Jad Tariq is a young man who surely knows his way around a guitar. As a guitar player and vocalist in John Nemeth's band, he brings precision and passion to his barely contained pyrotechnics on stage... He has been a fixture on the Memphis music circuit for several years, and has toured and recorded with numerous major award winning artists. He is building a sizeable fanbase nationwide as a headline performer as well.

The Future of the Blues is a young blues supergroup, the brainchild of "Harmonica Slim", Derek Matteson. Pulling together the top young players from Philadelphia's vibrant blues scene and far beyond, he has a group reminiscent of the "Super Sessions" players from the 60's. Each of these artists has been raised on the milk of mother blues from their early years, and have earned serious accolades on the national blues scene in recent times. Catching them together for a blockbuster concert will be an over the top experience for any blues lover. The core group features Derek Matteson, Jeffrey Attakorah and Zack Lees with a rotating cast of rhythm section players.

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/

Back in the good ol’ days, adjectives such as “unique”, “genuine”, “influential”, “innovative”, “exciting”, “dynamic”, “incandescent,” and “trail-blazing”, were often used by peers and music critics to describe the sounds of the Blues Project, arguably the greatest relatively unsung American rock band of the swinging 60s.... In the fall of 1965, The Blues Project played alongside the likes of Big Joe Williams, Son House, Bukka White, Skip James, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Otis Spann, to name a few. It was these legendary sold-out performances at the famed Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village that eventually led to the release of their phenomenal debut album, Live at the Cafe Au Go Go. The Blues Project made a musical revolution, turning many people on to the American blues heritage.

The blues, however was only their starting point…

In 1966, after their leader Danny Kalb declared that “we’re not reviving the blues, we’re looking to interpret what’s happening today,” the Blues Project moved beyond the blues and recorded their studio masterpiece, Projections, an album that defies description, ranging from folk-rock to soul, from rock ‘n’ roll and blues to jazz, all blended together to produce a tremendously wide spectrum of music. With that album they advertised that there was no type of music they could not play, always managing to give each their own special sound – a bit of rock ‘n’ roll, a touch of rhythm ‘n’ blues, some soul, a dash of jazz, and you still have only a portion of their style.

Straight out of New York, the Blues Project soon toured all over North America. Back then, California, was the place to be, with San Francisco and Los Angeles as the two epicenters of the new age of rock and roll. The five New Yorkers played there and conquered the West.

In Los Angeles, MGM gave them the red carpet treatment They were put up at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, given a tour of the Hollywood film studios, and were even rewarded with a private showing of the new David Lean film, Doctor Zhivago.

In San Francisco, the birthplace of the hippie counterculture movement and of the psychedelic rock, they achieved the admiration of their local peers. The not-yet famous Grace Slick, for example, dreamed to be the band’s new female singer after sharing the bill with them at the Avalon Ballroom when she was still a member of the Great Society. Ed Denson, manager of Country Joe and the Fish, was another who became an instant fan after seeing them at the Matrix. “Their stage presence and their performance have an authority which comes from the secure knowledge that they are one of the best groups going,” he recalls. “For the three weeks that they were here they were indisputably the best band in the city.”

He was so right. Danny Kalb on lead guitar, Steve Katz on rhythm guitar and harmonica, Roy Blumenfeld on drums, Andy Kulberg on bass and flute, and Al Kooper on organ, all skillful musicians who mastered their instruments. They were so talented and versatile that they set a high standard for other performers of their generation.

In 1967, at the peak of their success and after the release of their third album, Live at Town Hall, the band appeared at one of their last gigs – the legendary Monterey International Pop Festival which featured Otis Redding, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix and many more soon to be legends. The Blues Project then split up in two different directions, with Kooper and Katz forming Blood, Sweat and Tears, and Kulberg and Blumenfeld keeping the Blues Project name and carrying on for another year and for another album, Planned Obsolescence, before changing the name of the group to Seatrain.

At the dawn of the 70s, for the joy of their old fans, Danny Kalb and Roy Blumenfeld put together a new version of the Blues Project with which they released two new albums, Lazarus in 1971, and Blues Project in 1972. The good reception eventually led to what their fans really wanted and waited for for a long time, i.e. the reunion tour of the classic lineup which culminated with their widely acclaimed appearance at the 6th Annual Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park in June of 1973, and with the release of a live album, Reunion In Central Park.

After a few sporadic reunion concerts through the 80s and 90s, the “original” Blues Project disbanded for good, most of all because Al Kooper became too busy with his solo career, and the passing away of Andy Kulberg in 2008. Despite it all, even in the new millennium, the band maintained a die hard fan base of old and new fans, so it was mostly for them that at least Danny Kalb, Steve Katz, and Roy Blumenfeld, did a new reunion tour in 2012. The shows were well received and their fans asked for more so, in 2023, here we go again. The Blues Project is alive and well, with Blumenfeld leading a new powerful lineup that also includes four young and talented stars in their own right: Chris Bergson on guitar and vocals, Mark Newman on guitar, mandolin and vocals, Jesse Williams on bass and vocals, and Ken Clark on keyboards, accordian, EWI and vocals.

The Blues Project was one of the first, and remains one of the finest, of the creative bands, Go and see them when they hit your hometown. Trust me, they’re like a fine wine. They get better with age, and the best is yet to come!

Roy Blumenfeld - drums and vocals

Roy Blumenfeld had a ringside seat from his drum kit on some of the most exciting musical events in New York City during the mid-’60s. Born in the Bronx in 1944, he reached his teens as the first wave of American rock and roll was being created. He took up the drums and found himself drawn to blues, RandB, and jazz. Blumenfeld linked up with bassist Andy Kulberg through work with Al Kooper on the latter’s early solo recordings for the Elektra Records sampler What’s Shakin’. In 1965, he joined guitarist Danny Kalb in the latter’s new band, which, with the addition of Kooper to the lineup, became the Blues Project. Blumenfeld was one of the longest serving members of the renowned group, whose mixture of RandB, blues, jazz, folk, and rock and roll influences made them a major cult band of the ’60s, and a huge influences on generations of other musicians. He was there past its end: with Kulberg, he formed Seatrain out of the ruins of the Blues Project in 1968. He played on folk singer Mark Spoelstra’s self-titled album for Columbia Records in 1969, and also on the subsequent Blues Project reunions. Blumenfeld worked with Nick Gravenites in the ’70s and Robert Hunter at various times in the ’80s and ’90s, but his most visible gig was with Kooper on the live shows that became Soul of a Man.

Back in the mythic Summer of Love, 1967 - if you were in New York City, the place to be was MacDougal Street. The club to be in was the Cafe Au Go Go, pedigreed in hipness by Lenny Bruce’s famous profanity bust there by the NYPD. The Au Go Go’s star band was the Blues Project, a group on the cutting edge of improvisational, classical, blues and jazz. Danny Kalb was the Project’s lead guitarist and vocalist, Al Kooper was the keyboardist and vocalist, Steve Katz was its guitarist and vocalist, There was Andy Kulberg on bass and flute. And the drummer - the heartbeat - for the group was Roy Blumenfeld.

