People of a certain age will remember him as one of “the new Dylans” in the mid ’70s. Now, Steve Forbert is 70 and still on the road, still working his craft, without the fanfare and hype that greeted him early on.

On Thursday, he returns to Pittsburgh for a show at City Winery in the Strip District. Here is a look back at his career.

On arrival: Forbert grew up in Meridian, Miss., and began writing songs when he was 17. He left his job as a truck driver for an auto store in 1976 to move to New York, where he busked in Greenwich Village and worked the punk club CBGB’s, even opening for Talking Heads.

CBGB’s owner Hilly Kristal was a fan of his scruffy and exuberant folk-rock style, as was Ramones manager Danny Fields, who took on Forbert as well.

The break: Forbert also had a fan in John Rockwell of The New York Times. In his year-end wrap in December 1977, he listed Forbert at Kenny’s Castaways as one of the best concerts of the year, alongside the likes of The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Iggy Pop, Carly Simon and Bryan Ferry.

Debut: Based on that praise, Forbert was signed to Nemperor/CBS and released his debut album, “Alive on Arrival,” with a cover photo by Fields, in 1978. It was filled with such gems as “Goin' Down to Laurel,” :What Kinda Guy?,” “Grand Central Station, March 18, 1977” and “Tonight I Feel So Far Away from Home,” revealing a fresh voice with humor, depth and clever turns of phrase.

The hype: The Village Voice hailed him as “the new Dylan,” which would be a blessing and a curse. Rolling Stone’s David Wild wrote, “Now or then, you would be hard-pressed to find a debut effort that was simultaneously as fresh and accomplished” and went on to compare “a great first novel by a young author who somehow managed to split the difference between Mark Twain and J.D. Salinger.”

Rockwell noted, “Evoking the young Dylan has become a cliché for artists of this sort, but, in this case, Mr. Forbert deserves the evocation."

Pittsburgh notices: His first mention in Pittsburgh was a Pittsburgh Press review on Dec. 7, 1978, that said, “Listening to his husky tenor and insightful songs about love, loss, politics and social injustices remind of the power of a young Bob Dylan, an obvious influence.” Forbert has said throughout his career that he found those comparisons to be a bit of a burden.

Breakout: Forbert hit the charts with “Romeo’s Tune,” the single from his second album, “Jackrabbit Slim.” The song, “dedicated to the memory of Florence Ballard” of The Supremes but written about a girl from Meridian, went to No. 11 on the charts. Playing the notable piano riff was former Elvis Presley sideman Bobby Ogdin. The album went to No. 20 on the charts.

Pittsburgh debut: His first Pittsburgh show was at The Decade in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1979 — a little over a month before the Ramones played there — and he returned to play the ballroom at Duquesne University on Feb. 25, 1980.

Slow down: Forbert’s run of great songs continued on “Little Stevie Orbit” (1980) and “Steve Forbert,” both on Nemperor, and both falling short of commercial success. From there, he got into a legal dispute with the label over royalties that stalled his recording career.

Comeback: In 1987, Forbert ran into E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent, who offered to produce a record for him at his new studio. The result was “Streets of This Town,” his first album in six years and first for Geffen. It featured new E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren on the rocker “Wait a Little Longer.” Rolling Stone called it “arguably the best record he has ever made.”

New Dylan/Old Dylan: On that album cycle, Forbert played opening dates for both Neil Young and Bob Dylan. On Sept. 13, 1988, Forbert played to his biggest crowd in Pittsburgh, opening for Dylan at the Civic Arena on the legend’s first show here in eight years.

‘American’ music: Forbert followed that in 1992 with another Geffen album, “The American in Me,” produced by Pete Anderson, best known for his guitar work and production for Dwight Yoakam. It was hailed as Forbert’s record about confronting the responsibilities of adulthood. That year, before playing Graffiti, he was asked by the PG why he wasn’t a bigger star. “I don’t really know,” he said. “I keep trying. I try to write the best, truest songs I can, then I try to make true albums. I just … I work very hard.”

On the Borders: One of the more unusual stops here was playing a free solo acoustic show in 1996 at the Borders Bookstore in the Northway Mall. He was looking to find new audiences and signing copies of his then-current album, “Rocking Horse Head.” In 2018, he was on the bookshelves with his memoir, “Big City Cat: My Life in Folk-Rock,” accompanied by the album “The Magic Tree.”

Snapshots: In 2011, Forbert opened an exhibit of cellphone photography on an old LG phone at the Tinney Contemporary Art Gallery in Nashville. 

Keepin’ on: Although the hype and the crowds diminished over the decades — the small Club Cafe became his go-to Pittsburgh venue — Forbert kept working, building his catalog to 20 albums. The amount of songs is pretty staggering, as is the quality. 

I recently made a playlist of favorite Forbert songs and the count went up to 45. “Any Old Time,” his tribute album to Jimmie Rodgers, was nominated for a best traditional folk album Grammy in 2004. His current tour supports the “Daylight Savings Time,” which includes a few songs that sound like they would have fit in his busking set in Greenwich Village in 1976.

The show is at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $22; citywinery.com.

First Published: April 15, 2025, 8:00 a.m.
Updated: April 15, 2025, 5:48 p.m.