Canyonland is back in Newnan on Friday with a full five-piece band and a brand new live record.
Michelle Malone, who embraced 1970s country-rock and retro California vibes when she first formed the band a year and a half ago, says, “We’re all about mixing (the record) and making sure it sounds good. “We’re excited about it.”
Canyonland celebrates the music of Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon area and pays tribute to artists such as Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Little Feat, Joni Mitchell, CSN, Emmylou Harris, and Jackson Browne . This was a long-considered side project for Malone, frontman of the Michelle Malone Band and their holiday sidekicks, the Hot Toddies.
Canyonland consists of Malone, Doug Keyes, Nelson Nolen, Mark Jones, and Mike Rizzi, performing their own versions of classic singer-songwriter songs.
The group has sold out increasingly large performance venues, but Malone said he is looking forward to Canyonland’s return to Newnan.
“I’m so excited to be back in Newnan, one of the places where we first started,” she said.
Canyonland set new records with 12 songs, including classics like “Poor Poor Me,” “You’re So Vine,” and “Big Yellow Taxi.”
It was a multi-track recording, she said, which gave the band members greater control over the mixing. A live video will also be distributed along with the new record.
“It’s very exciting for us considering we haven’t been dating for two years yet,” Malone said. “We’re having so much fun together.”
Malone grew up listening to the music of the Laurel Canyon era and attended gigs in Atlanta with his mother, a professional singer who performed many songs on the Canyonland setlist.
“If anything, Canyonland is an homage to my mother and her record collection,” Malone said. “It’s all I grew up hearing. It’s a kind and comfortable place to land.”
Tickets for Friday’s Show at Under the Redneck Gourmetstarts at 7:30 pm, is $28.50 and is available at www.eventbrite.com. New album CDs and download cards are available at the show and at www.canyonlandband.com.
