He has also had a strong musical connection with the Allman Brothers Band, and was a member of Gregg Allman's band for six years (2007-2013), Jamoe's Jasssz Band (2010-2015), Butch Trucks' Freight Train Band and Les Brers (2015-2017). Bruce also occasionally toured with the Allman Brothers as well.... Bruce is a six time (2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2020) Nominee for the Blues Music Award (W.C. Handy Award) for "Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year", selected by the Blues Foundation of Memphis, TN. He won the BMA for Acoustic Blues Album of the Year in 2019 for his collaboration with Joe Louis Walker and Giles Robson for Journeys to the Heart of the Blues and is nominated again in 2020 for the same award for his acoustic piano album Solo Ride. He was also nominated for "Outstanding Musician (Keyboards)" by Living Blues Magazine in 2015 and 2019.

He is a unique player and composer who combines Blues and American Roots music with elements of jazz, and improvisational rock music that creates a signature sound that is all is own.

Bruce was an Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music for fourteen years (1996-2010), teaching Harmony, Hammond organ labs, Blues History and Private Piano Instruction.

Bruce began playing piano at age 5 and has a lengthy background in classical piano. After hearing a Bessie Smith record when he was 10 years old, he started teaching himself blues and early jazz on the piano. He then heard boogie-woogie and swing music and continued his musical journey into more aspects of jazz and American roots music. Bruce attended Berklee College of Music in the mid-1970s, studying Composition and Performance.

For the next fifteen years, he performed with many of the leading musicians in New England, and played “on the road” for long stretches of time. In the early 1980s, Bruce played with Big Mama Thornton on her East Coast tours and this experience revived his desire to play Blues Music as a primary focus.

After a particularly long stint of touring in the late '80s with Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, he decided to come off the road and enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he earned a Master's degree in Jazz Performance and studied with Geri Allen, Paul Bley, Cecil McBee, and George Russell. It was during this time that he conceived of and started writing music that became the Bruce Katz Band.

In 1992, he met Ronnie Earl, who soon invited him to join his band, The Broadcasters. During his nearly five-year stint with Earl, Katz toured the world and performed on six albums, writing and co- writing many of the tunes, such as "The Colour of Love," "Ice Cream Man," and "Hippology." The album “Grateful Heart” (Bullseye) won the Downbeat Critics Poll for Best Blues Album of 1996.

In 1992 as well, Katz debuted his first solo album, "Crescent Crawl", on the AudioQuest label. He released "Transformation" the following year. Just before the release of "Mississippi Moan" in 1997, his third solo album, Katz left the Broadcasters to concentrate on a solo career. At that point, the Bruce Katz Band began touring the U.S. and Europe, and has been his ongoing focus, in addition to his many other projects.

In these years, Bruce played with Duke Robillard (2001-02), John Hammond (2005 – present), Gregg Allman (2007-13), Delbert McClinton (2011-2014) and many other high profile roots, blues, and rock performers, while continuing to tour and record with his own band.

His albums have consistently appeared high on the national and international radio play charts and have garnered critical and popular acclaim.

Bruce has also been the subject of feature stories and reviews in most of the leading blues and jazz publications throughout the world.

In addition to performing, Katz teaches piano, Hammond organ and theory privately at his studio in West Shokan, NY. Bruce teaches long-distance online "Skype" lessons as well. He also conducts Master Classes in Blues/Jazz Piano Style and History, Hammond B3 and Blues History, which he has done at various schools, universities and music festivals worldwide.

Formerly from Boston, Bruce has been based in Woodstock, NY since 2005.

https://www.brucekatzband.com/

While it’s hard to put a finger on any one sound that defines “American music,” the compositions of Bill Toms are as close a template as any.... The Pittsburgh native, along with his band Hard Rain, delivers a sound that takes the greatest of America’s most beloved genres and melds them into a poetic representation of the best the country has to offer. Bill Toms captures the American conscious with thoughtfulness, honesty, and a groove that keeps the tail feathers moving.

Rock-and-soul master Bill Toms returns with a beautiful message of healing and hope in the face of despair. "Man's Soul Is on Trial" oozes a soothing grace as Toms gently pleads for unity over division. It's a message for the times and a sublime step forward for the artist. Can't wait to hear the rest of his coming album. - Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer Writing about the single (Oct 23, 2020 Release) “Man’s Soul Is On Trial”

Toms launched his musical career in 1987 as lead guitarist of Pittsburgh’s legendary band Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers, During that period, he opened for and played with such legendary names as The Band, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Little Feat, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. While playing guitar, co-writing, and adding backup vocals for the Houserockers, Toms and the band recorded six studio albums and one live concert album. In 1995, The Houserockers released American Babylon, which was recorded and produced by Springsteen himself.

As a solo artist, Toms has opened for the likes of Buddy Guy, Levon Helm, Marshall Crenshaw, , Steve Forbert, and Dan Baird. He’s plotting a string of regional east coast dates to support “Keep Movin’ On”, as well as a full European tour in 2022.

https://www.billtoms.com/

From the moment he caught B.B. King on an episode of Sanford & Son at the age of 11, the Delaware native knew the Blues was something special.... Eyes- wide, this moment was one he would never forget, picking up his first bass shortly after. This experience sparked a musical career spanning four decades.

While the early 80’s were spent supporting heavy metal guitarist Vinnie Moore, the 90’s brought him back to the Blues. Touring throughout the U.S, Canada, and Europe he supported acts such as Sonny Rhodes, Georgie Bonds and The Blueskeepers, Socco, and Lonnie Shields. The next decade kept him even busier, as he was in high demand on bass duty with Big Jack Johnson, Richard Ray Farrell, and Roger Girke.

Jimmy had been meeting up in Memphis throughout the years – specifically at The Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge (IBC). It’s been a long, sweet road since his debut as front-man, when “Shopping for the Blues” knocked it out of the park in 2004. This gained him a notable nomination from the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation for the IBC CD competition. In 2010 he was nominated again, this time by The Diamond State Blues Society for the impressive “Goin’ Down 9” album.

In more recent years, Pritchard rocked the International Blues Challenge as bassman backing long-time friend and harp extraordinaire Mikey Junior- first in 2011 when they reached the semi-finals and then again in 2012 as finalists.

2014 brought the Jimmy Pritchard Band to Memphis where they became IBC semi-finalists representing the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation, proving that Memphis, and the spotlight, is definitely where Jimmy shines!

Since then, he enjoyed three years of the good life in Florida, while dazzling audiences around the country as bassman next to Albert Castiglia. But the Northeast called him back, and boy, he has arrived.

Jimmy Pritchard exploded back into the limelight with his 2019 album “Meet Me in Memphis.” The release welcomes a sensational lineup which includes guitarist J.P. Soars and percussionist Chris Peet, guitarist Paul DesLauriers, bassist Greg Morency and drummer Sam Harrisson dropping by to deliver. Albert Castiglia lays down a few hot licks as well. Jimmy also turns up the heat by featuring harp players Rockin’ Jake, Albert ‘Big Daddy’ Lambertson, and Mikey Junior. Allman Brothers alum Johnny Neel keeps the keys fresh, while Rachelle Coba’s vocals compliment Jimmy’s natural talents.

Along with his own recordings, Jimmy is honored to have been asked to contribute his sound on close to two dozen albums.

Without a doubt, Jimmy Pritchard has established himself as a true force in today’s blues scene, delivering the talent, charism and drive needed to keep audiences engaged and to make fellow artists eager to call him friend.

https://jimmypritchard.com/

"This is a bad young lady who works with some bad cats. And when I say, bad you you know I mean good!" Bob Perkins, WRTI.... "When she performs, other musicians come out to see her. That's something." Jeff Duperon, WRTI.

"Beautiful." Sinatra After Midnight. WXPN

Julie has performed as a jazz vocalist for almost two decades. She has worked with a variety of the best jazz and blues musicians across the country and overseas.

She's recorded and performed with Philly greats Robert "Bootsie" Barnes, Larry McKenna, Mike Boone, Tom Lawton, Madison Rast, Jim Holton, Tom Adams, Sy Platt, Marcell Bellinger, and many others.

She's performed at the legendary Ortlieb's Jazz Haus, Havana's in New Hope, Chris' Jazz Cafe, the Kimmel Center, The Annenberg Center, Media Jazz Fest, the Radisson, Paris Bistro, SOUTH Jazz club and many other venues.

Julie can be heard on Spotify, itunes, WRTI, 90.1, WXPN, 88.5 and WBGO, 88.3 as well as others online. When she is not writing she is singing jazz, swing, blues, and whatever she feels like.

https://www.juliecharnet.com/

He’s a rock and soul artist from Cincinnati, OH who found love in music at an early age, and got pushed onto the stage for the first time at 14. From there, it was an obsession.... Location and attendance didn’t matter

Whether it’s the Cleveland House of Blues or a Toledo Waffle House

Matt Waters just loves playin, and would prefer to be picking somewhere that damn near anything

Waters quickly earned the trust of local clubs, and began opening for national acts such as:

AJR, Judah and the Lion, Here Come the Mummies, Freekbass, Tim Reynolds, Afroman…

as well as Luke Combs and Judy Collins (which may seem random… but damn they both rocked)

During 2019 alone…. Waters played over 270 shows across the country from the ocean side bars of Laguna Beach, CA to the coffee shops of Burlington, VT and all the way back to Hilton Head, SC where it all began almost a decade prior.

Over the last 3 years, Waters has toured the country consistently with a mixed bag of configurations. Anything from a one man band with a loop pedal to an 9 piece funk band all under one roof, with:

Drums: Nick Hach / Nick Meehan
Bass: Jonny Disco / Kevin McClellan / Sammy Reuscher
Keys: Jamarco Thomas / Josh Jessen
Saxophone: Kris Keith / Eli Gonzalez / Paul Kindt
Trombone: Jason Branscum
Trumpet: Charlie Ferrara / Sean Fitzpatric
Vocalists: Charice Rodgers / Tommi Lee / Sony Grappone

https://www.mattwatersmusic.com/

“Few but mighty, Stevie and the Bluescasters demonstrate without a doubt that there IS such a thing as an intimate powerhouse! Just (but not merely!) a trio, their brand of deep-fried acoustic blues will rock your soul... Whatever your ills, the Bluescasters are your miracle cure. Wellness is just a Wild Ox Moan away!” - Rusty Cloud, Original Blues Brothers Blues Band, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

STEVIE AND THE BLUESCASTERS is a three-piece acoustic blues band from Philadelphia consisting of vocals, acoustic guitars, mandolin, National Steel and wood body Resonator, harmonica and percussion. They play unique arrangements of all kinds of blues: Old Country blues including Piedmont, Delta ,Texas, Chicago blues, some old gospel, old country, and a pinch of R&B thrown into the mix. We also include a smattering of International "Blues - Mourna (Creole Portuguese from Cape Verde) , Portuguese Fado and Ladino.

They handle many different styles with virtuosity and fluency while laying bare the emotional depths of a song. Over the course of one set the beauty and intensity of their music can elicit a range of audience reactions from “pin drop” silence to dancing and joyous shouting. THE BLUESCASTERS play venues and festivals throughout the tri-state area and New York. They have opened for or shared the stage with Ana Popovic, Shemeika Copeland, David Bromberg, Maurice John Vaughn, Slam Allen, Bernard Allison, Tab Benoit, The Nighthawks, Tinsley Ellis and many others.

