Rocco DeLuca & the Burden

Mr. DeLuca, performing with the Last Goodnight and the Midway State, knows plenty about burdens — like, for instance, the one he's carried since 24 star Kiefer Sutherland adopted his musical career. Having such a powerful patron has paid dividends: Sutherland made DeLuca's 2006 long-player, I Trust You to Kill Me, the first release on his Ironworks imprint, and the actor co-starred in a documentary of the same name. But while Sutherland's presence in the film, which memorializes his stint as a de facto publicist/roadie on a Burden tour, attracted much more attention to the project than it otherwise would have garnered, it essentially made DeLuca seem like a supporting player in the eyes of the press — a visual symbol of Sutherland's quirky personality. In truth, DeLuca is a noteworthy singer-songwriter who's developed an unusual framework for his songs: He typically plays dobro alongside Burden members on bass, drums and percussion. For now, though, he probably spends less time talking about music with fans than he does answering one tedious question: "Where's Kiefer?"