Concerts

Enjoy a serving of folk and Phish with Kottke and Gordon in Beverly

Guitarist Leo Kottke, 76, and Phish bassist Mike Gordon, 56, bring their first tour in 16 years to The Cabot Dec. 12.

Jared Slomoff

1 minute to read

Phish drummer Jon Fishman was quoted in Relix early this year as having once thought to himself, “Mike Gordon and Leo Kottke should never meet — if they ever met, that might be the end of the world.”

Thankfully, Fishman’s apocalyptic scenario did not play out when the Phish bassist and venerable veteran guitarist not only met but recorded two albums together: “Clone” in 2002 and “Sixty-Six Steps” in 2005. The latter’s long-overdue (or perhaps never-expected) follow-up, “Noon,” arrived last November. It includes Gordon’s aforementioned bandmate on four tracks, a cover of Prince’s “Alphabet St.”, and the first recordings of original material by Kottke since the pair’s previous effort.

Prima facie, the two musicians are indeed an unlikely combo. Long-time Minneapolis resident Kottke has had a seven-decade-spanning career as an innovative acoustic guitarist. Many of his albums comprise pieces performed on six- and twelve-string instruments with sounds and techniques that draw from blues, folk, jazz, and classical. Gordon — a native of Sudbury, Mass. — was a member of the Phish lineup that formed at the University of Vermont in 1983, and he remained with the band as it became one of the most successful touring acts of the ’90s, aughts, and 2010s.

Gordon confirmed the improbability of their collaboration when he said in a 2020 Minneapolis Star-Tribune interview, “We are both outside of our comfort zones when we’re playing together.” Kottke explained that it works, however, because “It all revolves around friendship.” The eclectic nature of both artists’ oeuvres probably doesn’t hurt, either.

The dyad’s musical and personal bonds will blossom before Cabot concertgoers in Beverly on Dec. 12.