Jesse Williams prides himself on his musical depth AND breadth!

Recorded on two Grammy Nominated Albums and nine W.C. Handy/Blues Music Award-nominated albums. International touring or appearances playing with: North Mississippi Allstars, Jimmy Vivino, Bucky Pizzarelli, Susan Tedeschi, Howard Alden, Duke Robillard, Jay McShann, Al Kooper, Jay Geils, John Hammond Jr, Karin Allyson, Harry Allen, Ruth Brown, Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, Johnny A., Maria Muldaur, Johnnie Johnson, Ronnie Earl, Henry Butler, Charles Neville, Julien Kasper, Bruce Katz, W.C. Handy All-Stars

Festivals and Venues include North Sea Jazz, Edmonton Folk, Montreal Jazz, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage, Vancouver Jazz, Byron Bay, Russian River, Boston Globe Jazz and Blues, Preakness, Beantown, Lincoln Center. Beacon Theater, Mountain Stage, Beacon Theater, Lincoln Center. He has appeared on PBS, Sesame St., AMC, National Film Archives, as well as multiple commercial spots. .

Recent projects and current bands include: North Mississippi Allstars Sonya Rae Taylor Seth Rosenbloom Al Kooper Jimmy Vivino Bobby Keyes Johnny A. New Black Eagle Jazz Band

Growing up in New York, Mark Newman’s musical journey has taken him around the world several times as both sideman and singer/songwriter. This ace stringman (guitar, lap steel, mandolin, dobro) and accomplished songwriter is the type of singer whose warm and expressive voice sounds like an old friend. He put it all together on 2006’s “Must Be A Pony” (Danal Music, LLC). In 2010 he took a quantum leap forward with the stunning “Walls Of Jericho” (Danal Music. LLC) and has just released, “Brussels”( Danal Music. LLC), a live solo EP. “Empirical Truth”, his latest CD was released in June, 2018 (Danal Music, LLC, by WBA Records). It won best CD from the Long Island Blues Society.

Sharing the stage with such notables as soul legend Sam Moore (Sam and Dave), John Oates(Hall and Oates), Jim McCarty (Yardbirds, Renaissance),the late Willy DeVille (Mink DeVille), Bobby Whitlock (Derek and the Dominos) and Sam The Sham, has given Newman the perspective to craft an individualistic sound framed in straight-from-the-hip rock’n’roll, simmering with the subtle flavors of blues, R’n’B, funk, folk and soul.

Chris Bergson is an internationally acclaimed American born guitarist, singer, and songwriter. “Chris Bergson plays the kind of guitar you can build a house on – it’s B.B. meets Steve Cropper meets John Scofield.” (ROLL Magazine) Hailed as “the New York street poet with a blues soul” (MOJO) and “one of the most inventive songwriters in modern blues music,” (All Music Guide) Bergson is best known as the leader of the Chris Bergson Band. Elmore Magazine calls the Chris Bergson Band “one of the most talented bands playing today,” whose soulful blend of American Roots music encompasses “blazing rock to funk to soul to Delta blues and all that’s in between.” Bergson is also an accomplished sideman who has performed with luminaries across a wide range of genres including Norah Jones, Levon Helm, Hubert Sumlin, Bernard Purdie, Annie Ross, Al Foster, and Matt Wilson. The Chris Bergson Band’s 2007 album Fall Changes, recorded at Levon Helm’s studio in Woodstock, New York, was named MOJO Magazine’s Number One Blues Album of the Year in 2008. Bergson was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame as a Master Blues Artist in 2015.

Bergson’s latest solo album, All I Got Left (2 Shirts/CRS) was named MOJO’s #4 Blues Album of 2021. “Four Stars…elegant slide guitar chops,” writes MOJO’s Tony Russell: “But what lingers are lines from lockdown: “I want to believe the cavalry’s coming – but what if this is as good as it gets?” As Sean McDevitt details in Vintage Guitar: “This collection of evocative, unaccompanied recordings from singer/songwriter Bergson is inspired by the 2020 lockdown and all that came with it. Highlights include the hopeful title track with Bergson on an SG Standard, along with “Hector and Donna,” a survival story told with an open-tuned ’60s Teisco. Pandemic-era emotions chronicled through the lens of the blues.”

In September 2021, Chris Bergson was appointed an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston where he teaches guitar and songwriting.

Born in New York City in 1976, Chris Bergson moved with his family to Boston when he was three years old and returned to New York City in 1995 at the age of eighteen. Things seem to have come full circle for Bergson as far as Boston and Berklee College of Music are concerned – his formative guitar teachers were all Berklee grads and Bergson credits a 1987 Dizzy Gillespie concert at the Berklee Performance Center with making him want to become a professional musician. Bergson’s love and affinity for music started early, as writer Kay Cordtz details in her profile of Bergson for ROLL Magazine:

On Chris Bergson’s tenth birthday, his parents gave the young guitar prodigy a pile of record albums. They included Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf’s Muddy and the Wolf, the Waters, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield and Otis Spann collaboration, Fathers and Sons, a Thelonious Monk disc and a couple of albums by Miles Davis. Bergson, who started taking classical guitar lessons at the age of seven, had just learned the modern blues scale so he could play along with Muddy and copy some Bloomfield riffs. “Hearing all that music at the same time had a really powerful effect on me,” he said.

If you listen to Bergson’s CDs such as Fall Changes and Imitate the Sun, it’s obvious that he learned his lessons from the masters well – both those he heard on vinyl and those he had the privilege to know and play alongside. But you also hear a musician with the fire and intelligence to chart his own path and resist being classified as any one particular genre. (Kay Cordtz, Roll Magazine, “Chris Bergson: Singer/Songwriter, Guitarist, Husband, Father Is Living His Dream)

Bergson began his professional career at the age of thirteen playing in Boston area rock clubs. In 1995, Bergson returned to New York City and studied with jazz guitar master Jim Hall. While attending Manhattan School of Music, Bergson began freelancing as a guitarist on the New York jazz scene. In 1996, Bergson recorded his debut album Blues For Some Friends of Mine (Juniper Records) featuring bassist Dwayne Burno and drummer Greg Bandy. “With his first release, Bergson proves himself ready for the big time,” Jim Fisch wrote in 20th Century Guitar Magazine. In 1997, he recorded with legendary jazz vocalist Annie Ross on her album Cool For Kids (Juniper Records.)

In the Spring of 1999, Bergson graduated from Manhattan School of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree and landed a steady gig at Vintage, a lounge in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, where he led a trio two nights a week backing up singers including Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson, and Dena DeRose.

In 2002, Bergson was appointed a Jazz Ambassador of the USA by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and he toured eight countries in West Africa with his trio. His subsequent album Blues (2003) reflected his immersion in the Blues tradition, while adding roots and soul influences. The album was recorded live at NYC’s Smoke Jazz Club with organist Brian Charette and drummer Matt Wilson. Incidentally, Matt Wilson coined the name for Bergson’s independent record label, 2 Shirts Records, saying “Man, you sweat so much, you gotta bring two shirts to every gig – one for each set!” Anyone who’s ever attended a Bergson live show can attest to the soulful intensity – and the sweat – that pours out of him in every performance.

