpop’s Top 100 albums of 2010. His music has been featured on television shows such as the CW’s 90210 and PBS’s Roadtrip Nation.
Growing up in the historic town of Gettysburg, PA, Joel began playing guitar and writing music at an early age. After releasing two 4-song EPs before the age of 19 with two Gettysburg-area bands, Joel attended college at Wesleyan University, studying guitar and playing in several popular regional acts.
After college, Joel moved to Washington, DC and formed the band Spy Cellar. Spy Cellar was a local favorite, playing to packed crowds in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC. Two years later, Joel moved to San Francisco in 2003 to pursue a solo music career.
Arriving in San Francisco, Joel quickly established himself as a gifted performer and songwriting talent. After a few months of gigs as a sideman in a bluegrass group, as a bassist, and as a host of a popular San Francisco open mic, Joel teamed up with Jerry Becker (multi-instrumentalist for Train) to produce his debut, Hear Me Out (released in 2006). Hear Me Out attracted attention from the legendary KFOG radio, earning him radio play, multiple KFOG Morning Show appearances, and a track (“Stay Living”) on KFOG’s Local Scene Volume 4 CD. Joel was also a founding member of the San Francisco Songwriters Coalition and helped start the “Conversations with Renee” podcast series featuring top-notch Bay Area singer/songwriters in a performance/interview session at San Francisco’s Cafe Royale hosted by KFOG Morning Show Host, Renee Richardson. The Joel Streeter Band has performed at the top venues in the Bay Area including The Great American Music Hall, Slim’s, Cafe du Nord, The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and The Rickshaw Stop among others. Joel and his band also had the privilege of opening for Phil Lesh and Friends at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium.
In 2008, Joel began work on his sophomore effort, Matador, again teaming with producer Jerry Becker. His reputation having grown since landing in San Francisco 5 years before, Streeter attracted the best and brightest Bay Area musicians to lend their considerable talents including Counting Crows’ Jim Bogios on drums, James Deprato on electric guitar (Chuck Prophet’s Mission Express, Pat Monahan of Train), Matthew Henry Cunitz (John Vanderslice, Mushroom) and guest vocal appearances from Megan Slankard and Brad Brooks. The result is what CD Baby hailed as “a classic sounding pop album full of bounce, melodic arch, and lyrical substance” and as “introspective and connective, deep and bright, ambitious and comforting.” Powerpopaholic gave the Matador an 8/10, saying that there is “not a bad track in the bunch and plenty of memorable gems making it easy to recommend.”
In 2011, Joel hit the road to promote Matador, including multiple appearances at The Living Room in New York City, Austin Texas for SXSW, and Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco. Later in the year, he landed permanently in Brooklyn, NY and can be seen regularly at NYC venues including Rockwood Music Hall, Pianos and The Living Room.
Joel is currently working on the follow up to Matador.
