Robinson Treacher ~ 2026 May 21 ~ Spire Center for the Performing Arts, Plymouth, MA
Graham Parker, vocals, guitar
Videos
There's Love In the World
Can I Get You a Beer?
Even the Sunlight Lies
Review
We'd seen Robinson Treacher just once before, opening for The Kennedys at one of those folk venues with the word stone in the name, a few years back. He's got a very big voice, he plays his guitar left-handed and upside down, and tunes by ear. He writes lots of songs springing from a very big imagination that draws from lots and lots of musical places. Calling this guy a folksinger is correct, but it's certainly not enough. There is a great big helping of rhythm and blues in there, and there's country, and there's a lot of humor. He doesn't come up short in the looks department either. He has very big hair, which tonight he had tidily hidden under a rasta beanie with a brim. When we saw him before, he had a full beard, but that's been reduced to a soul patch.
He's a storyteller as well as a singer of songs. He kept the songs and stories moving along at a pleasing pace, kept the audience laughing, with maybe just one singalong in the course of an hour and a half of music. He changed guitars just once, to play a blues number with a slide. Stories involved family, and there was a lot about the songwriting process, and the ups and downs of trying to get your songs known in the musical world. He had a lot of energy and enthusiasm on stage and was obviously enjoying himself immensely.
Concert Going Partner and I got there early, as we tend to do, and parked the car right around the corner on Brewster Street, went in and immediately made two new friends with whom we compared copious notes on other musical favorites. Once seated in the front row in the Lobby (hooray for the Spire Lobby Series!) we also befriended a gent who was traveling in our part of the world from the Isle of Man! We wanted to keep him talking since his accent was so pleasing to the ear!