Calliope concert tomorrow will feature two singer-songwriters

Guy Clark and Slaid Cleaves Calliope Concert Series?Tomorrow, 8 p.m. ?Carnegie Lecture Hall… Guy Clark and Slaid Cleaves Calliope Concert Series?Tomorrow, 8 p.m. ?Carnegie Lecture Hall ?$35 in advance, $40 at the door, $20 student rush ?(412) 394-3353

The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society welcomes singer-songwriters Guy Clark and Slaid Cleaves, who will take the stage tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the Carnegie Lecture Hall.

Part of the Calliope Concert Series, the performances will highlight the writing and story-telling talents of these two Texas-bred performers.

Clark’s songwriting talents shine in his music, which has been described as tough, bare-boned and dryly sentimental. His career took off in the 1970s one year after moving to Nashville, Tenn. Country and folk singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker recorded Clark’s song, “L.A. Freeway,” which became a hit on the radio.

The following year, Walker recorded another one of Clark’s songs, “Desperados Waiting for a Train.” These songs set the tone for a musical revolution that was then called progressive country.

Clark recorded his first album on RCA Records in 1975, and has recorded more than 10 since then. Legendary musician Johnny Cash has covered some of Clark’s songs, including “Texas, 1947,” “The Last Gunfighter Ballad” and “Let Him Roll.”

Clark has received numerous accolades during his career, including a 2004 induction into the Nashville Songwriters Foundation’s Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was honored with the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting, and the next year, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum named him its 2006 Artist-In-Residence. He was nominated for a Grammy award in the Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album category for his 2006 CD, Workbench Songs.

Cleaves first became known on the national folk music scene after a 1992 win in the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk competition. After creating some self-released albums and working in folk clubs as a performer and a soundman, he released his first national album, No Angel Knows, on Rounder Records in 1997.

He recorded Broke Down in 2000, which greatly widened his circle of fans. His 2004 album, Wishbones, made its way to the top of the American Radio chart. Cleaves released his latest album, Unsung, in 2006.

Calliope is a nonprofit organization dedicated to contemporary and traditional folk music. To order tickets, call (412) 394-3353 or visit www.proartstickets.org.