After opening for Ana Popovic, she stated, “You guys are the real deal!”

The great Bluesman John Primer told us, “Y’all sound great, really!”

STEVIE NOLAN'S beautiful and powerful voice is earthy, sultry, and always swinging. Her stunningly clear melodies and yodels will take you to many beautiful and gritty bittersweet landscapes of the blues. She also plays rhythm guitar to round out the sound. She has played in bands throughout the years that included the late great Danny Starobin, Texas guitarist Harry Hess and other renowned Philadelphia music icons. She has opened for Willie Kent and the Gents, Maurice John Vaughn, Karen Carroll, and has shared the stage with Eddie Shaw’s Wolf Pack, Roosevelt “Bubba” Barnes, and H-Bomb Ferguson. Her personal friendships with the legendary Mississippi Fred McDowell and British blues founder Peter Green helped guide her musical development toward the blues. Stevie grew up in a music business household that included family relationships with RnB and Jazz greats including the Drifters, Billy Ward and the Dominos, Clyde McPhatter, Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, Illinois Jacquet, among others.

SETH HOLZMAN (AKA "Zep Harpo" and "The Rocket") has been playing harmonica since 1965 and has performed in bands since 1972. Seth plays in various styles, including Blues, Rock 'n' Roll, Folk, Country, and Jazz. Seth has had the great honor of performing with Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, John Brim, Ronnie Earl, John Mooney, Louisiana Red, Roomful of Blues, Magic Slim, Big Jack Johnson, Dave "Honeyboy" Edwards, Tommy Conwell, and Studebaker John. Seth has shared the stage with or opened for Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Carey Bell, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, John Mayall, the Blasters, Little Ed & the Blues Imperials, Little Charlie and The Night Cats, Ana Popovic, David Bromberg, Shemekia Copeland, Savoy Brown, Joe Louis Walker, John Hammond, Peter Wolf, Deborah Coleman, Wayne Baker Brooks, Sandra Hall, the BelAirs, Grady Champion, the Debbie Davies Band, and Jumpin' Johnny Sansone.Both John Hammond and John Mayall have personally complimented Seth's harmonica playing.

PAUL NOLAN has been a blues musician for over thirty-five years. He knows the full range of the blues from field hollers all the way through contemporary blues style. With THE BLUESCASTERS his bottleneck awakens the old blues ghosts in his National Steel guitar, booms out solid blues grooves on the old Gibson acoustic guitar and gets the "old time" sound on the mandolin. He has taught blues styles to elementary school children and to music therapists internationally.

https://stevieandthebluescasters.com/

In 1985, five young, local musicians got together and began playing old blues songs in a rambling three-story house in Philadelphia... They decided to take the act on the road as The Dukes of Destiny, a name they got from a matchbook cover urging the reader to “Be the Captain of Your Own Destiny.” At first, The Dukes of Destiny played house parties in Germantown, generating interest by word of mouth. A gig at the now-defunct Taker’s Café in Germantown launched their public career, and 30 years later, they are still playing some of the hottest, most danceable blues and old school soul in the Philadelphia area. Today The Dukes of Destiny reign as Philadelphia’s longest-lived and best loved blues act.

There have been changes in the act: guitarists left and came back, bass and sax players moved and or left the band, and sadly, singer and founder Steve Brown died in March of 2000. But the approach and commitment of the band has remained constant for 30 years, resulting in a band with a unique tightness and an original approach to the music. With a mix of powerful original songs and unique arrangements of blues standards, The Dukes of Destiny continue to grow and develop as they share their music through countless live performances and recordings.

The Dukes 2023

John Colgan-Davis: harmonica and vocals
Adam Darer: keys
Dave Reiter: guitar
Mike Blair: bass
Mike O'Rourke: drums

http://www.dukesofdestiny.com/

An amalgamation of roots, blues and world music, award winning Australian singer/ songwriter "Peter D. Harper" creates a heady mix of roots music through his creative use of the harmonica, and the haunting drone of the didgeridoo.... By combining traditional and modern influences, borrowing from Western and World music, Harper has created a highly original take on the roots genre. Harper has received an amazing 14 x Music Awards in four different countries and has performed on over 2000 Films, commercials and TV series. Considered to be a virtuoso harmonica player, Harper’s innovative use of electronic enhancement and feedback, breaks the traditional boundaries of the harmonica, giving his music its distinctive harmonics and effects. The powerful guitar sounds and the unique drone of the didgeridoo create rawyet eerie sonic textures, some how sounding primal and contemporary at the same time. Harper is backed by his very talented American Midwest based band: "Midwest Kind"

Born in the United Kingdom, Harper's musical journey began early, performing in brass bands playing the trumpet and euphonium. At the age of ten, his family moved half way round the world to Perth, Western Australia, and his Grandfather introduced Harper to the harp. In Perth, one of the most isolated cities in the world, there was a thriving blues and folk scene. The blues had a rawness, an honesty and a passion of the soul which spoke to Harper deeply. Then, like every blues lover, Harper began his journey backwards to discover the deeper roots of the music. "I think Muddy Waters really hit me hard. There was something incredibly special about his sound, his powerful voice and his songs. I would sing his songs constantly. I also really dug Sonny BoyWilliamson II as well. I loved his rhythmic use of his harp. I was also inspired by a pretty wide range of players and styles like Little Walter, Sugar Blue and Stevie Wonder who guide me in my harmonica playing. "But Harper did not stop his search with the blues. It was a chance meeting with a Hopi "Dan Running Bear" in Silverton, Colorado, that led him down the path to rediscovering the music of his homeland. Fascinated with the spirituality and culture of the American Natives, he found the same qualities present in the Australian Aborigines of his homeland. On adding the native didgeridoo to his music, Harper says "It is a sound I grew up with, so it seemed natural to add it to my songwriting particularly when the lyrics related to the plight of the Aborigines in Australia. When I added the didgeridoo to the more traditional blues instruments, it worked. The deep woody qualities and its haunting drone seemed to enhance the emotional quality of my stories. The didgeridoo is a spiritual and healing instrument, and it seemed blues music accepted it with open arms. I also owe my life to a tribe of nomadic Australian Natives who saved my father and I from starvation when we were trapped at The Fitzroy Crossing (Western Australia), in between two fast flowing river torrents. They gave us enough food and water to last us until the flood had subsided. I feel my music is my way of giving back to these wonderful people". Prior to his introduction to American audiences, Harper released six CDs to great acclaim in his homeland of Australia. Harper received a Gold Record for "Sailing Australia" (America's Cup Theme). Harper had the honor of backing Blues Legend "Muddy Waters" on harmonica for his West Australian tour.

In 1994 he moved to Melbourne, Victoria and released his first album, "Tears of Ice"(New Market). This was followed by "Yesterday Is Over" in 1996 with his band Blue Devil and "Live At The Soup Kitchen" (recorded in Detroit) in 1997 as a soloist. In 2000, he released "Glass on The Stepping Stone" and "Live At St. Andrew's" in 2002. In 2003 he released "Way Down Deep Inside", for which he received two harmonica awards and Album of the Year honor from US Magazine's "Guide to the Best of the Blues Harmonicas & Beyond" USA. Over the years Harper has received multiple Australian Blues Awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Acoustic Artist of the Year.(TREV). Harper was also invited to perform at a Royal Gala Performance for the Queen of England in Perth, Western Australia. His prolific recording career and memorable stage performances allowed Harper to take his music beyond Australia. He's played in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, China, The Caribbean and France. He first started performing in the United States in 1996, and has toured regularly since. It was on one of these tours that he caught the attention of Blind Pig Records, which made him their first international signing. With a home at a U.S. label and growing appreciation for his music from American audiences, Harper made the permanent move to the U.S. His animated shows have been well received at blues festivals, world music festivals, and by fans of jam band music.Harper has become a huge favorite on the world wide festival scene with an average of 20 to 30 festivals and 200 club dates per year. He was also invited to perform harmonica on stage several times with US super group- "Journey".

Harper's first Blind Pig release and American debut, 2005's Down To The Rhythm, won accolades from the press for its unique sound and virtuoso performances, coupled with Harper's compositional skill. Harper's second release from Blind Pig Records, Day By Day (2007), provided fans with another prime example of why his unique roots music style occupies a category of its own. Ramble Magazine raved that Harper's harp and lyrics have " a depth of feeling and thought that is unusual in today's music . Blues legend John Mayall loved Harper's songs so much so, that he included " Just What Your'e Looking For" on his new CD "Tough" (Eagle Records). Harper's third Blind Pig release "Stand Together" (2010) reached number 10 on the Billboard Charts and number 1 on Sirius XM Bluesville Charts. Harper's CD "Live at the Blues Museum" (April 16, 2012- Blu Harp Records) was recorded at Canada's only Blues Museum, Place Concorde, Windsor, Ontario. "Live at the Blues Museum"reached number 1 on the Sirius/ XM National Radio Charts, USA/Canada. The CD received "Best Live Recording" award by Blues411, New York, USA. 2012. Windsor, Canada's Television network- CFTV 34 aired "An Evening with Peter D. Harper" in 2013. Harper was also nominated for two -2013 Detroit Music Awards- "Outstanding Artist" and "Outstanding Recording". Harper released an acoustic blues CD with Motor City Josh called "Bare Bones" (Blu Harp Records) in October, 2013 and followed up with a very successful national tour. He also received a 2013 "Happy to Have the Blues Award"- Best Instrumentalist" -"Big City Rhythm n Blues Magazine". Harper won a 2014 Detroit Music Award for "Outstanding Vocalist" and was also nominated for FIVE Detroit Music Awards. Harper and Midwest Kind were featured on PBS TV- WKAR "BackStage Pass" in 2015. This TV presentation was syndicated worldwide. Harper was nominated for two x 2015 Detroit Music Awards. Harper received a 2017 Detroit Music Awards for Outstanding Vocalist.

In 2016, Harper released "Show Your Love' (Blu Harp Records) This CD hit # 3 on the Billboard Blues Charts - (July 27, 2016). Plus an amazing 6 Months in the Top Ten on Billboard, (September, 2016) "Show Your Love" also hit # 1 in The Netherlands, # 1 in Italy and #3 on the Australian Blues Charts (Top 5 for 5 months). In 2018, Peter D Harper's new project with German Guitarist Joachim Griebe called - "Harper & Griebe" released a CD called "Distant Unity". This CD is available through BCSMusic (Germany)

Harper and Midwest Kind's latest release “RISE UP” (2020) reached # 3 on the Billboard Blues Charts, was listed in the Top 20 Albums of 2020 by Blues Blast Magazine and was also nominated for Best Modern Roots Album, and Best Modern Roots Band, 2021 by Independant Blues Awards, USA.

https://www.harper.biz/

Gabe Stillman and his band hit the stage in high gear and only go higher as they embrace all corners of American Roots Music with their impromptu selection of original gems and carefully chosen covers. ... Since landing in the final eight of the 35th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN, and being further honored as the recipient of the esteemed Gibson Guitar Award, Gabe and his band have been focused on expanding their footprint on a national and international level.