In 2004, the Chris Bergson Band were featured as Artists-In-Residence at NYC’s Jazz Standard performing every Monday night that Fall. The band featured saxophonist Jay Collins (Gregg Allman), bassist Chris Berger, and drummers Matt Wilson or Tony Mason. “We were able to really develop as a band and that’s when I really started writing,” Bergson explained to writer Kay Cordtz, ”We recorded the album Another Day right at the end of our residency. It documented the tunes we’d been playing every week, and that was really the start of the Chris Bergson Band.” Bergson credits the influence of The Band’s music for inspiring “High Above the Morning,” the first of seven original songs he wrote for Another Day.” (Kay Cordtz, ROLL Magazine.)

Fittingly, the Chris Bergson Band recorded their next album, the widely acclaimed Fall Changes (2007) at The Band drummer Levon Helm’s Woodstock studio. The band included Jay Collins, keyboardist Bruce Katz and drummer Tony Leone with Helm’s daughter, singer Amy Helm, guesting on a few tunes. The sessions led to Bergson being personally invited to perform at the famed drummer’s Midnight Rambles while opening the way for more stateside festivals and subsequent tours of Europe. Bergson is one of the artists included in photographer Paul LaRaia’s book, The Levon Helm Midnight Ramble.

Fall Changes (2 Shirts Records/Bertus Distribution) was released in October 2007 to rave reviews and established Bergson as an eloquent, evocative and lyrical songwriter with a sharp urban vision. Living Blues magazine called him “a serious talent” and Blues scholar Tony Russell wrote in his four star review of the album for MOJO:

One of the major themes in blues is a sense of place and this band lay down their local credentials in the opening track about a Brooklyn neighborhood, Gowanus Heights. The catchy melody, stabbing horns and fervent vocal also establish that these guys could strip down the engine of a soulbluesmobile and put it back together blindfold.

Fall Changes went on to be named MOJO’s Number One Blues Album of the Year in 2008 by Tony Russell, the first of Bergson’s five consecutive albums to be named on MOJO’s year-end list of the Best Blues Albums.

Bergson performed in Europe for the first time in 2008 in the UK at England’s Leicester Blues Festival. Over the next decade, Bergson’s international tours became more and more frequent, expanding his European fanbase with performances in twelve countries including Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia.

Notable European festival performances include Moulin Blues (Holland), Groningen Rhythm and Blues Night (Holland), Harvest Time Blues (Ireland), Blues in Hell (Norway), Salaise Blues Festival (France), Cahors Blues Festival (France), Ingolstadt Bluesfest (Germany), Gevarenwnkel Festival (Belgium), Swing Wespelaar (Belgium) and the Burlada Blues Festival (Spain.)

In 2013, Bergson began performing and writing songs with acclaimed soul singer Ellis Hooks. Born in Bromley, Alabama, All Music Guide calls Hooks “the true continuum in the celebrated Southern traditions of soul, blues, and gospel.” Bergson and Hooks met in 2004 when they were sharing a bill at NYC’s Joe’s Pub. Their collaboration over the next decade would find them selling out shows at top NYC venues like Jazz Standard and City Winery and headlining festivals in Europe including France’s oldest Blues festival, the Cahors Blues Festival.

Ellis Hooks appeared as a guest on Bergson’s 2014 release Live at Jazz Standard which included the debut of their original Stax-inspired modern soul classic “The Only One.” With a three-piece horn section led by saxophonist Ian Hendrickson-Smith (The Roots/Late Night With Jimmy Fallon), Live at Jazz Standard captured the Chris Bergson Band’s “gut-busting, horn-bedecked NY blues” (MOJO) and was named one of MOJO’s Best Blues Albums of 2014. Just days after the two nights of recording live at Bergson’s favorite NYC club, the Chris Bergson Band performed at the Saratoga Jazz Festival in Saratoga Springs, New York, playing right before Tony Bennett and Buddy Guy. In 2014, the Chris Bergson Band performed at the largest Blues festival in North America, the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon.

“Over the past decade, Chris Bergson has become one of the most interesting blues-inspired songwriters,” wrote Tony Russell in his review of Live at Jazz Standard for the UK’s Blues Magazine. “He describes the streetscapes and nightscapes of city life, painting small, memorable pictures, a kind of Edward Hopper of the blues.”

Ellis Hooks co-wrote three songs and appeared as a guest vocalist on the Chris Bergson Band’s 2017 studio album Bitter Midnight (2 Shirts Records/Continental Blue Heaven.) Recorded to two-inch tape at Brooklyn’s Mighty Toad Studio, Bergson was joined on the album by baritone saxophonist Jay Collins, trumpeter Steven Bernstein (Levon Helm), drummers Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors), Tony Mason (Darlene Love), bassists Andy Hess (Gov’t Mule), Richard Hammond (Santana), Matt Clohesy (Patti Austin) and keyboardist/tenor saxophonist Craig Dreyer (Dispatch). “It was great to record with some of favorite musicians,” said Bergson. “Some of the guys, like Richard Hammond, Aaron Comess and Tony Mason, I’ve been playing with for years but had never recorded with before, so it was nice to finally document the rapport we’ve developed over many gigs.”

Released in Europe on the Continental Blue Heaven label, Bitter Midnight was featured as “Album of the Month” in Holland’s Gitarist Magazine and France’s Soul Bag Magazine. Gitarist’s Kevin Passman wrote, “As we’ve come to expect from Bergson, Bitter Midnight is full of tasty, intuitive guitar work and passionate vocals but besides that, the album is also a triumph for his qualities as a composer. An absolute must for fans of blues, soul and southern rock.”

In 2018, Bergson and Hooks toured together in Europe for the first time playing festivals in Denmark, Germany and France. Their performance in Normandy for the Nuit du Blues festival, held at a stadium, the Zénith de Caen, was filmed and recorded and released on CD/DVD in 2019 as Chris Bergson and Ellis Hooks – Live in Normandy (2 Shirts Records/Continental Blue Heaven.)

Live in Normandy captures Bergson and Hooks backed by their longtime working European band. Bergson estimates he’s played over 100 concerts with the top-notch rhythm team he refers to as “The French Connection” with Philippe Billoin on keyboards, Philippe Dandrimont on bass and Pat Machenaud on drums. “Live albums don’t get any better than this,” wrote Jim Hynes in Glide Magazine, “Bergson and Hooks have become a blues-infused modern-day Sam and Dave, bringing a similar kind of gritty, rousing blues that is chill-inducing, whether vocally or via Bergson’s stinging, piercing solos (check out “Bitter Midnight”) …Bergson’s guitar lines echo two of his heroes, Hubert Sumlin (with whom he performed in his later years) and Freddie King.”

