On March 11th Ramblin’ Steve Gardner was playing roots music for his fans and friends in a small club in Kiyasota near his home in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Suddenly, the room went dark, and started shaking so hard the walls and ceiling began to discernably crack. The Tohoku Earthquake or as the townspeople called it the Big Shake had struck. Soon after the enormous tsunami hit bringing with it more devastation and death. With no electric power, no water, sporadic mobile phone service, nuclear reactors reaching danger levels,and no real idea of how bad things were up north, Ramblin’ Steve took his resonator guitar and proceeded to play benefits and spontaneous concerts for a nearly unbroken sixty days. Things will never be the same in Tokyo. At any rate, this award winning musician and former photo/journalist for Time Magazine did more than his share to relieve the misery of a major catastrophe.

The Sucarnochee Revue will feature Ramblin’ Steve Gardner August 5th at 7 pm at the Temple Theater in downtown Meridian, Mississippi. Steve will be playing cuts from his latest CD on Buffalo Records, “Walking the Dog.” Other artists on the bill include Cheryl Luquier, William Michael Morgan, J Burton Fuller, Senator Videt Carmichael, Britt Gully, and producer/host Jacky Jack White. Admission is $10.

Jacky Jack White says, “Steve is one of the funniest, most engaging singer/guitarists I know. Add to his list of titles ‘hero.’ He could have hopped a jet home and he didn’t.”

The Sucarnochee Revue is broadcast nationwide on radio and locally on WMOX on Saturdays. The Revue is also aired Fridays at 8:30 pm and Saturdays at 11 pm on Mississippi Public Television. September 2nd the Revue will feature Webb Wilder and Steve Forbert in the first annual Hall of Fame Concert Series at the Temple Theater.