Based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and an alumnus of Williamsport’s Uptown Music Collective; Gabe formed his band in 2015, shortly after graduating from Boston’s Berklee College of Music.

Gabe’s first self-produced release “The Grind” received wide acclaim. Gabe’s 2nd release, “Flying’ High” is backed by the legendary blues band, The Nighthawks. Gabe’s most current project, “Just Say the Word”, is his first full-length release with 15 tracks and 13 originals, released on the Boston-based, Vizztone Record Label. This robust project was guided by famed musician and producer Anson Funderburgh.

“Just Say the Word” has connected with radio, industry reviews, and the enthusiastic buying power of Stillman’s growing fanbase. “Just Say the Word” reached #5 on the Roots Music Radio chart along with three charted singles. Fan support is evident with “Just Say the Word” debuting at #10 on the Billboard Blues Chart. Release reviews are strong as evident and consistent with this recent review from Jim Hynes and Making A Scene: [Just Say The Word], is a brilliant, auspicious debut from one who has the complete package. Gabe Stillman’s future is bright. Jim Hynes, Making a Scene.

All releases are available on most worldwide streaming services and digital outlets. Physical CDs are available by ordering from Gabe’s website and in all fine music outlets.

Industry professionals have taken notice by Gabe’s invitation to support ZZ Top at the famed Key West Amphitheater and the Community Arts Center in Williamsport, PA, as a Blues Music Award nominee in the Best New Emerging Artist Album category, and in March of 2022 The Gabe Stillman Band was further honored by the 3rd Annual Central PA Music Awards, selected as the “Best Blues Band”.

https://www.gabestillman.com/

Tommy Froelich is a Chester County, Pennsylvania, based blues/rock guitarist,...singer, and songwriter. He delivers powerful performances, captivating audiences with his smooth vocals and compelling soulful energy on guitar. His diverse writing style is inspired by his love of classic rock and roll, old school blues and country music influences. Tommy has evolved over his twenty-five-year career as a professional musician, appearing in many bands, performing at countless local venues, festivals and corporate events in and around the Delaware Valley. In 2015, one of his current lineups, the Tommy Froelich Trio, earned the coveted honor of becoming the house band for Philadelphia’s classic rock radio station 102.9 WMGK. During their reign, the trio had the opportunity to perform many corporate and radio sponsored events, including MGK's annual Big Gig concert at the BB&T Center, sharing the bill with Joe Walsh and Bad Company. Andre Gardener, disc jockey and on-air personality at WMGK, touts “Watching Tommy play live is pure joy. He and his guitar are truly one – and what a combination that is.”

In 2016, Tommy released his first album, Roads Less Traveled, recorded at Noisy Little Critter Studio in Thorndale, PA. The album offers twelve original tracks combining blues and rock influenced sound to create an eclectic textured mix of well composed heartfelt tunes. Several songs from this album have gotten air play on internet radio and WSTW 93.7 FM, where he was also a featured guest on their Hometown Heroes radio show with Mark Rogers. Tommy’s follow up EP Time Well Spent was released in May 2017 and recorded at Philly Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, features four original tracks.

Along with the Trio, Tommy has expanded the band with additional pro players to offer a variety of top notch lineups. They play a broad mix of blues and classic rock favorites in addition to his rock'n original material.

https://www.facebook.com/TommyFroelichTrio/

Lili Añel considers music a calling.... She was born in New York City and it was there that she discovered her passion for music. As a child Añel remembers, singing along to her mother's Cuban, jazz and pop standard albums. It was also her mother who supported Lili's desire to join the church choir. However, it was her grandfather's recognition of how much joy singing brought to her being, which served to set her feet firmly on the path of a career in music. "My grandfather was very influential and instrumental," says Lili. "When I sang in the church choir, he would sneak in to the Mass without telling me. I would ask him later, after letting him know that I saw him in the back, why he came to church at all and then left before it was over. His response was: "To hear you sing. I can hear your voice above the others."

A Philadelphia resident since 2004, Añel has continued to move audiences with her songs, both of hope for the future, and standing in her truth of life's difficulties and conjuring the strength for perseverance. All delivered with her voice, full of low reaches which one feels in their center or a falsetto that is vulnerable and sweet. Of her songs she says "they are snapshots of life and situations I've observed or have experienced, even if not to the letter. I may embellish or change an ending or just make the whole thing up."

Defying categorization she calls her music a hybrid of "jazz/folk/soul/pop" combined with a powerfully unique vocal style bringing her to the forefront. Lili continues to win over audiences with her vocal stylings, guitar playing and songs, that while often recalling her many influences (Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Janis Ian, Joan Armatrading) prove her own unique style. In addition to headlining shows she has supported Madeleine Peyroux, Alejandro Escovedo, B.B. King, Rodrigo Amarante, Boz Scaggs, Raul Malo, Robert Cray, Raul Midon, Michael Franks and The Holmes Brothers to name a few. Lili Añel continues to be a singer/songwriter at the top of her game and recognized as a recording artist who successfully connects with the world.

https://www.lilianel.org/

The seasoned quartet dubbed Tattar Tucker Moog Martin is dedicated to honoring the root of music exploration.... Whether it’s traditional Blues, Ragtime, Rock ‘n Roll, Swing or Boogie-Woogie, it all comes back to the root.

TTMM takes audiences with them on a trip through the American roadhouse of beat, melody and honest musical expression.

TATTAR (drums/vocals)
Philly native Scott Tattar has been playing drums and singing since he was eight years old. His credits include keeping time for The Pleasure Dotz, The Bonnevilles, Zan Gardner, Rob Perna, The Vice Grips and Jack Quigley & His Only Friend. His influences include Charlie Watts, Levon Helm, and Johnny Otis.

TUCKER (piano/vocals)
Paul Tucker has played in Philly area bands since high school. Prior to TTMM, he played with Trouble Is and The Longrider Blues Bands. His influences include New Orleans pianists like Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint, and James Booker.

MOOG (harmonica)
Carol Moog played for many years before launching The No Alibi Blues Band in 1984. With vocalist Zan Gardner, the band quickly developed a loyal following at some of the area's top music venues. Beginning in 1987, Moog continued to play with what became the original Zan Gardner Blues Band (where she first teamed with Tattar). The high-energy blues and funk band appeared with such legends as John Lee Hooker, Koko Taylor, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Rogers, Leon Russell/Edgar Winter, John Mayall, and Roy Buchanan. Moog has also appeared with such notables as Saffire, Ronnie Earl, Guy Davis, Kelly Joe Phelps, and John Hammond. Her influences are varied and include Sonny Terry, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Paul Butterfield, Hank Crawford, Fats Domino, Mose Allison, Muddy Waters, Dinah Washington, and James Cotton.

MARTIN (vocals)
Philadelphia based Melissa Martin is one of today’s leading Blues and Swing vocalists. Longtime leading lady of the blues, Melissa’s voice and performance simmer irresistibly. Equally adept at Rockin’ Jump Blues, Drivin’ R&B and Jazzy torch ballads, Melissa Martin lays it down and thrills crowds from the first downbeat to the final encore.

"I heard Michael's music for the first time on WXPN (Gene Shay's show) and was blown away by the ways in which he wove the exquisite poetry of Rumi with his own inspired musical creations. Hearing him in concert less than a week later, the intensity of the passion and magic increased 100-fold.... Sitting in the audience, surrounded by souls listening with rapt attention, I was moved with a certainty that the poet himself was whispering in Michael's ear throughout the performance. At turns, deeply peaceful and vibrantly energetic. What a gift!" - Edie Weinstein Moser LSW

Michael London is a Philadelphia Area musician with a soulful voice and a great touch on acoustic and electric guitars. London is also a passionate interpreter of Rumi’s poetry, the great 13th century Sufi poet. He offers us a musical window into the ecstatic poems, which reveal and make tangible our connection with the self, humanity, nature and beyond. His CD's and original songs, inspired by this mystical poet speak directly to us, and get to the central themes and issues of living with passion and true joy. His musical journey began with singing folk songs and show tunes with his family and he found it brought warmth, connectedness and bonding like nothing else. He was especially inspired singing songs by James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Richie Havens and Marvin Gaye and began to write songs and to develop his own musical voice. An accomplished songwriter, Michael is adept at many guitar styles, has his own recording studio and is a soulful and moving singer. He is also a college Professor by day, and has a PhD in Organizational Behavior and serves on the faculty at Muhlenberg college. Today, his many influences come together in his heartfelt explorations of “Rumi In Song”. He also performs with Cabin 23, an Americana jam band and the Spiritual Window Shoppers an, eclectic folk ensemble.

https://michaellondonmusic.com/

This showcase event provides the student jazz ensembles from the Settlement Music School and opportunity to perform in a real world premiere club setting for a live audience.... For more than 110 years, Settlement has provided the Greater Philadelphia region with the highest quality education in music, dance, and the creative arts. We are one of the oldest and largest community schools of the arts in the nation. By providing financial aid to more than 60% of our student population, we ensure that arts education is accessible to all, from as young as 6 months to age 99.

Regardless of age, background, ability, or economic circumstances, there is a place for you at Settlement. Our significant reach, inclusive programming, and exceptional faculty ensure that any student can find a creative home at Settlement.

Settlement Music School is where Philly’s Jazz musicians get their start. Philadelphia plays a pivotal role in jazz history. From Billie Holiday to John Coltrane, many major jazz figures were born here and made Philly their home. A number of them got started right here at Settlement Music School.

Settlement’s jazz alums include Bassists Christian McBride and Stanley Clarke, Violinists John Blake, Jr. and Diane Monroe, the Eubanks brothers, and multi-instrumentalist Joey DeFrancesco, just to name a few. Internationally renowned vibraphonist Tony Miceli not only took lessons at Settlement as a kid, he now coaches Settlement’s Advanced Study Jazz Ensemble. Every day, jazz musicians of all ages and experience levels walk through our doors to practice, rehearse, perform, share ideas, and learn.

Settlement is preparing the next generation of jazz musicians with classes and private instruction taught by the very best jazz teaching artists. Traditionally, students start with private lessons on an instrument, join a jazz ensemble in early middle school, enroll in music theory and improvisation classes, and eventually audition for higher level ensembles in late middle school and early high school. Settlement offers all of these courses of study, in combination or solo, and is prepared to meet students wherever they might be in their musical development journey.

https://settlementmusic.org/

He is best known as the keyboard man for the well known and loved Melton Brothers Band along with brother Dennis on bass, which remained sub rosa for much of the eighties and nineties, always just a sliver away from a major breakout.... The brothers rubbed elbows with some of the finest players in the business and maintained a relevant presence after the early days with separate careers as well as joint endeavors. Dale is now a respected elder in the community of musicians and still contributes his fine playing and signature style to the work of other fine artists including Lili Anel and David Mowry. Brother Dennis has sadly passed away recently and Dale has decided to look deep inside and pull some of his own untested material and interpretations into the light of day. Calling on a few fine musical brethren, Dale has assembled a superb trio to give voice to this material. On drums will be Jonathan Whitney and Sam Nobles will man the bass.