Soul Bag Magazine’s Marc Loison wrote, “Far from blues-rock clichés and guitar demonstrations in vertiginous pyrotechnics, here are 12 twelve live tracks as additional proof of the vitality and authenticity of a major artist on the New York scene. In perfect harmony with the splendid vocalist Ellis Hooks, guitarist-singer Chris Bergson is accompanied by a “French connection” of choice…Superb!” Jos Verhagen wrote in his review of the album for Holland’s Blues Magazine, “The music of Chris Bergson and Ellis Hooks is genuine Delta soul blues…The soulful voice of Hooks is reminiscent of the great soul men like Sam Cooke and Otis [Redding], and together with Chris, he turns it into a true party.”

Notable past performances include: Moulin Blues (Holland), Groningen Rhythm and Blues Night (Holland), Cahors Blues Festival (France), Salaise Blues Festival (France), GeVarenwinkel Festival (Belgium), Swing Wespelaar (Belgium), Burlada Blues Festival (Spain), Harvest Time Blues (Ireland), Blues in Hell (Norway), Leicester Blues Festival (UK), Waterfront Blues Festival (Portland, OR), Saratoga Jazz Festival (NY), Levon Helm’s Midnight Rambles (Woodstock, NY), River to River Festival (NYC), Joe’s Pub (NYC), The Blue Note (NYC), Jazz Standard (NYC), John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (DC), SXSW (Austin, TX), and opening for B.B. King and Etta James at B.B. King’s Blues Club (NYC).

Chris Bergson is an Associate Professor in the guitar department at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Bergson endorses McCurdy Guitars

Ken Clark - Keyboards and Vocals

Not to be confused with country/bluegrass artist Ken Clark or the late bebop drummer Kenny Clarke, the Ken Clark profiled in this bio is a jazz-oriented organist who is also comfortable playing RandB, funk, and blues. The Boston resident (who plays electric keyboards and acoustic piano as secondary instruments) isn’t the type of organist who is content to emulate Jimmy Smith’s seminal ’50s and ’60s recordings — Smith is an influence on Clark, but so are Larry Young, John Medeski (of Medeski, Martin and Wood fame), and Charles Earland. Clark’s playing sometimes brings to mind German organist Barbara Dennerlein, although she isn’t necessarily an influence — rather, it’s probably a case of Dennerlein and Clark having mutual influences.

Eternal Funk - Clark isn’t a native Bostonian; he was born in New York City in the late ’60s and grew up in the Big Apple. But in the mid-’80s, he moved to Boston to study jazz with pianist Charlie Banacos and guitarist Garrison Fewell and attend the prestigious Berklee School of Music. Instead of returning to New York after studying with those artists and attending Berklee, Clark opted to remain in Boston and became a fixture on the city’s music scene. In 1992, he formed the Ken Clark Organ Trio, employing Mike Mele (whom he knew from Berklee) on guitar — and 11 years later, the group was still together. Clark’s group has used different drummers over the years; in 2003, Steve Chaggaris (another Berklee alumni) was playing drums for Clark’s trio. As a sideman, Clark has backed various female vocalists, including Fatwall Jack and swing/jump blues artist Michelle Willson. Clark’s albums as a leader include The Ken Clark Organ Trio on Aspire Records and Eternal Funk, which the Severn label released in 2003.

https://bluesproject.net/

Katie Henry, the New Jersey songwriter might have started out banging on doors, braving New York's blues clubs, playing piano until her fingers bled, and winning over the city one show at a time. But lately, the multi-instrumentalist has raced through career milestones at a rocket pace. There was her Blues Blast and IBMA-nominated 2018 debut album, High Road. Her international breakout on Ruf's 2022 Blues Caravan Revue. Her starburst of media acclaim, including Henry Yates of Classic Rock, NME, and The Guardian, saluted "a runaway talent you need to keep up with."

Now, with the release of her second album, On My Way, Katie has found another gear. Whether slinging her trusty Gibson SG, hammering the keys, or hollering up a storm, these ten original songs, co-written with bassist and slide-guitar maestro Antar Goodwin, announced her as an alchemist who creates gemstones from the base metals of American roots. "There's a great range of songs on this album," Katie reflects. "You get a sense of the things I've been going through, the fights I've won, the fights I've lost, and the determination needed to continue. All wrapped in a rock and roots package."

The story goes that at one early show, a fan astutely observed: "It's like she's got John Lee Hooker in her pocket!" Scratch this young artist, and you'll find an old soul. Fingering her first piano chords, aged six, and scrawling early songs in the back of her school notebooks, Katie was the heart of singalongs at her family home in New Jersey. With fiery guitar chops and natural charisma, she was soon a New York City jam scene favorite. Those who were there, remember songs of many genres, blues, rock, RnB, funk, pop, soul, and country, and her stage presence evoked Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin at their most magnetic.

And while “High Road” was the introductory handshake, On My Way is the profoundly personal second album on which Katie gives you her beat-up heart. It all started in May 2021, when Brooklyn's Degraw Sound opened its doors to Katie and producer/guitarist Ben Rice. The crack lineup of Goodwin, Kurt Thum (piano/organ,) and Greg Wieczorek (drums/percussion,) plus British harp ace Giles Robson. "We recorded the album live during the pandemic," reflects Katie, "and it was so fun to be able to record in a room with people after feeling isolated for such a long time. The majority of the album was laid down live, and I love that feeling. It's like capturing lightning in a bottle."

https://katiehenrymusic.com/

Pianist, Hammond organist and composer Anthony Geraci was born in New Haven, Conn. in 1954. His interest in playing piano began at age four when he told his parents “I want a piano!”... Kind of an odd request when most kids want a new baseball glove or bicycle. His parents weren’t musical-not even a record player at their house- but they always supported his undeniable passion for music. They soon bought a Kimball Grand Piano that his mother paid $4 a week to own. Lessons at the Neighborhood School of Music, affiliated with Yale University, soon followed. At around the age of sixteen he befriended a fellow musician, Ed Cherry, at high school. They began listening to music together after school and one day Ed played a Jimmy Rogers recording, Chicago Bound, that literally changed his life. Ed went on to be Dizzy Gillespie’s guitarist for many years.

New Haven was rich as far as listening to and seeing major music artists, and NYC was only a few hours away by train. Seeing Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Willie Dixon was part of his blues education that could only be learned by seeing these great artists fist hand. Years later Anthony had the opportunity to play piano with Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Chuck Berry, Big Mama Thornton, Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Rodgers and many more-something a sixteen year old budding blues pianist would never have seemed possible. Anthony has recorded with Big Walter Horton, Ronnie Earl, Big Jack Johnson, Zora Young, Sugaray Rayford, Debbie Davies, Kenny Neal and many more great Blues Artists. Anthony graduated from the Berklee College of Music with B.A. Degree, and a M.A. from Skidmore College.

His critically-acclaimed 2015 release, Fifty Shades of Blue, (Delta Groove Records) earned multiple Blues Music Award nominations from the Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN. Nominations include: Best Song-for the title track, Best Album, and Best Traditional Blues Album. Anthony also received an individual nomination for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year Award. Fifty Shades Of Blue was also nominated for Traditional Blues Album of the year by Blues Blast Magazine, and was ranked as one of the top 50 Blues recordings of 2015 by Living Blues Magazine, and earned a 4 Star Review in Downbeat Magazine.

