Alexander Live at WTJU, Presented by Third Rail

The third Saturday in April WTJU Rock's Third Rail welcomes master fingerstyle guitarist, Alexander, all the way from New Haven, CT. This free event is open to all at 2244 Ivy Road with doors opening at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are not required but donations to the musician are encouraged. You can also listen live on 91.1 FM, stream via wtju.net, and video stream on WTJU's Facebook and YouTube channels.

Listen to Alexander's music on Bandcamp: davidalexanderguitars.bandcamp.com

Alexander is the solo project of guitarist and multi-instrumentalist David Shapiro (Kath Bloom, Headroom, Center). Under the Alexander moniker he plays fingerstyle acoustic guitar and banjo music. Drawing from a wide variety of guitar traditions, Shapiro has arrived at a style and vocabulary of his own. His albums have drawn comparisons to John Fahey and Robbie Basho who he cites as influences on his playing. Elizabeth Cotten, Frantz Casseus, and Frank Proffitt are other major influences. As Alexander he has toured extensively across the U.S. and abroad. He has shared bills with Mdou Moctar, Loren Connors, Susan Alcorn, and many more. His self-titled LP is distributed by Forced Exposure and he has additional releases on C/Site Recordings.

"I'm trying to aim at elements of the devotional music experience," Shapiro said. "People want to come and sit in silence, and they want to close their eyes, or maybe watch. But they want to feel the music, and to let the music that's happening be the only thing that's happening." -Alexander, Hartford Courant, Dec 6, 2018

hird Rail is sponsored by Hello Goodbye Records in downtown Charlottesville.