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Elvis Costello is a writer and part-time musician who made a number of records in the 20th Century, some of which are still remembered today.
He was born in London and raised there and in Liverpool.
Costello is the composer or lyricist of over six hundred published titles, including fifteen songs co-written with Paul McCartney and renowned collaborations with Allen Toussaint, the Brodsky Quartet and T Bone Burnett.
Costello's songwriting alliance with Burt Bacharach, began in 1995 with the song, "God Give Me Strength", which led to the 1998 album, "Painted From Memory", before their work was collected in 2023, on the four-album set, "The Songs Of Bacharach & Costello".
Elvis Costello songs have been recorded by Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Chet Baker, Dusty Springfield, Solomon Burke, George Jones, Linda Ronstadt and Bjork, while among the artists with whom he has written songs are Loretta Lynn, Carole King, Rosanne Cash and Kris Kristofferson and his wife, Diana Krall.
Working purely as a lyricist, Costello has provided words for the music of Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Peterson and for twelve Charles Mingus compositions and as a composer, set twelve unpublished lyrics by Bob Dylan.
2024 will see the opening of "A Face In The Crowd", Sarah Ruhl's stage adaptation of the Budd Schulberg story for which Elvis Costello composed the songs.
"A Face In The Crowd" will open at the Young Vic in London on INSERT DATE, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah and produced by Adam Kenwright.
Elvis Costello is the author of "Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink", a more than six-hundred page memoir which has been translated into six languages. He has received a range of awards over his 45 year old career of which the induction into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame is probably the most significant.
Although he holds two honorary doctorates in music - one from the University of Liverpool and another from the New England Conservatory- Elvis Costello is known for playing the guitar with almost no regard for common sense.
Costello currently performs with The Imposters; his long time companions, drummer, Pete Thomas and pianist, Steve Nieve, bassist of twenty-three years standing, Davey Faragher and their special guest, Texas guitarist, Charlie Sexton.
Great to see Elvis. Played all the favorites. Seemed like he was fighting a cold or something and voice was a bit flat. However, it didn't take away from the trip down memory lane!
This was my fifth Elvis show and despite the following issues encountered for the first time, I’ll return. Issues included: 1) For much of the evening Elvis sang flat. Whether due to a physical issue, a facility or environmental problem or perhaps certain of the song keys should be adjusted, it was especially noticeable during ballads and the acoustic section. 2) Elvis utilized 3 or 4 much depending upon his spot on stage. The tonal qualities and volume were not consistent. 3) The snare drum sound was not dynamic and overbearing enough so as to be a distraction throughout the concert. Overall disappointing but hopefully correctable
Well, this seemed to be exactly what we want to see, all the classics and we were so excited for the 6 months leading up to the show. I am not sure if it was technical issues but it just wasn’t good. Songs we had listened to for ages were completely unrecognizable. Sat through 4 songs and had to call it a night.
Such a great concert with Elvis Costello & the Imposters with Charlie Sexton. Mr. Sexton seems to be touring with everyone these days. Fantastic! My seat was amazing in Orch 1 Row 4 Seat 2. I love when they moved Stage Right and were all assemble closely like a living room concert. I had never been to Mahaffey before. It was a great experience.
I loved this experience from the beginning to the end. First, we arrived, and parking was easy peasy. For once we were early, so we decided to stop by Sonata, the (pseudo) fine dining restaurant next door. Well, we could not get in because we had no reservation. Surprise, Surprise! Even the bar there was packed. Obviously, we should have known better. Luckily, there was food and snacks set up in the lobby. Sonata had people taxiing burgers and chicken fingers there to be sold. I was quite impressed by the quality. Everything was hot, and the french fries were nice and unbelievably crispy. The Mahaffee Theater has no bad seats. I doubt there are 2000 seats there, but they still have as many sections as the more prodigious theaters; there are just way less rows. This may have something to do with its age as it was built in 1965 when lots less people lived here. The concert was wonderful. We really enjoyed listening to musings and music of Elvis Costello and his band - definitely a great concert!