In 2019, Why Did You Have To Go (Shining Stone) received nominations by the Blues Foundation Blues Music Awards for Album of the Year, Traditional Album of the Year, Song of the Year-"Angelina, Angelina", as well as individual nominations: Pinetop Perkins Piano Award, Traditional Male Blues Artist and Band of the Year-An unprecedented 6 personal Nominations!

His 2020 release, Daydreams In Blue (Shining Stone) debuted at #1 - Living Blues Radio chart, #1 -Roots Music Report-Blues, and #4 - Billboard Blues Chart.

In 2021, Anthony won the Instrumentalist-Piano from the Blues Foundation/Blues Music Awards Memphis, TN. Anthony Geraci and The Boston Blues All-Stars were nominated for Band of the Year.

Following his chart-topping Daydreams in Blue, Anthony returns with Blues Called My Name, a dynamic collection of original compositions featuring esteemed special guests Anne Harris, Walter Trout, Sugar Ray Norcia, Monster Mike Welch, Erika Van Pelt, and The Boston Blues All-Stars. Award-winning blues guitarist Ronnie Earl shared this praise for Geraci and the new album: "Anthony has been contributing to this music for many years, and his new album illuminates the many colors, shades, and styles of the blues. Anthony is very inspiring, and I love his dedication to the old masters like Otis Spann, Sunnyland Slim, and Big Maceo Merriweather."

https://www.anthonygeraciblue.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/

BLUESTIME! House rockin', juke joint jumpin’ electric blues played by folks that grew up listening, watching and learning from the Golden Age Blues Masters.... "After connecting only a few short years ago, BLUESTIME! has become a standout in the local/regional scene. If you caught our shows at the regional blues/roots festivals this past summer then you know we leave the stage with no gas left in the tank! Anglesea Blues Festival in North Wildwood, Gypsy Moon Blues Festival in East Petersburg (3 years running), Lancaster Roots and Blues -We tore 'em all up.

Our local Philly area gigs include multiple appearances at the Grape Room including the Philly Blues Society Bluesfest, Liberty Musicfest, Parx Casino, Dawson’s Pub, Great Barn Taproom and Taphouse, Crooked Eye Brewery, Mermaid Inn, Pickering Creek Inn. We played multiple gigs at Tellus 360, the premier live music venue in Lancaster, Pa.

Our mix of original music combined with covers of some of our favorite artists’ work create a blend that “don’t need no hot sauce” to get you off your hands, out of your seats and on the dance floor. We may be old, but we are bold and we leave nothing untold. Not the flower but the roots - workout!

https://www.bluestimephilly.com/

A husband and wife acoustic guitar and flute duo! Their collaboration began in December 2000, and since then they have been performing in the Philadelphia area.... By utilizing their divergent backgrounds, they create modern interpretations of many well-known songs. They play a diverse assortment of styles including Original Music, Standards, Folk, Americana, Classical and much more!!

Bill "Rusty" Crowell began writing original music in the early 1970's as a response to teenage angst and social consciousness. He was inspired by the music of artists such as: Pete Seeger, Gordon Lightfoot, Simon and Garfunkel, and James Taylor. While much of it is about personal feelings, it's also about events that effected him and his need to provide commentary. His music began to take new direction with the collaboration with flutist, Jan Alba. Together they provide a portrait of life on a musical canvas.

Jan’s experience on the flute spans over thirty years. In addition to her classical background, Jan is able to improvise easily with most styles of music. She began her collaboration with singer/guitarist Rusty Crowell in December 2000 when they were each recruited by a mutual friend to play in a Christmas Eve service. Following the event they agreed to explore how their divergent backgrounds would complement each other. Together, they create a modern and innovative interpretation of many well known songs. They play a diverse assortment of styles including classical, originals, popular, and folk (to name a few). They are available for many venues including: Coffee Houses, Bars, Senior Centers, House Concerts, Weddings & other special events.

https://www.rustyandjan.com/

We’re Last Chance, Jack Scott and Ingrid Rosenback. We met in 2011 and formed Last Chance the following year. Ingrid is a classically trained violinist and Jack is a songwriter with roots in traditional folk music. We both sing, Jack plays guitar and 5-string banjo and Ingrid plays fiddle and harmonica. Our intelligent, handcrafted songs appeal to audiences of diverse ages and musical tastes. All our songs are original and all our shows are fun.

We appear as Last Chance throughout Greater Philadelphia at festivals, coffee houses, theaters, blues clubs, libraries, senior centers, bookstores and other venues. The band is fully insured. We’ve appeared at the Philadelphia Folk Festival (2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022), the Suzanne Roberts Theater, Hedgerow Theatre, the Lansdowne Folk Club, Chaplin’s Spring City, Jamey's House of Music, Philadelphia's Hard Rock Cafe, Media’s Roots Ramble and the Delmarva Folk Festival as winners of the 2018 Folk Hero contest. We proudly participate in the WXPN Musicians on Call program.

Our latest album, “Timeless Hours,” is available for downloading and streaming on Bandcamp (click the button below on this page) as are our earlier releases, “Summer Again,” (2020), "Claiming the Sky," (2018), "Endless Flight" (2016), and “We Came to Play” (2013). Our CDs are also available on Amazon, Spotify, at our concerts and directly from us (at the Contact page on this website). Many of our songs are regularly played on Philadelphia’s WXPN-FM and on college and community radio stations across the U.S, Canada and Europe.

http://www.lastchanceband.org/

Philly’s blues and soul drenched singer and songwriter Deb Callahan recently celebrated the March 2023 release of her 6th studio album “Backbone”!... The album consists of 12 songs including 10 original new tunes and has been charting for the past 6 months on The Roots Music Report Top 50 Blues albums peaking at #2 in the blues category for April 2023. Her music has received some great national and international airplay on blues and triple A radio stations and garnering wonderful press and reviews. " The new album was produced by Philadelphia producer, songwriter, and guitarist Chris Arms and recorded live at Morningstar Studios in Glenside, PA. Deb recorded this album with her road tested, all-star band of Allen James on guitar, Garry Lee on bass and Tom Walling on drums. The CD features London producer and songwriter Danny Schogger on keyboards and Arms on slide guitar. There are guest appearances by Great Britain’s Alan Glass on acoustic guitar, and Philly musicians; Jay Davidson on sax, Steve Jankowski on horn/trombone, John Colgan Davis on harmonica and Charlene Holloway on backing vocals.

“Backbone” has a blues and funk base and embraces a range of rock, soul, roots and swing styles. The songwriting reflects the intense impact of world events over the past few years exploring themes of uncertainty, vulnerability, being comfortable with and showing up for oneself, taking a stand, polarization in beliefs, freedom and letting go. Deb worked with Arms, Schogger and James to write much of the original material and chose two covers that fit in well with the material including Percy Mayfield’s “Danger Zone” and Sean Costello’s “Anytime You Want”. Deb and her core band’s sixteen years plus of performing and touring together shines through on this CD, creating a unique chemistry and an ability to play with natural, nuanced improvisation.

