‘I’m just being a weirdo up there’: Singer, guitarist Steve Poltz brings his ‘greatest show’ to Yellow Springs

Still, thousands of greatest shows later, the singer-songwriter and folk guitarist keeps hitting the stage like a caffeinated troubadour. Poltz’s fingerprints are all over pop culture thanks to collaborations with Jewel, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Nicki Bluhm, Oliver Wood and the late Mojo Nixon.

A founding member of San Diego rock band The Rugburns, Poltz has since carved out a solo career defined by humor and spontaneity. After over a dozen albums, he’s still creatively firing on all cylinders, with critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Associated Press, Billboard and many more.

Nevertheless, Poltz will bring his next greatest show of his life to the Foundry Theater in Yellow Springs on Oct. 28.

Poltz was born with a positive mindset. He maintains that attitude — with a dose of skepticism, since he’s not naive — and is more grateful today for being on the road than he’s ever been.

“I love having heaps of dates in a row. I like looking at a crowded schedule,” he said. “It’s still a sense of wonder that I had when I was a young kid, and we got this set of encyclopedias and I wondered what was inside. I get these highs driving down these country roads. When I pull off of a freeway, a main artery, and try to find a back road sometimes, wander into some store or little diner, I’m fascinated by that. There’s a whole vibe in each town.”

Poltz hits each town without a plan, opening himself up to organic moments that only happen off the map. Every town, he says, has somebody trying to do something cool. Even his shows are unplanned, without set lists; whatever he’s feeling, that’s what he’ll play.

“When I go out on stage, I don’t have a clue what I’m going to play or sing or talk about. It’s this blank page, and then all of a sudden it becomes a show,” Poltz said. “I’m just being a weirdo up there. I’m not hectoring them or lecturing them, because everybody gets enough of that. I’m just actually being a complete freak, and hopefully they’re laughing and getting a kick out of what they’re seeing.”

He delights in life’s absurdity. The ubiquitous “greatest show of my life” line has become both a bit and a mantra. At a certain point, the audience will inevitably hear him proclaim it. Those who have seen him before know it’s coming, those who haven’t might even believe it.

Poltz explains it like the first of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism: the truth of suffering is acknowledging that suffering, pain and dissatisfaction are an inevitable part of human existence.

“Why is the Buddha smiling? Because he knows life is crummy, and it makes him laugh,” he said. “It’s like a lesson in trying to be positive.”

His song “Wrong Town,” from his 2022 solo album “Stardust and Satellites,” speaks to his entire creative process — from songwriting to performing.

“You’re about to watch a show starring me,” he sings. “I don’t know what you’re about to hear or see.”

Because the truth is, Steve Poltz has no plan at all. There’s a good chance that off the stage he’ll fall, even though tonight’s the best he’ll ever play. Don’t panic, he’s organic. Too scared to be satanic. Mostly, he’s just here to sing for you.

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