NEW York City comes to Poole on Sunday night when bona-fide rock legend Garland Jeffreys performs at Mr Kyps.

With only a handful of UK shows, this is an incredibly rare opportunity to see a master craftsman at work.

Garland has pretty much seen and done it all. Emerging from the creative melting pot of the New York club scene in the ’60s, the acclaimed songwriter forged his own path and achieved chart success in Europe and later in the US.

He’s perhaps best known for his 1973 call to arms, Wild in the Streets.

His anti-authority anthem continues to provide the soundtrack for urban counter-culture and was recently adopted by the Occupy movement.

It’s not often that you get to see a musician of this calibre in such an intimate live setting. According to Garland Jeffreys, the Poole audience will not be disappointed.

“They will get what they came for, a great show with a killer band. These are fantastic musicians that I’ve been playing with for a long time, a mix of my entire catalogue and a cover or two. I also love to stick around after the show to meet the audience,” says Garland, 71.

“The performances are what count. I love being on stage, the audience and the looseness I’m feeling when performing. The travelling is pretty great too and on this tour getting a chance to visit parts of the UK I’ve never been, Poole included. We’ll have a chance to relax there in town for a couple of days after the show and we’re all looking forward to that,” he added.

Garland regularly collaborates with the biggest names in music such as Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison. He was also a lifelong friend of the late, great Lou Reed, having met each other long before Reed’s Velvet Underground days.

“We were college buddies hanging out at the bars after class at Syracuse University. Great friends and remained so. It’s not the same without him.”

Born of African-American and Puerto Rican American heritage, Garland has always sought to discuss racial and social issues in his lyrics.

“Race is a powerful subject. We need to continue to work on it, deal with it, and try to improve on our acceptance of others regardless of colour. I look back on the album Don’t Call Me Buckwheat from 1992 and am amazed at how little has changed between the races.

“It’s a long fight but we have to keep trying and at least people are examining it and looking at it and discussing it more regularly. I’m working on some songs now that are not so much different in how I approach race, but the fact that it still needs approaching remains the issue.”

Raising awareness through his music remains a driving force for Garland Jeffreys. One of the leading voices of his golden generation, Sunday night’s show is one not to be missed.

“I will continue to tour around the world as I’m doing right now, further bringing attention to the issues of race as I’ve always done. Working on a new album, maybe a film, but most of all performing, as it’s the thing that really keeps you connected to who you are.”

  • Garland Jeffreys plays Mr Kyps in Poole on Sunday night. For more information please visit mrkyps.net or call 01202 748945.