Steve Gunn has charted a unique, eclectic course in his musical career. The guitar virtuoso and singer-songwriter has collaborated with numerous partners, making both instrumental music that crosses into the avant-garde as well as more song-oriented albums that draw on roots music traditions. About a month ago, he released his latest album, Daylight Daylight, which falls into the latter category.
In his recent performance at DC9, Steve focused on this new material and some of his older traditional songs and a couple of well-chosen covers, while still showing off his impressive chops on the axe.
Though he didn’t say a lot during his set, Gunn started out with a bit about his difficulties parking, saying he’d have to move his car and was still worried he was going to get a ticket. I felt for him, as the margins in touring at the indie level are pretty thin, and a ticket can really eat into them. After his introductory banter on Dec. 6, Steve performed a couple songs from the new album: the title track and “Morning on K Road.” He came back to the album later in the set, playing “Nearly There.”
Watch the official music video for “Morning on K Road” by Steve Gunn on YouTube:
Gunn paid tribute to the influence of the Velvet Underground, whose signature drone is a feature of many of his songs, with a cover of “I’ll Be Your Mirror.” He went a very different direction with the evening’s other cover, Francis McPeake’s folk tune “Wild Mountain Thyme.” Older songs included the titular cut from Way Out Weather, “Hadrian’s Wall” (which takes it’s name from the barrier that marked the northern extent of Roman Britain), and “Old Strange.” For his encore, he came back and played “Morning Is Mended.”
Even with a set that comprised entirely of traditional songs, Steve leaned into his preference for fewer, longer songs. This gave him the opportunity to show off his prodigious guitar skills. As much as he is technically gifted, he has an ear for great melodies and composition, and the songs, especially the guitar parts, are absolutely gorgeous.
Chris Forsyth, another artist whose work crosses between more traditional forms and the avant-garde, opened the show, starting with the instrumental, The last time Chris toured with Steve, he said, Lou Reed died, which has him “worried about other singer-songwriters.” On my way out, I told him, “I’d go easy on myself about Lou Reed. I think that might’ve had more to do with the drugs.” He then played “You’re Gonna Need Somebody,” which is suspect was influenced by Bob Dylan’s “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.” He continued with “Boston Street Lullaby,” which he recorded with his band Basic. He finished with a song he recorded in September with Basic at Steve Albini’s studio in Chicago. I resisted the urge to ask how Steve was doing.
Chris played electric, which made for a nice contrast with Steve’s acoustic; the two were similar enough to make sense together, but we got a little bit of variety between the two of them. And both are fantastic players with excellent songs.
Here are some photos of Steve Gunn performing live at DC9 on Dec. 6, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Casey Vock.
Here are some photos of Chris Forsyth opening Steve Gunn at DC9 on Dec. 6, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Casey Vock.