This evening's concert at Jamey's will be an intimate continuation of Dale's unfolding musical journey for an appreciative audience privy to the musical genius of the man.

http://www.dalemelton.net/DaleMeltonTrio.html

Winners of five Independent Blues Award in 2021 including “Artist of the Year” (Cathy Lemons),...“Song of the Year” (Godless Land), “The Lucky Losers are San Francisco’s finest male/female duet fronted band — a throwback to the hybrid of soul, blues, rock, gospel, and country that emerged in the late 1960’s with impassioned vocal performances, electrifying musical interplay, and powerful harmonica.

Described as “the finest light-skinned female blues vocalist in the U.S” [Real Blues - 2010], fiery Dallas-born entertainer Cathy Lemons has a velvet voice with a gritty edge and the rebel conviction of a woman risen from the ashes. New Jersey native Phil Berkowitz "has earned renown as one of the West Coast’s most distinctive harp players, as well as for his sharp, resonant tenor" [Living Blues - 2018]. The stark contrast between incandescent Lemons and elegant Berkowitz makes for a captivating musical union, breathing new life into American songwriting tradition and the vanishing art of duet singing.

Since 2015, The Lucky Losers have completed numerous national tours, performing on stages in over 42 states. Their artistic achievements have garnered 6 national awards, 20 award nominations, and two International Songwriting Competition prizes as Finalists in 2018 and 2020.

Emily Adams is a California girl with roots around the world. Born into the delightful chaos of a large military family, Emily’s seven brothers and sisters often spent evenings listening to their dad’s eclectic collection of music including classics like Bob Dylan and Buddy Holly.

After watching Buddy Holly perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, Emily picked up her first Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, later teaching herself to play harmonica and acoustic guitar at just twelve years old. A natural performer drawn to New York City, Emily left the house at seventeen to pursue a career in music and entertainment.

Cobbling together an income in the city proved difficult, after years of working side gigs while writing and performing, Emily found her entertainment career on pause. It wasn’t until after tragedy struck and she used music to heal that she found herself yearning to write and perform once again – including “Betrayal,” and “Running from Mine.”

https://www.theluckylosers.com/

https://emilyadamsartist.com/

Cello-based songwriters are rare, and the alt-folk duo of Aaron Nathans and Michael G. Ronstadt take advantage of Ronstadt’s adventurous and wildly creative technique to face our shared disaster, head-on.... Philadelphia based guitarist /songwriter Aaron Nathans and Cincinnati cellist / songwriter Michael G. Ronstadt present their third album, the rich, dark and foreboding Shadow of the Cyclone. With sobering clarity the duo weave intricate metaphors in the form of fallen saviors (“Strongman”), a Leonard Cohen-esque embrace of the anti-hero (“I Go Low”), and straightforward accounts of our loss of empathy (“Sinner’s Bible”). These songs hint at a sense of just retribution for the troubles we’ve brought upon ourselves, while “Haunted House” and “Come on Sun” coax a sense of levity and hope while accepting our brutal present.

As an acoustic duo, the two create a compelling musical palette. Ronstadt’s cello lines are reminiscent of the live-layered magic of Zoe Keating, and his songwriting reflects the creative diversity of Paul Simon. He weaves intricate patterns around Nathans’ baritone voice, studied folk meters and dash of irony in the tradition of David Wilcox and Dar Williams. As multi-instrumentalists the two play a total of 33 distinct instruments between them while Serenity Fisher guests on piano and vocals, Stan Ginn on drums, Phil Henry on backing vocals and percussion and Ciara Grace on backing vocals.

Ronstadt, nephew of Queen of Rock Linda Ronstadt and a member of a family with a rich musical heritage, holds a master’s degree in cello performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Nathans is an award-winning songwriter and a leader in Philadelphia’s community of songwriters.

Greg Klyma does his own stunts. He is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, jester, carnival barker, two-stepper and daydreamer.

A prolific songwriter and seasoned road performer, Klyma is known for his energetic live performances and clever storytelling lyrics that deliver entertaining rides through hilarity, reflection, passion and loss.

Buffalo-born, now Boston-based, Klyma is a scholar of rock ’n’ roll and country music. From that foundation, he has developed a distinctive and compelling sound that resonates with audiences across the country — and even worldwide, with international indie artists having covered his songs. You may also have heard his original tunes on SiriusXM and the Midnight Special.

After nearly 30 years of touring and with more than a dozen studio albums under his belt, Klyma isn’t slowing down. His latest album, “Singing For My Life,” shows a songwriter who has matured and whose craft continues to evolve. Klyma change is real.

http://nathansandronstadt.com/

https://klyma.com/home

2016 Blues Music Award (BMA) Winner and frequent BMA nominee Billy Price first attracted national attention during his three-year association with guitarist Roy Buchanan.... Take a look at his press:

Price is the vocalist on two of Buchanan's LPs, That's What I'm Here For and Live Stock. Since then, with the Keystone Rhythm Band, the Billy Price Band, and solo projects, Billy Price has recorded and released a total of 20 albums, CDs, and DVDs.

Price’s album This Time for Real, with the late Chicago soul singer Otis Clay, received a 2016 Blues Music Award in the category of Best Soul Blues Album of 2015. His 2018 album Reckoning, produced by Kid Andersen at Greaseland Studios for Vizztone, was nominated for a 2019 Blues Music Award in the category of Best Soul Blues Album of 2018. His 2019 album Dog Eat Dog, also produced by Andersen, was nominated for a 2020 BMA for Best Soul Blues Album of 2019. He was also nominated for a 2020 BMA for Best Male Soul Blues Artist. In 2022, he released a 3-CD compilation retrospective of his career on GetHip Recordings titled 50+ Years of Soul.

The Billy Price Band, based in Billy’s hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa., consists of Dave Dodd (drums), Tom Valentine (bass), Lenny Smith (guitar), Jim Britton (keyboards), Eric Spaulding (sax), and Joe Herndon (trumpet). They won the Pittsburgh City Paper Reader’s Poll in 2021 and 2022 as the top blues band in the city.

https://www.billyprice.com/

Founded in 2020, Manali consists of guitarist and vocalist Jake Blumenthal, bassist Grayson Lake, drummer Brian Trifaro, and keyboardist and vocalist Thomas Wright..... Through the use of improvisation, extended instrumental sections, and the creative blending of genres, Manali's all original music tells stories of nostalgia, loss, and introspection, invoking thoughts and feelings wellknown but left unsaid. Notable past performances include Time and Space Ltd. in Hudson, NY and their spotlight sets at Porchfest in West Chester, PA along with regular gigging on the East Coast. After signing with Earthwalker Records in 2022, Manali is currently recording their first studio album, which will be debuting in 2023. Since 2018, Tea Head has packed notable Philly venues such as Kung Fu Necktie, PhilaMOCA, and Silk City, as well as many of the favorite underground venues. In 2020, Tea Head signed a contract with Free Dive Records, and started to record their debut album “Bachelor,” which would release in the Fall of 2021. They celebrated their release with a show in West Philadelphia, and followed it up with a string of shows and live sessions in Brooklyn, Asbury, Philadelphia, and the surrounding counties. In 2022, Tea Head went back into the studio with Free Dive Records to record their next batch of songs. The first split single, “Maybe In Another Life/All A Waste”, is set to release March 15th 2023. Tea Head is planning a Northeast tour for Summer 2023.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090129031343

https://teahead.bandcamp.com

Inspired by bands like Oasis, Sonic Youth, Todd Rundgren, The Rolling Stones,Nick Drake, and My Chemical Romance - Simon established Dropping Ugly nearly one decade ago. ...Recent release of single, “If It Were Me” prompted Sinusoidal Music to write the following: “Simon creates a cosy atmosphere with just his voice and a guitar, taking the listener to a place where one can feel a warm embrace. His honest, storytelling style translates well into his lyrics and is well supported by the mellow instrumentation throughout the track.”

Since founding Dropping Ugly in college, Simon has become a veteran of the studio and the road. With 2 albums, 1 EP, and hundreds of shows to his name, Simon is a determined to make his mark in popular music, and have a couple laughs along the way.

He tours with his lovely wife, Ashley, whose sultry backing vocals complete the band’s current, intimate, acoustic sound.

https://www.droppingugly.com/

They are a band focused on following their muses to honest self-expression, to whatever excites them and pushes them into unexplored territory.... The Get Right Band proudly carries the torch for a long line of genre-bending power trios from Cream to The Jimi Hendrix Experience to The Police to Violent Femmes to Primus to Green Day to Nirvana to Sublime. It’s the space between the notes, the rawness and the maneuverability, that makes a power trio, well, so damn powerful.

https://thegetrightband.com/

Growing up, she and her five siblings would gather on their big screened-in porch to sing in talent shows for the neighborhood kids.... By high school, she took it to the next level as a member of the choirs and jazz groups, even joining Archie Bell as one of the Drells, back in ’64 before they took off. It was Albert Collins who was the first to get her on the stage while still in high school, at Walter’s Lounge on Lockwood. After singing ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ and ‘Money,’ Lynn knew she had found her calling. In 1965 after graduating from high school, Lee Audrey went to Lufkin, Texas, north of Houston, for the summer. Her cousin took her out to a white venue, the Cinderella Club, where she made sure the club owner knew she could sing. When called upon to fill in for their regular singer, Lee Audrey needed a stage name. It was there that she saw the name ‘Trudy’ amidst the other writings on the wall and decided that’s what she wanted to be called. Performers Gloria Lynne and Barbara Lynn also inspired her new name. Lynn also worked with trumpeter Calvin Owens in the “Slippery Hill” area of Lufkin. There was a club where they had all the black shows, big shows. Lynn also worked with guitarist/bassist I.J. Gosey. Between there and the clubs in Houston, her reputation was growing, and soon Clarence Green was trying to track her down. One of Houston’s hottest blues guitarists (his brother Cal was with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters), Green he needed a replacement for his vocalist, Luvenia Lewis, and Lynn spent the next five years working with, and learning from him.

In 1973, Sinett Records issued her debut 45 pairing “Long Live the Blues” and soul ballad “What A Waste,” produced by the late Oscar Perry. Her next entre into the studio was with producer Huey P. Meaux, the now-infamous Crazy Cajun. Interestingly, they did a recut on the Monkees’ song "I’m A Believer." They also waxed “Love is a Strange Thing” but it ended up on the back burner when Freddy Fender grabbed the spotlight and took off.

Lynn’s next label association was with Atlanta-based Ichiban Records. After doing a few gigs with her band, guitarist Gary B.B. Coleman, one of Ichiban’s primary artists and producers, recommended her. Phone conversations with John Abbey ensued, demos were shared and by 1989, Lynn’s Ichiban debut album Trudy Sings the Blues was released. Come to Mama (1990), The Woman in Me (1991), I’ll Run Your Hurt Away (1993), and 24 Hour Woman (Trudy co-produced the 1994 set) came close behind. Lynn developed into one of Ichiban’s flagship artists, and emerged as one of the country’s leading blues chanteuses. Overseas performance opportunities soon followed, and haven’t stopped since.

After European releases for Ruf and Isabel and Memories of You on Jus Blues in 2002, Lynn entered into another longstanding label relationship with Connor Ray Music. The late Jerry Lightfoot introduced her to label owner, harpist Steve Krase, and she was given the creative freedom to write new music while still recording select vintage covers, with dynamic results. Her acclaimed Royal Oaks Blues Café (2013) reached #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart. Everything Comes with a Price (2015), I’ll Sing the Blues For You (2016) and Blues Keep Knockin’ (2018) followed, all recorded at Houston’s famous Red Shack Recording Studio and co-produced by Krase and Rock Romano.

