Dark Matter presents Hamell on Trial + Ruth Theodore

A one-man explosion, he is loud-as-war one minute, stepping off the microphone to whisper to an enthralled audience the next. Hamell’s unique and dynamic performance style is informed by politics, passion, intelligence and an irreverent sense of humor. 

Armed with a battered 1937 Gibson acoustic guitar that he amplifies mightily and strums like a machine gun, a politically astute mind that can't stop moving, and a mouth that can be profane one minute and profound the next, Hamell sets his sights on the new America.  He shoots straight with his audience, whether unraveling topical issues or sharing confessional tales from his own past.  

In addition to world-class songwriting, a Hamell show is a multidisciplinary experience drawing from the worlds of theater, stand-up comedy and storytelling.  His performances invoke thoughts of the great rebellious satirists and social commentators of the past, from Lenny Bruce to Richard Pryor to Bill Hicks. 

Living as an artistic renegade on the fringes of the traditional music industry, Hamell has toured the world tirelessly for decades as an underground DIY artist whose joyous followers pack into dive bars, coffee joints and house concerts, burning over a million miles across the map as an enigmatic punk proletariat.  Over 200,000 of those miles have been shared with his son Detroit, who has joined his dad on annual tours since he was seven years old.  

Hamell has shared countless stages with fellow anti-establishment icons such as Ani DiFranco, Kimya Dawson, Aesop Rock and The Pogues, as well as winning the coveted Herald Angel Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  

Musician, Poet Writer and Singer Ruth Theodore is an institution whose personal writing and delivery is informed and engaging. Theodore's music fizzes with the upbeat sparkle of UK troubadour Rory McLeod and American Ani Difranco.