A.J. Croce will perform a special night of music featuring a complete set of classics by his late father, Jim Croce, some of his own tunes and songs that influenced them both.For the 50th anniversary of “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” see “Croce Plays Croce,” an evening of music from A.J. Croce, on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
This new show, just added by UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, will kick off the center’s 2022-2023 season. Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $35, $45 and $55. A limited number of $10 student tickets are available, as well as a $15 discount off the purchase of two A- or B-level seating tickets for UAB employees. For tickets, visit AlysStephens.org.
A.J. Croce is the son of the late Jim Croce, an American folk singer with a short-lived professional recording and touring career, and decades of posthumous fame as one of the greatest songwriters and artists ever, with sales surpassing 50 million records, including three No. 1 songs and 10 Top 10 hits.
A.J. Croce performs a special night of music featuring a complete set of classics by his late father, some of his own tunes and songs that influenced them both. The evening features such timeless songs as “Operator,” “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Time in a Bottle,” (a song written for A.J.), “Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)” and “Lovers Cross,” to name a few. Throughout the evening, A.J. Croce will speak on his musical connection to his father, painting a picture for the audience of family, artistry and memory.
Over the past three decades, A.J. Croce has established his reputation as a piano player and serious vocal stylist who pulls from a host of musical traditions and anti-heroes — part New Orleans, part juke joint, part soul. His touring and recording career has produced 10 studio albums charting 18 Top 20 singles on Top 40, Americana and Blues radio, according to his bio. A virtuoso piano player, Croce has toured with such esteemed artists as Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, Earth, Wind and Fire, and B.B. King. His 2017 album, “Just Like Medicine,” features Vince Gill and Steve Cropper and was produced by Muscle Shoals’ legend Dan Penn.
His newest album, “By Request,” was born of memories of favorite artists and shows, but mostly of late-night gatherings with groups of friends, many of them fellow musicians, with Croce at the piano taking requests. Croce revisits these musical evenings with 12 personally curated covers that traverse decades and genres, propelled by his spirited piano mastery and emotive vocals.