A twelve-time Blues Music Award nominee, Lynn received two career-defining awards in 2019: the Living Legend Blues Award from the Houston Blues Society and the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation’s Willie Mitchell Lifetime Artist Award. Now, as her seventy-fifth birthday approaches, Ms. Trudy Lynn celebrates and asserts her position as Golden Girl, the title of her latest album, slated for March 18, 2022 release on Nola Blue Records.

https://www.trudylynn.com/

"You play them blues real good. I want you to carry them on for me." - Eugene Powell... Internationally and nationally acclaimed Toby Walker has been hailed as a roots music fingerstyle guitar wizard who has toured the US, England, Wales, France, Scotland, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Cyprus, Canada, and Holland. Walker has been featured in the New York Times, the London Sunday Times, the London BBC, Sirius-XM radio and was the 1st place recipient of the International Blues Challenge Award - Solo division - given out by the Blues Foundation in Memphis TN.

Walker blends the styles of blues, ragtime, country, bluegrass, rock and old time jazz into his own unique style. Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna and the Jefferson Airplane says "Flat out... you have to hear this great musician... I'm blown away" and has employed Walker to teach at his famous Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp for several years. In 2010 Walker won the NY Music Award for 'Best Instrumental CD,' sharing the honors with Mariah Carey, Rufus Wainwright and Judy Collins among many others.

Walker has recently released several instructional guitar DVD's for the world famous company Homespun Tapes which have been getting rave reviews. His latest CD release - 'Mileage' - has been hailed as a shining success in the genre of traditional blues recordings.

Carnegie Hall acknowledged his rare talents and hired him to augment and teach in their "American Roots" program aimed at honor level middle school students.

Toby’s passion for blues, rags, folk, and other traditional American music drove him to leave an apartment crammed full of recordings, books and instruments for the Mississippi Delta, Virginia and the Carolinas where he tracked down some of the more obscure - but immensely talented - music makers of an earlier era. He learned directly from Eugene Powell, James "Son" Thomas,Etta Baker, and R.L Burnside, among others.

https://www.littletobywalker.com/

"…she’s a one-woman fireworks display with that instrument, exploding with amazing energy and skill in a manner that just demands you get up and dance."
~John Davy, Flyinshoes Review... It's no secret that Deni Bonet can rock a violin like nobody's business. Or that she writes memorable songs that make you want to listen again and again and again. For years, Deni has been honing her craft as a violinist, singer, songwriter and performer. She is, simply, a musical total package. Her style ranges from pop to roots-rock to new folk.

Anyone who’s heard her last few albums, especially the fiery, funny and fabulous Last Girl On Earth, and 2013’s It’s All Good, knows that Ms. Bonet brings something extra special to the table. With her latest album, Bright Shiny Objects, it extends to sheer, ultra-high voltage, genre-defying brilliance, with pure classical training and precision playing. She has performed at some of the most prestigious festivals, performing arts centers, summer concert series, colleges, clubs and house concerts throughout the US and around the world, including a recent sold-out concert at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York City, concerts on the Great Wall of China, at the United Nations and at the White House for President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and the First Lady. Yet is still happy to play a stripped-down show in a coffeehouse.

Raised in Northern Virginia, Bonet first came to widespread attention as a founding member of National Public Radio’s premier music show, Mountain Stage, where she built a following as a member of the broadcast’s house band; singing and playing in her own right and backing up artists as diverse as the Indigo Girls, Richard Thompson and Allen Toussaint. In the nineties, Bonet relocated to London, where she worked with alternative rock legend, Robyn Hitchcock, including a series of concerts as a duo that won praise from USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. She played on Hitchcock’s album Moss Elixir, and even appeared in the Jonathan Demme concert film, Storefront Hitchcock, but eventually decided it was time to go solo.

Moving to New York, Bonet released an initial EP (titled, simply, ‘EP’ ) and then her full-length debut, Bigger Is Always Better. The disc, which featured guest appearances from Hitchcock and The Soft Boys’ Kimberly Rew (writer of Katrina and the Waves' classic hit Walking On Sunshine), garnered rave reviews. The Boston Globe’s Jim Sullivan said“’Sunshine’ … may be the sexiest, sauciest, most life-affirming song of the year,” while All Music Guide gave the album a four-star review and labeled it “a glorious, intelligent hookfest.”

Bonet has hosted her own cable TV show, Duets With Deni, a combination of music and chat featuring a series of all-star guests, which was the subject of a rave Billboard feature. She has performed highly-regarded showcases at CMJ and SXSW, and took her act on the road with Lilith Fair. And she's remained one of the most in-demand session players and sidewomen around, adding her violin to albums by an impressive variety of artists -- from the introspective Sarah McLachlan to techno-metal band Gravity Kills -- and making TV appearances on The Today Show, SNL and Late Night With Conan O’Brien. With a singular sound The Wall Street Journal calls “Sheryl Crow meets The B-52s,” it's clear why Bonet traded her black recital duds for a pair of go-go boots and an electric blue violin. Rather than ply her trade in an orchestra, she’s found a way to fit her string skills into ultra-hummable alternative pop, which the Journal noted is "catchy as any Top 40 radio song, but with occasional hints of adult depth."

As she established herself as a solo act, Bonet impressed artists like Patti Smith, Lisa Loeb, Gin Blossoms, Cracker, Midnight Oil, The Saw Doctors, Fairport Convention, Marshall Crenshaw and Kansas, all of whom have invited her to open their shows. She spent several years touring the globe as the violinist in Cyndi Lauper’s band - now, how much cooler can it get than that?

But as all good artists should do – and Deni Bonet is no exception – the idea is to grow and show a scope, broader and more expansive than the listener should expect. So it should be no surprise to anyone that Deni has taken her talent as a musician and composer to an even higher plane. One listen to Deni’s newest album, Bright Shiny Objects, and you’ll know this particular record takes on a completely different life and direction.

Recorded in NYC with the cream of New York musicians, including Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel's drummer of 30 years), Graham Maby (Joe Jackson), Shawn Pelton (SNL, Rod Stewart), Will Lee (Letterman, Mick Jagger), Steve Holley (Paul McCartney), Ben Butler (Chris Botti) and Matt Beck (Matchbox 20), this is her first all-instrumental album and shows off Deni's skills as a virtuoso violin player, composer and arranger.

Carnegie Hall virtuosity intertwined with a rock-club vibe and intimacy. That doesn’t ring your bell? Try Yitzak Perlman playing lead for Nirvana. That should give you some notion that this artist has, indeed, brought something special to the table. Even without the vocals, you can hear the passion and emotion in Deni’s performances.

Deni performs on stage with guitarist and vocalist Chris Flynn who also serves as Deni's side-kick and musical foil. Chris is an accomplished performer with a busy solo career as well.

https://www.denibonet.com/

Jackson's passion for his craft of entertaining has always shown as a major part of his personality.... His musical journey began at a young age as a member of grandparents theater program.These experiences, along with the great inspiration in his grandfather led to picking up a guitar by age 9. He furthered his musical knowledge as a part of his high school band and a member of drum and bugle corps horn lines.

Many other inspirations struck him throughout the following years; such as, Eddie Van Halen and John Petrucci, but it was when he discovered blues legends like BB King, Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Walter Trout, Eric Gales and Joe Bonamassa, that Jackson fell in love with the genre. After many experiences playing with Walter Trout and his band, Jackson was sold, and knew what he wanted to do with his life. Chasing this passion has always been a dream.

https://www.jacksontaylorbluesco.com/

If you’re tired of all the staged choreography, blinding light shows, capes, costumes, lip-synching and auto-tunes that seems to have taken over live performances, you have found a place to rest, refresh, and renew. Welcome to the world of Laura Cheadle.... Along with her Family Band, she has opened for some of the biggest names in the business and won numerous awards, including “Best Indie Jazz/Blues Band” at WXPN sponsored Tri-State Indie Music Awards. She has performed on stages from NYC to London, appeared on 6ABC’s “Tuned In” as the very first viewer’s choice, the “NBC 10” Show, and the National reality show “Next Great Family Band.” Laura was recently featured in Curve Magazine, named one of “100 Women We Love” in Go Magazine, and declared a “Super Woman” in South Jersey Magazine for her active Charity Work.

As Traveler Guitar’s newest Brand Ambassador, her solo career is starting to explode, performing a set at NAMM2020, filming specialized performance and educational video segments for Next Level Guitar’s site, and having recently been honored with the Musician of the Decade award for her body of work and trend-setting style. One of her original compositions was recently included in a popular TV show, and she participated in a Philadelphia Film project with a seamlessly acted feature role in the short film “Ether.”

Never one to measure herself according to the trends of the times or the female singer “flavor of the month,” Laura has carved out her own lane since she began performing as a child, and she has done it the old-fashioned way, on pure talent. Gifted with a voice powerful enough to shake rafters, and tender enough to navigate the entire range of the emotional scale, Laura Cheadle is a singer commanding more than just a listen or a look. Her albums, like her concerts, are an experience. Inseparable from the truth of the songs she writes, the raw emotion that tears out of her reaches deep into your heart with the kind of performance her audiences remember long after the last notes have been played.

https://lauracheadle.com/

It was there that, from across a room of dancers, Jemal Wade Hines was playing frame drum and heard Sommer’s voice cutting through the crowd and jolting his heart awake. That moment was the beginning of HuDost. .... Sommer and Hines married as a couple, as musicians, as activists, and as parents. In all of those they are guided by love. They are highly engaged activists, doing advocacy work as Representatives for ONE (a non-profit organization dedicated to end extreme poverty) and joining forces with other non-profit organizations. They have discovered the alchemy of joining music and activism.

HuDost has a new album, ‘Anthems of Home’, receiving rave reviews that was released in early 2022. It reached #4 in the Canadian National Folk/Roots/Blues Chart (March, 2022) and #9 in the US Folk Radio Charts (January, 2022). HuDost’s last album 'of Water + Mercy' received rave reviews and as an independent release reached #24 in the BILLBOARD SALES CHARTS for Folk/Americana also winning the 2020 Independent Music Award for Social Action Song. In the last year they also received two of the 'Best of Nashville 2020’ awards. On past albums HuDost has worked with GRAMMY Award-winning producer Malcolm Burn (Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Peter Gabriel) and GRAMMY Award-winning mixers Oz Fritz (Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Primus) and Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Pearl Jam, Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy, Beyonce, Beck, Alicia Keys, Melissa Etheridge, Kings of Leon).

HuDost’s new album defines real, honest love and is a lush, breathtaking original collection of compositions that ask important questions. In this time of loss and awakening HuDost’s new album gives powerful voice to this journey in a way that will remain timeless and will prove the resilience that we all share. Special guests on the album include Jars of Clay, The Accidentals, Christie Lenée and others. Their early release from the new album, ‘Our Words Will Be Louder’, included additional music video cameos from Kevin Clash (Elmo), Kevin Hearn (from the Barenaked Ladies), Cy Curnin (from The FIXX), GangstaGrass, Alana Bridgewater, Nawal, Hymn for Her, Jai Uttal, and more. HuDost worked with minister/activist William J. Barber II and all proceeds from it went to the Poor People’s Campaign. It received press coverage in over 130 major news publications and radio including CTV News, The Observer, Roots Music Canada, All Access Music, and received the ‘Best Music Video of the Week’ from Blues and Roots Radio.

