BY KAREN BOSSICK
James Lanman was in the midst of his 100 Days Tour when he played Sun Valley last July.
After doubling back and forth across the United States and Canada three times on a trip that took him to such diverse places as Denver, Colo., Custer, S.D., and Omaha, Neb., he went into hiding.
But now he’s back in the public eye, playing a more abbreviated tour that will bring him and his retro-inspired Motown sound to Sun Valley.
Lanman will perform at 7 tonight--Saturday, Aug. 4--at the Harker Center at Elkhorn, and attendees are welcome to bring picnics beginning at 5:30 p.m. While the concert is free, donations are welcome.
“Last year’s tour was fun but exhausting,” Lanman said. “And towards the end of the year, as I crossed my 100-concert threshold, my grandmother whom I was very close to passed away. I went to Santa Fe where she lived and went into a hole just writing music for four months.”
Lanman will play some of that original music tonight.
A San Francisco native who now lives on the road in his converted Sprinter Van, he calls himself a “neo-soul” singer. His vocal style has been compared to that of Sam Cooke, Harry Connick Jr., Frank Sinatra and James Taylor.
Lanman has performed at such festivals as SXSW, and he’s performed with such groups as the Seattle Rock Orchestra.
His album, “Live From The Blue Boar Inn,” includes originals and covers of songs by such artists as Ray Charles and The Ronettes. Among its songs: “Beyond the Sea,” “Georgia on My Mind” and “Be My Baby.”
“I finally got to the point where I felt like I could go back on tour, but I’m being a lot more selective this time,” Lanman said. “Playing one night in South Dakota, the next in Minnesota and then Boston was pretty unsustainable in the long run.”
Sun Valley resident Rosemary Aquilante, who helped organize the concert, is looking forward to Lanman’s return.
“It was a blast last year,” she said.