(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Country outlaw Elizabeth Cook brings her critically acclaimed batch of new songs from “Exodus of Venus,” her comeback album released earlier this year, to Club Helsinki Hudson on Wednesday, October 26, at 8pm. Nashville-based roots-music singer and songwriter Derek Hoke warms up the crowd for Cook.

Cook, who sings like a cross between Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton but who rocks with the ferocity of Chrissie Hynde and Patti Smith, is a fixture of Nashville’s singer-songwriter circles. She’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry over four hundred times, hosts her own Sirius XM show on the Outlaw Country station, and has worked with everyone from Jason Isbell to Steve Earle to John Prine. NPR Music deemed Elizabeth a “treasure” of the Americana scene, and her knife-sharp new record appeared on Rolling Stone Country’s list of the most anticipated albums of 2016.

“Exodus of Venus,” her first album since 2010, is a cathartic, defiant response to tumultuous times in her life, overcoming deaths, a divorce, and personal hardships. The Wall Street Journal described the record as “an eclectic mix of old-school country, honky-tonk, gospel and rockabilly.” It bears the strong imprint of Southern rock influences as well as Muscle Shoals R&B.

As Cook herself describes it, “‘Exodus’ is a pledge of allegiance for the bad girls and the homecoming queens who got caught in a scandal. It’s a bill of rights, and a testimony for those good girls who got away with more than they should have.”

Nashville-based roots-music singer and songwriter Derek Hoke warms up the crowd for Cook. Hoke has crafted a collection of equally endearing and infectious songs for his long awaited third album, “Southern Moon,” which came out last April.

A self-taught guitarist, singer, and composer, Hoke’s love of music started when he was very young. Having a keen ear for melody, acts as diverse as The Beatles, Tom Petty, and George Strait were getting his attention. Learning how to play guitar by ear, Hoke spent hours in his room jamming along with his musical heroes. By age 16, Hoke was writing his own songs and playing in the local watering holes in his hometown of Florence, S.C. Having also spent time in Greensboro, N.C., and Atlanta, it was a trip to Nashville in the late-nineties that changed Hoke’s musical path forever. Not long after his move to Nashville, Hoke took a job with another one of his musical heroes, Ricky Skaggs, as his merchandise salesperson on the road. Over the next three years, Hoke saw every state in the union while he absorbed the music and showmanship of Ricky and his band. Hoke says, “It was like going to music school.”

 

For reservations in The Restaurant or in the club call 518.828.4800.