HuDost's music is a powerful voice for life's journey and discovery. In 2008, Moksha went through a painful process of brain surgery due to a tumor. The healing from this included re-learning language skills, losing and regaining proper sight, and experiencing seizures. This could have been staggering but instead served as learning that has fueled a potent desire to bring healing through sound. Since then, they have had two amazing sons and have consistently been guided by love as they create new music and travel the world. It is through music that the losses and gains, pains and triumphs, and excruciating beauty of life can be given a voice of empathy. Both critics and fans have said time and time again that the music of HuDost is this very expression.

https://hudost.com/

Comprising of multi-talented instrumentalists & artists, including; Bernie Capodici (Congas/Percussion/Producer), Jimmy Dell’Orefice (Keys), Gene Terramani (Guitar), Nick Terramani (Bass), JJ Zeller (Drums), Drivetime has announced their forthcoming single “Un Domani Migliore (A Better Tomorrow)” anticipated by the 1st of April.... Alongside Philly’s legendary saxophonist Andrew Neu, Drivetime has continued to push their eccentric sound of urban organic Jazz through their latest release that is about to take the Jazz world with force.

Drivetime’s music has been in rotation on the Internet and terrestrial radio since their debut single Getin’ Witit 2009 featuring Bob Baldwin. Their new song is another addition to their unmatched discography that has continued to rise in ranks on Jazz music charts.

The band has done collaborations with some of Smooth Jazz music’s giants like Andrew Neu (Saxophone), Bob Baldwin (Pianist/music composer), also jazz artist like Phyllis Chapel, Justin Guarini, and many others. Their music has increasingly become a source for so many Jazz lovers around the US and all over the world. Thanks to their unique style, their agility is steeped in the honored tradition with their songs acknowledged on the Billboard Jazz Charts.

https://drivetimeuoj.com/

Bill “Watermelon Slim” Homans has built a remarkable reputation with his raw, impassioned intensity. HARP Magazine wrote “From sizzling slide guitar…to nitty-gritty harp blowing…to a gruff, resonating Okie twang, Slim delivers acutely personal workingman blues with both hands on the wheel of life, a bottle of hooch in his pocket, and the Bible on the passenger seat.” Paste Magazine writes “He’s one hell of a bottleneck guitarist, and he’s got that cry in his voice that only the greatest singers in the genre have had before him.”... The industry agrees on all fronts. Watermelon Slim & The Workers have garnered 17 Blues Music Award nominations in four years including a record-tying six in both 2007 & 2008. Only the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray have landed six in a year and Slim is the only blues artist in history with twelve in two consecutive years. In Spring 2009 he was the cover story of Blues Revue magazine. .

Two of Slim’s records were ranked #1 in MOJO Magazine’s annual Top Blues CD rankings. Industry awards include The Independent Music Award for Blues Album of the Year, The Blues Critic Award and Canada’s Maple Blues Award for International Artist of the Year among others. Slim has hit #1 on the Living Blues Charts, top five on the Roots Music Report and debuted in the top ten in Billboard. One of Slim’s most impressive industry accolades may be the liner notes of The Wheel Man eagerly written by the late legendary Jerry Wexler who called him a “one-of-a-kind pickin’ n singing Okie dynamo.” Slim has been embraced for his music, performances, backstory and persona. He has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered, The BBC’s World Service and has been featured in publications like Harp, Relix, Paste, MOJO, Oklahoma Magazine and Truckers News as well as newspapers like The London Times, Toronto Star, Chicago Sun-Times, The Village Voice, Kansas City Star, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Michelle Shocked’s JAMS Magazine.

The Memphis Flyer led its terrific CD review with the question “Does anyone in modern pop music have a more intriguing biography than Bill “Watermelon Slim” Homans?”

Slim was born in Boston, his father was a progressive attorney and freedom rider and his brother is a classical musician. He was raised in North Carolina listening to the housekeeper sing John Lee Hooker songs. Slim attended Middlebury on a fencing scholarship but left early to enlist for Vietnam. While laid up in a Vietnam hospital bed he taught himself upside-down left-handed slide guitar on a $5 balsawood model using a triangle pick cut from a rusty coffee can top and his Army issued Zippo. lighter as the slide.

Slim first appeared on the music scene with the release of the only known protest record by a veteran during the Vietnam War. The project was Merry Airbrakes, a 1973 protest tinged LP with tracks Country Joe McDonald later covered. In the following 30 plus years Slim has been a truck driver, forklift operator, sawmiller (where he lost a partial finger), firewood salesman, collection agent, funeral officiator and at times a small time criminal. Due to aforementioned criminality, Slim was forced to flee Boston where he had played peace rallies, sit-ins and rabbleroused musically with the likes of Bonnie Raitt. Recently Raitt singled out Slim to her audience as a living blues legend during a summer 2009 performance.

From Boston Slim landed in his current home state of Oklahoma farming watermelons – hence his stage name. Somewhere in those decades since Vietnam Slim completed two undergrad and a master’s degree, started a family, painted art and joined Mensa, the social networking group reserved for members with certified genius IQs. When he’s not on tour Slim loves to fish and garden.

The big turning point was 2002 when Slim suffered a near fatal heart attack. His brush with death gave him a new perspective on mortality, direction and life ambitions and thus his second emergence as a performing musician. Eleven albums later he says, “Everything I do now has a sharper pleasure to it. I’ve lived a fuller life than most people could in two. If I go now, I’ve got a good education, I’ve lived on three continents, and I’ve played music with a bunch of immortal blues players. I’ve fought in a war and against a war. I’ve seen an awful lot and I’ve done an awful lot. If my plane went down tomorrow, I’d go out on top.” And when you watch him perform, you know every word is true.

Throughout his storied past, it has always been truck driving that Slim returned to. While trucking and hauling industrial waste for thankless bosses at hourly wages to support himself and his family, his id yearned for release of the musician inside. In fact, many of Slim’s current songs began a cappella in his rig keeping him awake and entertained. Slim’s music captures those long hours of now and then, finally and cathartically acquiescing to his id.

https://watermelonslim.com/

They live and breathe the fiery swagger of electric guitars and the irresistible allure of rhythm-soaked sounds. That’s Clay Melton’s musical calling in a nutshell. At only 28, the Louisiana-born and Texas-based blues-rocker has already spent 15 years performing live. His powerfully raspy voice and wicked guitar licks leave no doubt he’s grown up in the school of barroom blues-rock.... Clay’s 2022 release, Live in Texas, which includes ten original songs and one cover, was spun on more than 160 radio stations in the U.S. and abroad. His riveting cover of ZZ Top’s Jesus Just Left Chicago, climbed to the #1 song in the world on the Roots Music Blues Rock chart in June 2022. The album boasts production and engineering credits by 5-time Grammy winner Malcolm Harper (The Black Keys, Mary J. Blige, Keith Urban and many others) as well as Clay himself.

Live in Texas is Melton’s follow-up to 2021’s critically acclaimed release, Back to Blue, where the title track also climbed to the # 1 song in the world on Roots Music Blues Rock chart, and the album climbed to #9.

Clay Melton is quickly establishing himself as a rising star, having played world-famous venues such as Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, opening for Grand Funk Railroad on the Chevrolet Main Stage at the State Fair of Texas, and sharing the stage with Sir Earl Toon, of Kool and The Gang fame. Past credits also include opening for blues-legend Robert Cray and platinum-selling artists Chris Daughtry and Night Ranger.

https://www.claymelton.com/

John Flynn is an American singer-songwriter and activist known for his powerful music and tireless efforts on behalf of the lost and the lonely, the shackled and scarred. His career has embodied an authentic troubadour odyssey that moved legendary folk DJ Gene Shay to call Flynn "the most quintessential folk singer in my life", and Deana McCloud, Executive Director of the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma to write, "John Flynn is the real deal.... His work follows in the footsteps of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, and other social justice troubadours as he speaks the truth and gives a voice to society's disenfranchised. His work fills your heart and opens your eyes as he continues to walk the walk of a true advocate for equality, justice, and peace."

Long-time friend and Flynn champion, Kris Kristofferson has called John "an important artist whose work in prisons, rehabs, and half-way houses is distilled into the truth and the beauty of heartfelt and heartwarming slices of life". In 2007 Kris cited Flynn to TV Guide Magazine as one of his favorite country artists, saying, "He's got a great heart and I like the way he thinks".

http://johnflynn.net/

With sultry. mesmerizing vocals, engaging songwriting talent, and fiery slide guitar work, Kara Grainger boasts an impressive set of skills. This Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist may evoke comparisons to Bonnie Raitt, but she bears a style all her own, a relentlessly seductive, distinctly modern take on roots, blues and soul music.... At the age of 16 Kara joined with her brother Mitch Grainger to form the band "Papa Lips". The band toured consistently throughout Australia and produced two studio albums that received critical acclaim and were played on several radio stations nationally. The band was heavily influenced by the soul sounds from Stax recording in Memphis, and by the funk, soul and blues from New Orleans.

In 2008 Kara signed to Australian label "Craving Records" with whom Kara released her debut recording " Grand and Green River". The recording was co produced in the US with David Kalish and remained in the top 30 of the Americana Charts for 38 straight weeks.

Since then she has made two further albums whilst residing in the US. Her second recording ”LA Blues" was performed live at Studio City Sound and engineered by producer Tom Weir. The recording paid tribute to some of Kara's earliest blues inspirations. In 2013 kara recorded and released "Shiver and Sigh" through Los Angeles record label "Eclecto Groove." The album was produced by grammy award winning producer David Z and featured some of LA's finest musicians including Mike Finnigan, Hutch Hutchinson, James Gadson and Kirk Fletcher among others.

Since her beginnings playing the pub scene of Balmain in Sydney Australia, Kara’s music has taken her on an incredible journey throughout the globe. She has traveled to Indonesia several times to perform at the Jakarta International Blues Festival, performing together with her band and also as a special guest with The Jakarta Women’s Blues Review. In 2011 she toured Japan with "The Swampers and Donnie Fritts”, (the infamous house Rhythm section for "Fame Recordings" in Muscle Shoals). Kara has taken her band to Switzerland where she performed at the Lucerne Blues Festival as well as The Sierre Blues Festival’. She also has toured in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Spain.

In 2015 Kara performed at the "Beautiful swamp Festival" in Calais France and also to sell out crowds on her debut tour of the Uk. This tour included performances at “The Voodoo Rooms” in Edinburgh and ”Ronnie Scotts", Londons premier blues and jazz venue.

Recently Kara was also invited to play in North east India by the Himalayan Blues Foundation. Her live performance at the "18 degrees cultural Festival”, was an absolute career highlight. The show was incredibly well received and the local people of Shillong were thrilled and amazed after being introduced to the slide guitar for the very first time.

In the US, Kara has performed at several Festivals such as The Portland Waterfront Blues Festival and Blues from the Top in Colorado. Kara has also appeared at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

She has also opened for many extraordinary acts such as Peter Frampton, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal and Jonny Lang to name a few.

