Burgess to debut new EP at Opolis show
Just months after his latest album release “Room at the Top,” Blake Burgess is back with a brand-new EP and a commemorative concert Saturday in Norman.
Burgess is a self-described country artist, born and raised in Oklahoma City. He exhibits a style that is on the fringes of indie and alternative country, with distorted guitar instrumentals accompanied by catchy hook melodies.
As a lyricist, Burgess presents themes and concepts that are delivered by the coarseness of his voice on tracks such as “The Truth” and juxtaposed by a more energetic and agitated style on “All Your Worries.”
While Burgess was never voice-trained, he has come a long way from the trotting delivery of his 2016 record “Light of This World,” which features even more gruff vocals, akin to that of Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen. A smoker from an early age, Burgess mentions that he quit smoking to work on his voice for his latest project.
“If I could have the voice of any of my idols, I would probably choose Tom Petty or Bob Dylan. You know who they are when they start singing, it's like, you know that's Dylan or Petty
instantly. It's refreshing and weird, and they don't have singer voices; they're nasally, and they sound incredible,” Burgess said.
Burgess will debut his latest EP at Opolis in Norman on Saturday, along with supporting acts Samantha Crain and Carly Gwin and the Sin.
“The process of making a record is really fun, but after a while, you're just ready to put it out there and move on with the next thing,” Burgess said.
Burgess new EP comes only months after his last release.
“I feel like I haven't played the same show in the last few years.
I like to change it up, whether it's a full band or a duo thing or just a solo performance. I want to change it up each time and give my songs different feels and switch up the structure. It keeps the songs fresh for me,” he said.
The EP release show begins at 9 p.m. at 113 N Crawford Ave. in Norman. Burgess said the concert will be “a show for the ages,” Burgess said.
For more information and to purchase tickets, head over to http:// opolis.org/.