Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives Play Pepperdine's Smothers Theatre - Broadway World

Five-time Grammy-winning Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives bring their signature blend of blues, gospel, and rock 'n' roll to Smothers Theatre at Pepperdine University on September 17.

For over forty years, the five-time Grammy winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, photographer and historian Marty Stuart has been building a rich legacy. On his latest double-disc album, Saturday Night & Sunday Morning, released in September 2014 with his band The Fabulous Superlatives, Stuart captures all the authentic neon and stained-glass hues of country music - from love and sex to heartache and hardship to family and God - and his stage performance will feature this intricate weaving of styles, musicianship, and passion.

"I've always thought that country music had a really unique relationship with gospel music," Stuart says. "It is interesting to me that country stars can sing drinking and cheating songs authentically, then at some point during the evening or the broadcast, take their hats off and say, 'Friends, here's our gospel song.' If it's the right messenger it seamlessly flows. That's a time-honored tradition, from Jimmie Rodgers to Hank Williams to Johnny Cash. Rogue prophets and rogue preachers. That is my world."

Born in the small town of Philadelphia, Mississippi, Marty Stuart caught the music bug early, displaying prodigious talent on every stringed instrument he picked up. At an age when most kids are running bases in little league, 13-year old Stuart was logging cross-country interstate miles as a mandolinist with the legendary Lester Flatt's road band. In his twenties, Stuart toured with Johnny Cash, and also played with other legends such as Bill Monroe, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins. By the late 1980s, Stuart was a solo artist, but had an idea for a record called The Pilgrim. Stuart knew he didn't want to travel this new path alone, so he recruited fellow musical missionaries Kenny Vaughan, Harry Stinson and Chris Scruggs.