First time I’ve ever seen him! Hopefully not the last! I was so excited to finally see him in concert and having Charlie Sexton with him was just wonderful! All old songs and the acoustic set was stunning. GO see EC on this tour. You’ll be glad you did!
I must say that I was extremely disappointed in the Elvis Costello concert. So much in fact, and like so many others, I actually left the concert very early. Elvis' voice just doesn't have that sound that Ive enjoyed for 50 plus years. Even when the rest of the band chilled out and allowed an acoustic approach it still sounded dreadful.
Great venue and staff. Band as always is great but I could have heard more Guitarist Charlie Sexton. Charlie has amazing chops and should of been highlighted more.
It was hard to discern this Elvis from the albums I have listened to for years as a, huge fan. Band was good but Elvis was too loud and off key, his interpretations were far from the originals. Lyrics were hard to hear. Left early, disappointed
This was our 4th or 5th Elvis show at least. It was the most disappointing ever and the most disappointing show we've seen in years. The sound system made the lyrics muddy and garbled. The first half was all unrecognizable arrangements of barely familiar songs. He muffed the lyrics on a couple. It is time to hang it up. Total night and day experience compared to Tom Jones who's 85 years old.
I’ve been an Elvis Costello fan since the late seventies and I’ve always wanted to see him in person. I knew that it’s been 40+ years since I first started listening and became a fan, so I wasn’t expecting too much from the man, and I’ve read a comment on Facebook that was less than flattering, so I didn’t know what to expect. But Elvis was warm and inviting and the band was perfect! Elvis was fantastic! Played all the songs I was hoping to hear and sounded great. Definitely worth the ticket price.
Something was off with Elvis. It seemed like his vocals were a whole beat behind the music. This was my third time seeing him and certainly the most dissatisfied I have been.
So I love Elvis Costello's music. Especially his early tunes. That being said, his singing was slightly behind the beat. Whether or not on purpose, I couldn't tell. But he sang out of key quite frequently and it concerns me. Why is he still touring and why haven't friends, family, management stepped in to discuss it with him? It was uncomfortable for me to know how great he can be, but yet have the show not turn out that way. He's 70 ish and I get that. A lot of people seemed to really enjoy the show and that's cool. I would rather listen to his recorded tunes rather than listen to them live now as a subpar rendering to what was great 40-50 years ago. That's just me and your mileage may vary. In no way am I trying to change anyone's mind or opinion.
Phenomenal performance! Admittedly, it took a minute for the show to take off but when it did I couldn’t have asked for a better evening listening to a rock n roll icon. The Imposters & Charlie Sexton are a super tight group - each of them a master of their craft along with Elvis’ unmistakable voice and superb guitar playing skills - best show I’ve seen in a long time.
IF you are a HUGE fan of EC, you may have different thoughts on this effort. I am a long time fan of 30+ years and I have to admit I got a bit bored a few times. Rather than playing the classics we fell in love with as they were, he played different arrangements to most songs that almost made them unrecognizable. It seemed his "aim"was to entertain himself and we were just along for the ride. I suppose artists get bored and EC is no different, but when you advertise a show as a regrouping with the Imposters that includes "hits"from your first 10 years, thats what fans expect. Set the ego aside and give the people what they want. That did happen with the last 3-4 songs which were played quickly and note for note, but that was too little too late and did not fool me into thinking the whole show was like that. Tragic under/misuse of Charlie Sexton too. C+ show at best.
The Uptown is a beautiful venue and we had great seats. Nearly 2 and a half hours of Elvis Costello goodness. Having Charlie Sexton on lead guitar was a nice bonus. Don't miss this tour.
When you have a catalog as extensive and varied as Mr Costello, you can count on a few surprises. This tour is focused on the early stuff and does not disappoint. It was a great time and I was delighted to see another generation of fans singing along. I’m already looking forward to seeing him again. RS
Great show. The musicianship of the Impostors never disappoints. Elvis is a treasure. If he’s coming to your town, go!
This venue was a great time. The seats are larger than usual and bar service is plentiful.
The sound was off, the beat was off. sounds more like an open mic night at a bar
