Al Stewart & the Empty Pockets
Al Stewart is another performer now in his 70s whose setlist, by popular demand, is punctuated by his own 1970s heyday hits, most notably “Year of the Cat” and “Time Passages,” which by themselves account for several million records sold. He’s been associated with the annual music lineup at Humphreys since the outdoor venue’s earliest seasons, though he also began turning up at the occasional nearby casino a few years ago. Earlier this year, he did a classic album performance at the Belly Up that apparently made all concerned very happy, because the Solana Beach club is bringing him back on April 3 for what’s being billed as a Greatest Hits Show. Pretty much all of his non-album concerts for years have qualified as greatest hits presentations, seeing as how his only full-length over the past decade was a live album. However, consider that the Glasgow-born folk rock troubadour recorded nearly 20 studio albums between 1967’s Bedsitter Images and Sparks of Ancient Light in 2008, and nearly every one of those releases spawned a “hit” somewhere in the world, so there’s a fairly broad potential for setlist selections. The possibilities are even more expansive due to this tour including his full backing band, the Empty Pockets, who accompanied him for the classic album performances staged on his previous tour.