Deb and her band have been performing, touring, recording and entertaining music fans both regionally and around the United States since the late 1990s. Deb has released 5 prior CDs since 2002 and a limited edition World Café Live DVD. She has graced the stages of many festivals nationwide from The Monterey Bay Blues Festival in Monterey, CA, The Springing the Blues Fest in Jacksonville, FL, The Bayfront Blues Fest in Duluth, MN to WXPN’s XPonential Music Festival right here in Philly.

"Callahan blends timely probing lyrical content with classic blues all served up with her fiery take no prisoners power. Callahan’s voice packs a hefty punch with just a hint of urbane gravel while her smooth vibrato smooths those edges into an endlessly inviting package.” Matt R. Lohr – Living Blues Magazine

Backbone, Deb Callahan’s first studio album in eight years, provides plenty of ‘S’ appeal: soulful, sultry, sassy, and socially conscious. Deb Callahan wanted to make a statement and successfully does so with an album as diverse and soulful as her tremendous singing voice. Emotionally compelling, Backbone has just enough sass, sultriness, and social awareness to keep listeners engaged throughout Callahan’s personal and musical journey Ken Billet - Blues Blast magazine

“Backbone is another winner from Deb Callahan, who remains one of the most compelling vocalists in the blues and soul genres, a voice to be reckoned with in the coming years.” Graham Clarke – Blues Bytes

The variety of musical material on Backbone snakes stealthily from soul to funk to blues rock with one constant: the exceptional vocals of Deb Callahan“. “The lady combines the attributes of skilled songwriting, a deep appreciation of American roots music, along with her powerfully affecting vocals” Randall Parrish, Vivascene

“Backbone swings and grooves from the first note to the last, powered by Callahan’s powerful voice and some extremely sweet playing from her road tested all-star band. This is very likely one of the best albums you’ll hear this year; completely irresistible.” —-Hot Wax Album Review- The Rock Doctor

“Callahan has carved a niche for herself up and down the East Coast. Now it’s time for the rest of the USA/Canada to appreciate her modern, clever lyrics that mostly stay clear of the tired old blues themes”. —Richard Skelly, Blues Music Magazine

https://www.debcallahanband.com/

The Max Kaplan Band - "With a captivating front-man, soulful guitar leads, and a tight rhythm section, Memphis-based Max Kaplan has an exciting and original sound harkening back to the sonic landscape of funky Motown and Stax era soul, to the guitar driven blues of the 1960’s.... Max is an energetic vocalist and stage performer, resulting in a poignant display of music through the medium of Memphis soul songwriting. his influences include B.B. King, Leon Bridges, James Brown, Alabama Shakes, Al Green, The Staples Singers, and more."

https://www.maxkaplanmusic.com/

“Vakili’s voice — yes, it is honey, in a cool glass of whiskey on the hottest night you remember…” –Ink 19

“If you love Vakili Band like we do, you have to see them live… or at the very least read our review of what it is like to see them crush the live stage!” –The Aquarian Weekly

“ups the emotional and political ante with 10 punchy tunes, delivered from a strong female perspective” – Relix Magazine

“A full-on, revival-style, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds-meets-the Pretenders, rock ‘n’ fuckin’ roll band.” – Magnet Magazine

“The Patti Smith Group vibe is strong with the Vakili Band, both in the straight ahead rock n’ roll fire and passionate street poet vibes, and we’ll take that over ironic detachment and empty theatrics any day of the week.” – Postcard Elba

https://vakiliband.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. Original member John Colgan-Davis continues to front the band, as a powerful presence on stage with his signature hat, harp and seasoned voice.

http://www.dukesofdestiny.com/

“Bill Toms is a poet, a soul-shouter and guitar slinger with one foot in the gutter and an eye on the heavens above. And man, does he front a great rock n' soul band!” - Will Kimbrough/... 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.

https://www.billtoms.com/

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 RandB 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!”

BAND MEMBERS: 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 RandB 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 and 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/

Michael London is a Philadelphia Area musician with a soulful voice and a great touch on acoustic and electric guitars.... His latest recordings feature interpretations of classic folk, jazz and soul songs in his own unique, exciting and expansive style. 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. In college, he found a whole new world of incredible players and shifted his focus to instrumental work, learning to improvise and accompany dancers with atmospheric and lyrical guitar. 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. Michael has a great ability to get audiences involved and takes the stage with comfort and poise. 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/

The Gretchen Emery Band grew out of a partnership that began years ago between singer Gretchen Emery and guitarist Kenny Windle.... The world may never know what cosmic lineup caused this unlikely pair to meet, start a rock band and eventually tie the knot, but to get a sense of just how extraordinary this pairing is, imagine this….a young , bouncy Gretchen with curly red hair, singing at the top of her lungs in church with her family in Dover, DE, following the rules, learning to play the flute, getting good grades, blah, blah, blah…. Contrast that with Kenny being deposited on Earth by an alien craft in the early 1950’s, developing keen survival skills in North Philly, breaking the rules, and eventually focusing all of his energies on playing guitar.

It’s hard to say why Gretchen sings with the power, energy, and soulfulness that she does (her looks may fool you, but just watch her perform and you might agree that perhaps being dropped on her head as an infant had its benefits!) Kenny’s unique use of rhythm and melody, inspired by the Motown he grew up on, creates the canvas upon which Gretchen tells a story in each original song. Despite their wildly different backgrounds, Gretchen and Kenny are each equally moved by their observations of love, loss, injustice, and redemption in life, all of which play out in their music and lyrics. While their songwriting is flavored by soul and rock, with elements of the blues winding through each piece, their goal is to allow each song to evolve as it will, without trying to suit a particular genre.

Though it may not have been a predictable match, the distinct musical skills which they each contribute, seem to complement and support the other, resulting in artfully crafted music that "got" just right. Together, Gretchen and Kenny have found contentment in writing and playing, whether as a duo or full electric band, and they hope that those who listen will be moved to feel, to think, to dance, or to simply escape.

In addition to a multitude of phenomenal local musicians, Gretchen has had the honor of performing with Hubert Sumlin, Lowrider Band, Johnny Neel, Michael Hill's Blues Mob, Victor Wainwright, and Sam Cockrell. Kenny has been fortunate to play with many notable musicians (and non-musicians) too numerous to mention (a strange but fortunate consequence of Kenny having been the object of a failed government experiment. Just ask - you might catch him on a day when all of his brain cells are working together well enough to recall a few stories - but be careful what you wish for - swim at your own risk!).

