EARLVILLE – The Earlville Opera House welcomes “one man music festival,” AJ Croce, to its historic stage on Saturday at 8 p.m.  Emerging as one of “the greatest young songwriters of our time,” (Rolling Stone), he draws upon the traditions of New Orleans blues and stride piano.  Drawing comparisons to Dr. John, Harry Connick Jr. and Tom Waits, listeners will find that A.J. fuses rock, blues, and country to get the soul of Louisiana music.

A.J. Croce is the son of the late musical legend, Jim Croce.  He certainly has some large shoes to fill.  Yet, he has forged his own identity separate from his father’s.  He knows the blues intimately, losing his father in a plane crash and his eyesight to a brain tumor.  At the age of ten, while slowly regaining sight in one eye, he found music.  He learned to play piano during this time and his youthful idols were Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. 

A.J. Croce has played with renowned artists such as Aretha Franklin, Santana, Dave Matthews, and Ray Charles.  He’s appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, VH1, MTV, The Today Show and Entertainment Tonight, to name a few.  His latest album, Cantos, released in Spring 2006, cuts right to the heart of A.J.’s music, featuring raw vocals, piano and guitar and showcasing his most poignant lyrics to date.  A.J. Croce is fast becoming a musical legend in his own right.