Kara's latest album "Living with Your Ghost" was released in 2018. Rock and Blues Muse said, "Kara Grainger delivers a rousing performance on the album, full of bluesy melancholy, soulful swagger, and elegant musicianship."

https://www.facebook.com/kara.grainger.12/

"Sassy, sexy and full of fire, this crew rallies behind their leader mightily and all keep the party going in fine style. This is one white girl that knows what the blues are about."
Midwest Record... "Burrell and her three cohorts find virtue in professionalism. They deliver unpretentious, self described "Hard Drivin' Blues" in which strength and understatement unite in an easy, fluid balance without sucking up to rock."
skyla Downbeat Magazine
"Blues Scars is the aural equivalent of a muscle car- classic style, powerful, and ready to blow your doors off." The Record Box (Canada)

SKYLA BURRELL
Skyla Burrell was born in Los Angeles and raised in Orange County, California. Skyla formed her first band at the age of 13 and has been a working musician ever since. Skyla played with several bands as a teenager and young adult, working her way up and down Southern California. She relocated to the East Coast in her early 20's where she continued learning and growing from her musical experiences and eventually co-forming the Skyla Burrell Band. In addition to her singing, writing and guitar duties, Skyla also plays the piano.

MARK TOMLINSON
Mark Tomlinson first hit the Blues scene in Syracuse NY, starting his musical journey on the drums. By the age of 21, MT joined Syracuse locals the Kingsnakes and hit the road with John Lee Hooker. After thousands of gigs on the drums backing the likes of Bo Diddley, Bobby Radcliffe, Big Time sarah, Mike Dugan and the Blues Mission, Charlie Hilbert and the NYC Blues Blazers and Katherine davis, MT grabs the guitar and Blazes up some Hard Drivin' Blues riffs with the Skyla Burrell Band. MT's original style comes from the likes of his idols--Magic Slim, Magic sam, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Jimmy Vaughn, Ronnie Earl and the three Kings. In 2002 Mark and Skyla co-founded the Skyla Burrell Band and recorded 4 cds of all originals written by Mark and Skyla. MT and his Stratocaster are Blazing Blues trails with Skyla and her Telecaster, welding their guitars on stage and where ever the Blues will take them in the 21st Century.

EZELL JONES
Ezell Jones has toured the globe playing with world-class blues artists. He's been with the Skyla Burrell band since 2004.

ROB PARKS
Rob Parks is the newest member of the band, but we have known him since he was 15 years old. We met Rob when he came out to play regularly at our weekly blues jam. In the last 15 years, Rob graduated with a degree in music from Temple University and served in the armed forces, playing bass in the Army band. Rob's main instrument is bass, but he can play just about every instrument. Having been on the road with the band several times we always loved playing shows with him. Our schedules have finally allowed the opportunity to bring Rob in full-time and the band is thrilled

https://www.skylaburrell.com/

Born Michael John Robillard on October 4, 1948, in Woonsocket, R.I., Duke has carved out one of blues' most illustrious legacies, while also trodding some lofty related territories as a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, bandleader, studio sideman, producer, label operator and educator.... After showing an early affinity for music and guitar, he founded Roomful Of Blues with pianist Al Copley in Westerly, R.I., in 1967. By adding horns, Roomful announced itself emphatically as the prototypical jump blues band, and became a New England legend and a fixture beyond, as did Duke himself.

His unsurpassed mastery of the guitar style of T-Bone Walker (later crystallized memorably in his 2004 release "Blue Mood") was deservedly heralded, but his breadth was also head-turning - from swing, standards and ballads to rockers, gutbucket Chicago blues and rockabilly.

By the time Duke left Roomful after a dozen years, he was firmly established in the upper echelon of contemporary blues guitarists. Duke went from Roomful to a stint with rockabilly revivalist Robert Gordon and then to the first iteration of the Legendary Blues Band, composed primarily of then-recent Muddy Waters sidemen.

The Duke Robillard Band debuted in 1981, re-emerging as The Pleasure Kings with their eponymous 1984 album on Rounder. It and its sequel, "Too Hot To Handle," burnished Duke's songwriting portfolio; the 1987 jazz outing "Swing" (with saxophonist Scott Hamilton) underscored his versatility and remains a highlight.

Continuing his solo career, Duke replaced Jimmie Vaughan with The Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1990. He cut his own much-awaited straight blues album "Duke's Blues" in 1993 for Canadian imprint Stony Plain, leading eventually to a rewarding, continuing and prolific alliance, along with releases during the ensuing years on Point Blank/Virgin and Shanachie, as well as instructional videos. He has also launched his own labels with Jesse Finkelstein, Blue Duchess/Shining Stone.

Duke's prolificity has included producing albums by Billy Boy Arnold, Joe Louis Walker, Rosco Gordon, Jimmy Witherspoon and Jay McShann, Zuzu Bollin, Billy Price and Otis Clay, Sunny Crownover, Bryan Lee and Al Basile as well as recording two collaborations with Herb Ellis, a pairing with his successor in Roomful, Ronnie Earl, a seat in the New Guitar Summit with J. Geils and Gerry Beaudoin, additional studio credits with Bob Dylan (the well-regarded 1997 "Time Out Of Mind"), Ruth Brown, Johnny Adams, Pinetop Perkins, Snooky Pryor, Al Copley, Todd Sharpville and Tony Z, and touring with Tom Waits in 2006.

Duke's resume is decorated with Grammy nominations, Handy Awards and Blues Music Awards, and other honors for his artistry, recordings and productions within the United States and internationally. On his latest release, "Duke Robillard and his Dames of Rhythm" on M.C. Records, he wields an acoustic archtop and joins six thrushes for evocative and enjoyable renditions of 1920s and 1930s swing tunes; it's a worthy successor to his 2016 BMA-winning "The Acoustic Blues And Roots Of Duke Robillard."

Duke remains based in Rhode Island and a whirlwind as a musician, producer, gardener and photographer. But wait, there's more: he's now creating fine art abstract paintings, too! At this point for Duke, versatility and mastery should come as anything but a surprise; it just means more richness in a superlative career for us to celebrate. by Dick Shurman- Noted blues historian and producer

"One of the great players" BB King "Robillard is a soloist of stunning force and originality." the New York Times "Most everything Duke Robillard has done as a guitarist during the past four-plus decades...bears witness to his musical intelligence and his dedication to his craft".- Downbeat "Robillard's ability to play across the spectrum of blues is legendary. Few players can move stylistically from Texas to Kansas City to Chicago's West Side, but Robillard makes it seem easy."- Guitar Player "A guitarist's guitarist, prolific producer, and master of all things blues, Duke Robillard walks the tightrope between traditionalism and experimentation...He's a master of many styles who moves forward while maintaining a firm grounding in the past."- Blues Revue GRAMMY Nominations for Best Traditional Blues Album for 2010 Stomp! The Blues Tonight and 2006 Guitar Groove-a-Rama The Blues Music Awards (formerly W.C.Handy Awards) have named Duke Robillard "Best Blues Guitarist" four years out of five (2000,2001,2003,2004) making him the second most honored guitarist for that award! He was also nominated in that category in 2005, 2007 2008.

https://dukerobillard.com/

Born on the Asbury Park circuit, reinvigorated in the City of Angels with the City of B-love in between.... James Pace - Guitar, Vocals
Dave Filiaggi - Bass
Jesse Petas - Drums, Percussion
Mike Macartney - Organ / Keys
Donnia Holden - Vocals
Masha Smith - Vocals

Original music that focuses on the sounds of 1968-75; Influenced by Hendrix, Cream, Brothers Johnson, James Brown - Vintage Fender Strat tones into a burly Marshall.

Two masters of Delta and Piedmont blues stylings bring to life the music of Sonny Terry and Brownie MaGhee, Big Bill Broonzy, Skip James, Robert Johnson, Son House and others as well as in-genre originals.... A veteran performer in blues festivals and venues on the east coast John Carleton Dorchester grew up in rural Pennsylvania listening to old blues records. He started performing on a dare back in 2005. Never thinking the music would amount to much he chose "Johnny Never" as a stage name. But the joke was on him. His music did catch on. Johnny delivers Delta, Piedmont and East Texas Blues with a passion and authenticity that has been noted by blues enthusiasts and blues societies from Memphis to Philly.

In 2014 Johnny, with harmonica player, Zep Harpo, was quarter-finalist in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. In 2011, Johnny, along with his band, was the only regional act of three national acts selected by the Philadelphia Folksong Society to perform in a concert honoring the 100th birthday of blues legend, Robert Johnson. Offering up performances of soft blues ballads, passionate Delta slide moans and driving Little Walter and Muddy Waters riffs, Johnny’s dynamic finger style guitar work and passionate voice have brought audiences to their feet in shows from Memphis to New Jersey.

John Colgan-Davis, harmonica and vocals, started playing the harmonica in local blues and folk clubs back in the late 1960s while he was still a high school student. He played and recorded with Philadelphia singer-guitarist Jesse Graves and played with Bonnie Raitt when she lived in Philadelphia in the early 1970's. Through Bonnie, John got to meet and play with Mississippi Fred McDowell, Arthur Crudup, Buddy Guy, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, and others. He has also jammed with James Cotton, John Hammond, Charlie Musselwhite, John Lee Hooker, Bill Dicey, and Louisiana Red. He has toured the Midwest and recorded two CDs—“Cold and Lonesome on a Train” and “Heroes and Hard Times”—with Tennessee bluesman Sparky Rucker, and played for three years with The John Cadillac Band. A founding member of The Dukes of Destiny, John also taught Social Studies at Friends Select School in Philadelphia for 29 years and has written articles and supplements for The Philadelphia Inquirer on Blacks in the American West, Black Literature, the History of Black Philadelphia, and other topics. He is also a guest columnist for the Chestnut Hill Local. John lives in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.

https://johnnynever.com/

http://www.dukesofdestiny.com/

Her Beginning…
Miss Bey's musical roots began in South Philadelphia. She was singing before the age of five. Starlene’s first big performance was her kindergartens graduation ceremony. She sang her very first solo, "Me & My Teddy Bear," and that was the beginning. ... Most of her influence came from her musical family, the smooth velvety tenor voice of her uncle Salome Bey, her Father Melvin’s deep baritone sound and the countertenor voice of her Godfather Sam. Together they sang amazing harmony and recorded albums as, "The Brotherhood." Star followed her dad’s suggestion to joined a Gospel church and sing alto in the choir. She became a choir member and lead singer, which ignited her faith, passion and love of God. That musical shift was life changing. That was when she discovered her unique vocal power.

Starlene was educated musically in high school where she joined the school Orchestra and learned to play and read music. Soon thereafter she earned First Chair Honors by mastering the Viola. Starlene honed her vocal skills as a member of elite vocal groups, gospel choirs, music competitions and live band jam sessions.

