Pure Legend! Patti Smith is an acclaimed singer-song writer, poet, painter, author, and photographer whose work helped shape the New York punk and art-rock scene of the 1970s and the decades that followed. Born in Chicago and raised in New Jersey, she was inspired by Beat poetry and artists such as Bob Dylan, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, and the Doors. After moving to New York in 1967, she became involved in poetry, performance art, and underground theatre, while developing a creative partnership with guitarist Lenny Kaye.
Smith and Kaye evolved into the Patti Smith Group, whose early performances combined poetry, improvisation, and rock. Their 1974 single “Hey Joe”/“Piss Factory” preceded her groundbreaking 1975 debut „Horses”. Albums including „Radio Ethiopia”, „Easter”, and „Wave” established her as an influential and unconventional rock artist, with “Because the Night” becoming her biggest commercial success.
Having stepped away from music for several years, Patti Smith returned with „Gone Again” in 1996, following the deaths of several close ones. She continued releasing socially conscious and experimental music, including „Peace and Noise”, „Gung Ho”, and „Banga”.
Smith has also maintained a major literary and visual-art career, winning multiple awards, exhibiting photography, publishing poetry and memoirs, collaborating with a variety of artists, and receiving numerous honors, including induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Her later projects continued to combine music, literature, visual art, environmental concerns, and experimental performance. We're thrilled to welcome her at Open'er. Patti Smith Quartet, July 1, Tent Stage.