Dave Alvin, a Grammy Award winning songwriter, singer and self described barroom guitarist, is considered by many to be one of the pivotal pioneers of Americana. A fourth generation Californian, Alvin grew up in the small town of Downey and got his musical education by listening to the late night border radio stations, watching his older cousins play guitar and banjo, collecting dusty, rare 78s and sneaking in underage to bars with his older brother, Phil, to see their legendary blues heroes perform live and to learn from them firsthand. Since forming the highly influential Roots Rock/R+B band, The Blasters, with his brother in 1979, and through his long, critically acclaimed solo career after he left the group in 1986, Dave Alvin has mixed his varied musical and literary influences into his own unique, updated version of traditional American music. Combining blues, folk, rockabilly, Bakersfield country, surf and garage rock and roll with lyrical inspiration from writers like Raymond Chandler and John Steinbeck, Alvin says his songs are like California…a big, messy, melting pot.