Recording Artist…
Starlene first recorded as a teen with Jazz Pianist Alfi Pollit, Byard Lancaster and Stacey Harcum at Morning Star Studios. Her current recordings are with Emmy Award Winner Bill Jolly’s Studio and Sera Phi Studios in Philly, New York's Jam Box Studio and Mastered by Grammy Award Winner Glenn Barratt’s Morning Star Studios in Norristown. Starlene is most honored to be produced by the Legendary Norman Connors. Mr. Connors has discovered and produced many great singers including Jean Carne, Michael Henderson Phyllis Hyman, Glenn Jones. Starlene Bey is Norman Connors newest Artist. She joins Mr. Connors elite family of professional singers. The new mentee and mentor created a multi-genre project honoring five jazz, blues and RnB singers of the past. Their idea was to create a Philly and New York style Jazz, Blues and RnB EP and LP based on the songs Starlene chose.

Radio Interviews...
Starlene has been interviewed by Philly's top DJ Ms. Patti Jackson WDAS 105.3FM Radio, Dyana Williams 100.3 FM, WURD 96.1FM Radio David Barnes, WPEB 88.1FM Renee McBride, WKDU 91.7 FM Doug Page. Local Newspaper articles include BPN, Scoop USA, Sunday Sun and The Tribune.

Stage and Film Acting…
Starlene has also been casts in stage plays and movies, most notably, the Oprah Winfrey movie "Beloved" and ABC movie "The Light." She played the leading role in the stage play "The Dinah Washington Story" and was a cast member in Writer/Producer Rick Watson stage plays ”Your Girlfriend Needs To Mind Her Business” and “A Woman Scorned.”

Live Show Venues...
Starlene’s performance venues include The Dell Music Center, Warm Daddy's Blues Restaurant, Kelsey’s Atlantic City, Paris Jazz Cafe, The Clef Club, Relish, The Sugar Bar, LaRose, Calabash, Rudy’s FL, Venice Theater Jazz@The Wyndham, City Hall Holiday Fest and the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival. Miss Bey’s team is planning a Promotional Tour ‘The Starlene Bey Experience’ Sassy and Soulful’ Showcase

Performance Style...
On stage Starlene is sassy and soulful with a smooth sensual storytelling style which gives a unique dynamic to her performance. She brings humor to the show and a host of accomplished and seasoned Musicians. Starlene has an eclectic repertoire of heartfelt songs. This lady loves music and sings from the very depths of her soul.

https://www.starlenebey.com/

2016 Blues Music Award (BMA) Winner and frequent BMA nominee Billy Price first attracted national attention during his three-year association with guitarist Roy Buchanan. Price is the vocalist on two of Buchanan's LPs, That's What I'm Here For and Live Stock. Since then, with the Keystone Rhythm Band, the Billy Price Band, and solo projects, Billy Price has recorded and released a total of 20 albums, CDs, and DVDs.... Price’s album This Time for Real, with the late Chicago soul singer Otis Clay, received a 2016 Blues Music Award in the category of Best Soul Blues Album of 2015. His 2018 album Reckoning, produced by Kid Andersen at Greaseland Studios for Vizztone, was nominated for a 2019 Blues Music Award in the category of Best Soul Blues Album of 2018. His 2019 album Dog Eat Dog, also produced by Andersen, was nominated for a 2020 BMA for Best Soul Blues Album of 2019. He was also nominated for a 2020 BMA for Best Male Soul Blues Artist. In 2022, he released a 3-CD compilation retrospective of his career on GetHip Recordings titled 50+ Years of Soul.

The Billy Price Band, based in Billy’s hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa., consists of Dave Dodd (drums), Tom Valentine (bass), Lenny Smith (guitar), Jim Britton (keyboards), Eric Spaulding (sax), and Joe Herndon (trumpet). They won the Pittsburgh City Paper Reader’s Poll in 2021 as the most popular blues band in the city.

https://www.billyprice.com/

Blues lovers and players have made Jamey's their home away from home, and know that this is the best place to come for some really good and inexpensive eats, beer on tap from Conshohocken Brewing Company, fresh ground coffee and espresso, great music, and friendly people. The vibe is home-like and cool, and the sound is out of this world. Jamey's provides a full... professional grade backline, so players only need to bring their instrument or personal microphone to jump up on stage and jam. Plus, we are the home of the "Jammie-Jam" which means you can come as you are in your Sunday morning PJ's. Just roll out of bed and right on over to Jamey's!

The open mic jam runs from 1 pm to 3 pm, and the host band lays down a set from noon to 1 pm to get things rolling and then supports guest jammers as needed. The always rocking SUNDAY BLUES BRUNCH rocks a a HAPPY HOUR from noon to 1pm. Featuring two bucks off draft beers and hard ciders, and a dollar off wines! The open mic runs from 1 to 3pm, and admission is 100% free! Our tasty and immensely popular brunch menu is available the whole time to make your tummy as happy as your ears with freshly prepared eats. It sure doesn't get better than this!


The Host bands are the well-known and loved Philly Blues Kings, comprised of Bluesman Dave Reiter on guitar, keys and vocals, Bill Marconi on drums and vocals and Jamey Reilly on bass on the 1st, 3rd and 4th Sundays and the all-star superband, the Girke-Davis Project, featuring international artist Roger Girke on guitar and vocals, Dukes of Destiny front man, John Colgan-Davis on vocals and harmonica, Hammond organ ace Glenn Bickel, First call drummer extraordinaire, Fred Berman, and Jamey Reilly on bass.

Blues lovers new and old can come to play, eat, drink, chat and enjoy a day soaked in the blues. Many guests also like to host gatherings or parties during the brunch, as there are tables and chairs for dining, and comfortable seats to listen to the music - and it does not cost them a thing to meet up there! Plus, it is wheelchair accessible, and has plenty of free local parking. Being right in the center of downtown Lansdowne, next to the train station, there is abundant public transportation as well.

Check out the mouth watering brunch menu on our menu page. We have instituted a $5 food or drink minimum per person to help keep the lights on.

No reservations are needed. Just load up some friends and head on down!

Blues Jam Guidelines
This is a BLUES jam, not a generic open mic. Your set should focus on blues music only. Please do not attempt other genres or you may be cut off.
You must sign your name and instrument on the clipboard list first if you want to play.
Guests will play between 2 to 4 songs depending upon the backlog of guests. Please have your set list and keys ready. Keep the tunes simple so everyone can play without learning your material.
Tune up before you get up to play.
Singers should bring their own mic. If you use our mic, you will be handed a sanitary cover to place on the mic before use, and self-remove to the trash after you are finished.
Keep each song under 5 minutes.
The jam is for beginners as well as experts, but players should be at least moderately proficient on their instrument of choice.
Control dynamics. If you can't hear the vocalist or the lead instrument, then consider yourself too loud. Watch your volume and turn it down, if asked.
Players should vacate the stage area as quickly as possible, so the next group can get up.
You can sign up again at the bottom of the list after your set. Everyone gets a chance to play once.

https://www.phillyblueskings.com

https://www.girke-davis.com

Jamey's is proud to be the newest home base for the Philadelphia region's world class jazz community. We welcome players and lovers of all things jazz to come and hang your hat and enjoy an evening of outstanding live music in our cool and classy listening room and restaurant. We feature a full professional... backline including a dual manual Hammond organ with leslie, Nord keyboard, Bucks County drums and an assortment of top quality amplifiers... not to mention the best sound system of any small club on the east coast. Stop the presses! The already superb THURSDAY JAZZ JAM is kicking off a CROOKED EYE HAPPY HOUR from 6 to 7pm, featuring two bucks off draft beers and hard ciders, and a dollar off wines!!! The Trio and open mic still runs from 8 to 10pm. Our tasty and immensely popular dinner menu is available the whole time to make your tummy as happy as your ears with freshly prepared eats. It sure doesn't get better than this!

The Dave Reiter Trio lays down the backing for some out of this world jazz to happen, and you never know who might show up to join in. Reiter is a long time jazz pro, and is equally at home on the 7 string guitar, Nord keyboard or our top of the line Hammond organ setup. Bill Marconi is on drums, his name is known to jazz aficionados around the world. Holding down the bottom on most nights, is first-call Philly bassist, George Livanos.

We have started a very popular GUEST SINGER SERIES featuring many of the best singers in the region performing a set from 7 to 8 pm with the backing of the Dave Reiter Trio and occasional guest musicians. The upcoming calendar is starring:

March 23 - Geri Oliver
April 13 - Phyllis Chapell
April 20 - Julie Charnet
April 27 - Khadijah Renee
May 18 - Starlene Bey
May 25 - Geri Oliver
June 15 - Julie Charnet
June 29 - Khadijah Renee
July 20 - Starlene Bey
July 27 - Geri Oliver
August 3 - Julie Charnet
August 31 - Khadijah Renee
September 28 - Geri Oliver
October 12 - Julie Charnet
October 26 - Khadijah Renee
November 9 - Geri Oliver
November 30 - Khadijah Renee
December 7 - Julie Charnet
December 28 - Khadijah Renee

Protocol for guest singers night vocalists:
Our house band leader (David Reiter) will contact you soon after you book a date so he can work with you and the band to provide the best possible support for your performance. He'll respond to your emails promptly and provide you with a phone contact number.

• Select enough tunes to fill an hour, sticking to jazz standards, GAS, etc.
• With no resources for rehearsal or long periods of study beforehand, this is not an ideal setting for originals or very intricate arrangements of even commonly played songs. Sight reading new music in live performance is fun at jams but can be a bit risky for scheduled programs. The band wants to sound great to help you be your best.
• Let David know if you think an original might be a good fit, and we'll all work together to either include it in your set or try it with you afterward.
• We'll tackle anything you want to try during the jam after your formal set, if you want to hang with us. We love to try new things, but not at your expense 😁
• We've played a few wonderful new tunes written by or for a few of our vocalists, after the band reviewed the charts and videos and was comfortable with them. Send a chart and video link to David and discuss it with him.
• No recording should be done without discussing it first with the band. Depending on your intended use, we may ask for signed agreements with the band members to limit use to non-commercial efforts. You may need formal agreement from the band members, if you'd otherwise have to pay a band and get a signed release for your intended use.

Doors open at 6pm for dinner, no reservations needed. There is abundant local free parking, and we are a few steps from the Lansdowne train from Philly. We feature fresh cold ales on tap from the Crooked Eye Brewery, Fresh brewed Green Street Coffee, espressos and our excellent dinner menu earns rave reviews... all at modest prices. We have instituted a $5 food or drink minimum per person to help keep the lights on. Our friendly staff is at your service.

Won't you join us for a great night out?

Jazz Jam Guidelines
This is a JAZZ jam, not a generic open mic. Your set should focus on jazz music only. Please do not attempt other genres or you may be cut off.
You must sign your name and instrument on the clipboard list first if you want to play.
Guests will play between 2 to 4 songs depending upon the backlog of guests. Please have your set list and keys ready. Keep the tunes simple so everyone can play without learning your material.
Tune up before you get up to play.
Singers may bring their own mic. If you use our mic, you will be handed a sanitary cover to place on the mic before use, and self-remove to the trash after you are finished.
Keep each song under 5 minutes.
The jam is for beginners as well as experts, but players should be at least moderately proficient on their instrument of choice.
Control dynamics. If you can't hear the vocalist or the lead instrument, then consider yourself too loud. Watch your volume and turn it down, if asked.
Players should vacate the stage area as quickly as possible, so the next group can get up.
You can sign up again at the bottom of the list after your set. Everyone gets a chance to play once.