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John Rouse at The Kate

Josh Rouse will perform at The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, “The Kate,” 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook, on Tuesday, June 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Rouse was born in Nebraska and following an itinerant upbringing he eventually landed in Nashville, where he recorded his debut Dressed Like Nebraska (1998). The album’s acclaim led to tours with Aimee Mann, Mark Etzel, and the late Vic Chestnut. The follow up, Home (2000), yielded the song “Directions,” which Cameron Crowe used in his film Vanilla Sky.

For his breakthrough album, 1972 (2003), which happens to be the year he was born, Rouse decided to cheer up a bit.

Noting that he’d earned a reputation for melancholy, he says, “I figured this is my career, I might as well try to enjoy it.”

He has continued writing and recording, even after relocating to Spain, and most recently released Love In the Modern Age (2018), which took its musical inspiration from the thinking man’s pop of the ‘80s: The Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout, and the Style Council. In 2019 he tackled the Christmas album on The Holiday Sounds of Josh Rouse, but instead of well-worn carols or classics, he wrote an entire record of original holiday-themed pop songs.

Opening the show are the acoustic duo of Shellye Valauskas and Dean Falcone of the Shellye Valauskas Experience. Based in the New Haven area, Valauskas and Falcone write songs that hearken back to the finer moments of the ‘70s and ‘80s, filled with sparkling melodies powered by sharp and often jangly electric guitars. Their latest release is History of Panic.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.thekate.org or call 860-510-0453.

The Kate’s theater lobby boasts a museum honoring Katharine Hepburn, one of Old Saybrook’s most celebrated residents.