In 2013, Gretchen and Kenny's band Dirty Boots earned a spot to compete at the International Blues Challenge, Memphis, TN, and subsequently were inducted into the Delaware Blues Hall of Fame.

https://gretchenemery.com/

Bees Deluxe is a British/American band who have played with Ronnie Earl, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Matt Schofield, Roomful of Blues, Walter Trout and David Maxwell.... A modern four-piece blues band celebrating the music of Billie Holiday, Etta James, Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Tinsley Ellis, Freddie King and Roomful of Blues with respect and a dash of hot sauce. Receiving positive reviews wherever they play from Maine to Florida - and everywhere between. Showcasing a catalog of originals and classic covers, many on CD played by National and International radio stations. Bees Deluxe delivers the musical goods everywhere they can - in concert halls, theaters, bars and Festival stages. “...what might happen if Freddie King took a lot of acid then wrote a song with Pat Metheny and asked a strung-out Stevie Ray Vaughan to take a solo” — Blues Blast Magazine

The four-piece band is spearheaded by British guitarist Conrad Warre, and Carol Band on keyboards, harmonica and vocals. Jim Gildea on bass and vocals and Paul Giovine on drums and percussion provide the foundation of the band on stage and in the studio. The musicians each bring their own experience to the mix. Band was recruited from jazz bands that were playing the Boston circuit, notably Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge. Giovine was discovered by the band playing rock and roll in a slew of punk rock clubs in New England and Gildea was drafted to Bees Deluxe by drummer Giovine after sharing the stage with him at several country-bro festivals. Warre, was in a high-school band in London, with Paul Kossoff, of the band Free, and toured Europe with the English Beat and the Joe Jackson Band. He migrated from London to New York where he became a regular performer at the legendary CBGB’s. In Boston, he founded Bees Deluxe, to pay homage to the music he fell in love with while touring and playing legendary London clubs like the Rainbow Theatre, Ronnie Scott's, Dingwalls, The Music Machine and the Moonlight Club. Warre has written reviews and articles for Melody Maker, Record Mirror and Sounds in the UK, and for various US publications. Before forming Bees Deluxe he was Production Manager for Rykodisc the first music audio CD company in the States, working directly with Frank Zappa, Yoko Ono, Richard Thompson, David Bowie, Mickey Hart and others.

The band exudes a contagious enthusiasm at every performance and continues to push the limits of the blues, color outside the lines of convention and do it with impeccable musicality, originality and a touch of insanity.

“Solid vocals surrounded by a tight band, and check out the tones he gets out of his guitar; this cat can play.” — A.J. Wachtel

https://www.beesdeluxe.com/

“One of the most promising young blues talents on the scene today. He’s a fine songwriter, excellent guitarist and strong singer, plus he puts on an exciting, energized show. His talent has grown by leaps and bounds over the last couple years. Don’t miss him!” - Bruce Iglauer, Founder and President, Alligator Records.... “Gabe is somebody who has it all. His songs move me, he has a way with words. He is an amazing singer, a great songwriter and a wonderful musician.” - Anson Funderburgh, Producer

“…Gabe Stillman with this release [Just Say the Word], has put himself up front in any discussion about Best Bluesman of 2021. He checks all my boxes: tone, energy, pacing, lyricism, melody, and an ear for good material to cover.” - Blues Music Magazine, M.E.Travaglini

The Gabe Stillman Band hits the stage in high gear and only goes 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 8 of the 35th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN, and 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, Gabe formed the 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 Nighthawks. Gabe’s most current project, his first full-length release with 15 tracks and 13 originals, is 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 as evident by Gabe’s invitation to support ZZ Top at the famed Key West Amphitheater, as a Blues Music Award nominee in the Best New Emerging Artist Album category, and in March 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/

While Greg Sover’s friends in his Philadelphia neighborhood, where he grew up, were listening
to local rappers he was immersed in classic rock, country and the blues ever since he first picked
up a guitar at the age of five.... “From the beginning, it’s been the greats that have intrigued me,” says Sover, naming Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Duane Allman, Dwight Yoakam guitarist Pete Anderson and, of course, all three Kings – B.B., Freddie and Albert as early influences. “Hearing those first few notes of ‘Purple Haze’ changed my life.”

On his fourth and latest album “HIS-STORY” to be released by his own independent Grounded Soul Records label on July 21, 2023, Sover’s musical career has come full circle, as he’s joined on two songs by legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsies bassist Billy Cox, a cover of “Manic Depression” and a rare track from the great guitarist, “Remember,” originally recorded for the international version of Jimi’s first album, “Are You Experienced”.

“It was such an honor and privilege to play with him,” says Sover. “I had to keep pinching myself that it was Jimi Hendrix’s bass player, but I got to know and respect him as his own man, too. He and his wife were so supportive. They just want to pass it on.”

Sover and Cox hit it off right away, and after working remotely on the two tracks, they got together in Billy’s hometown of Nashville to collaborate on a live video for “Remember,” a song that starts with a reggae lilt and ends with a funky jam straight out of James Brown by way of Archie Bell and the Drells’ “Tighten Up.” Cox, who also co-produced the track with Sover, recalled how he and Jimi were on the way to re-record the song before he passed away, and that Billy wanted to do it with Greg as a form of homage, impressed with Sovers’ “humility” and dedication to his craft.

“I listened to the original track quite a few times, but I had to come up with my own version of the guitar solo at the end, because it was so underplayed, I could hardly make it out,” acknowledges Sover.

Recorded at Cambridge Studios in south Philadelphia, the new album turns the spotlight on Sover as a true triple-threat – already known for his world-class guitar work, he is now blossoming as both a soul/RandB singer (listen to his come-hither croon on the atmospheric “Tonight”) and a songwriter (from the heavy metal psychedelic blues of “Song 28” to the rousing “Gimme Shelter” gospel shout of “Freedom Part 2”), with 8 of the 10 self-produced tracks original compositions. Other standouts include the delta blues and AC/DC Angus Young histrionics of the title track, the slinky blues of “Stuck in the Rain,” which could be about either a broken romance or overcoming career obstacles (“I’m trying to keep the flame from going out/But I’m stuck in the rain”) and the chugging locomotive riffs of “One Way Train,” about the inevitable call of the road and music taking one away from their loved ones. Sover’s fourth album shows remarkable growth... he is not just a blues performer but a true purveyor of rock n’ roll/Americana music, ready to both accept the torch from those who came before and pass it on to those following him.

The self-declared Brooklyn-born guitar ‘slinger was “mesmerized” by the feminine curves of the acoustic instrument owned by his father, a Haitian immigrant who moved the family to a onebedroom apartment in the Crown Heights section. That’s where his dad would play Kompa tunes

for his son – a rhythmic native music from his homeland described by Greg as most resembling salsa. The first English-language songs he remembers hearing as a child were Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up,” when his father gifted him with his own instrument, not a toy, but a real guitar, small enough for a kid to use.

“I stuck with it,” he says about teaching himself how to tune to the open E-chord and eventually play. “It was something I loved to do and still love to do.”

Greg cut his performing teeth as a bassist in the church while in his teens, then played guitar in various bands, including heavyweight champion Joe Frazier’s group, before “muscling up” as a vocalist and bandleader himself. Sover soon became an integral part of the local Philadelphia music scene, releasing two full-length albums, 2016’s Songs of a Renegade (S.O.A.R.) and 2018’s Jubilee, and 2020’s Parade six-song EP, performing locally and at festivals with the likes of the David Uosikkinen's In The Pocket, Yardbirds, Jeffrey Gaines, Jimmy Vivino, Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, Walter Trout, Sonny Landreth, Popa Chubby and the Marcus King Band. Sover and his band made the semifinals for two consecutive years at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and won the 2015 Hard Rock Rising competition at Philadelphia’s Hard Rock Cafe in 2015.

Among the classic rock songs Sover has covered are Cream’s “Politician,” Buddy Miles’ “Them Changes,” Mountain’s “Theme from an Imaginary Western,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression” and “Voodoo Child,” all not mere carbon copies, but brings his own distinct flair for melodies in service of the song rather than just mindless shredding. His City of Brotherly Love roots – Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International, the street-corner RandB of local groups such as the Stylistics and Delfonics – come across even more clearly in new songs like “Tonight,” hinting at new expansive directions for the future. His new bandmates include such icons as veteran bassist Kenny Aaronson, the fellow Brooklyn native who has played with everyone from Bob Dylan, Rick Derringer, Billy Idol, Joan Jett and Sammy Hagar to the New York Dolls, Foghat and Hall and Oates, and drummer/podcast host David Uosikkinen of Philly’s the Hooters, whose founding member Rob Hyman, ironically, was one of the co-writers of “Time After Time.” “They keep me growing as a musician,” he adds.

“It’s freedom time/Is freedom free?” “Freedom Part 2”

“It’s all about who loves the music,” says Greg about expanding the audience, getting more people to hear his music and see him play live. “It’s all about crossing these boundaries and bringing everyone together, whatever your race, religion or nationality. As for me, I’ve been through it all... it’s too late to stop now. Just go for it. The show must go on.” Greg Sover’s new album is destined to keep that flame from going out.

https://gregsover.com/

The Cold Soil Drifters, who play music drawn from the red clay of central New Jersey, is a central Jersey consortium of veteran musicians who came together in 2022 to create a unique musical experience.... They quickly arranged and released their first album of original music, Shanks Pony, in the spring of 2023 to critical acclaim and have been honing their live show at various parties and fundraisers mixing in a few choice and rare covers with the original music.

The genesis of the band began with a vision of longtime local singer/songwriter/guitarist Bump Yuchmow who was then joined by Danny Coffey (The Shaxe, The Fletchers) on guitar and vocals, Brian Quinn (The Shaxe) on lap steel, mandolin, harmonica, and vocals, Ryan Thornton (Chris Harford, RANA) on drums and vocals, and Matt Kohut (Chris Harford, formerly of Ween) on bass. Their music has been described as rooted in bluegrass with elements of calypso, funk, “psycho-billy” and even gospel, which has made for a musical stew like no other on the scene currently.

Born and raised in The Bronx, Stew Cutler picked up the guitar at an early age, and proceeded to self instruct. By the age of 19, he had landed his first gig with Blues legend Z.Z. Hill.... Fast forward 4 decades, this NYC musician has had an extensive recording career, with 7 albums to his name. Additionally, he has recorded and/or performed with some of the world’s greatest musicians including; Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, David Sanborn, Mike Stern, and Percy Sledge, to name a few.

Accompanying him on Organ, will be Judd Nielsen, a native of New York, and current resident of Philadelphia. Judd has had an extensive musical career spanning for many years, which consisted of working with world class musicians including Trombone Shorty, Walter Wolfman Washington, and Lee Fields, among many others.

Chicago born musician, Bill McClellan, is a current resident of Brooklyn, and will be playing drums. His musical career is nothing short of substantial, which includes having worked with many prominent musicians such as; Casandra Wilson, Michael Hill’s Blues Mob, Oliver Lake, and Henry Thredgill.

Special guest guitarist/vocalist Jesse Loewy, will also be joining them for the evening. Jesse has worked with a number of notable musicians as well, including; Marcus Miller, David Bromberg, Al Chez (former trumpet player for the Late Show with David Letterman), and Lonnie Shields.

Their musical repertoire for the evening will consist of a variety of original material derived from Stew Cutler’s recording projects, along with some covers. Don’t miss out on the rare opportunity to see this unique blend of musicians perform live, and in person.

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.

https://www.denibonet.com/

Soaring high for over ten years is HMMA nominated and international recording artist, DRIVETIME whose original Jazz sound has become a household item in so many homes.... Comprising of multi-talented instrumentalists and 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. 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/

https://drivetimeuoj.com/

As a teenager in the early ‘90s growing up in the muddy potato fields of Idaho, John Németh was drawn to the hard-edged hip hop sounds and rock bands of the day, until a friend, Tom Moore, introduced him to the Junior Wells and Buddy Guy classic “Hoodoo Man Blues.”... Together they formed Fat John and the 3 Slims, which is still regarded as a legendary band in the Boise region. John played harp and sang in local bands, often opening the show for nationally touring blues acts and quickly caught the ear of established blues musicians. It didn’t take long before he was releasing his own recordings, “The Jack Of Harps” (2002) and “Come And Get It” (2004), featuring Junior Watson, and performing in Junior Watson’s band.

John relocated to San Francisco in 2004, where he had the bitter-sweet good fortune to undertake a two-year stint with Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets, filling in for the ailing Sam Myers. Németh immersed himself in the deep musical waters of the Bay area, absorbing more of the soul and funk grooves of what he calls “the early East Bay Grease sound” of San Francisco and Oakland bands.

John’s talents did not go unnoticed and he soon signed a recording contract with Blind Pig Records. His national debut for that label, “Magic Touch” (2007), produced by Anson Funderburgh and featuring Junior Watson on guitar, received an ecstatic response from fans and the media, and he was hailed as the new voice of the blues. Living Blues enthused, “Magic Touch gives hope that the blues will survive.” In 2008 Németh was recruited by Elvin Bishop to do some performances and contribute four vocal tracks to his Grammy-nominated album “The Blues Rolls On.”

Németh released two more albums on the Blind Pig label, “Love Me Tonight” (2009) and “Name The Day (2010), both hitting #6 on the Billboard Blues Chart, and beginning his long string of Blues Music Award (BMA) nominations, numbering 20 at last count. John has also won two Blues Blast Music Awards – Best New Artist Debut Recording and Sean Costello Rising Star Award. John followed up with two independently released live albums in 2012, “Blues Live” and “Soul Live.”

In 2013 John relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, where he teamed up with producer Scott Bomar and his classic Memphis Soul band, the Bo-Keys, to create an album of revisited soul classics, “Memphis Grease” (2014 Blue Corn), which debuted at #4 on the Billboard Blues Chart. John won the 2104 BMA for Best Soul Blues Male Artist, followed by “Memphis Grease” winning Best Soul Blues Album in 2015.

In 2017 Németh released “Feelin’ Freaky” (produced by Luther Dickinson) on his own Memphis Grease label, crushing all barriers of style and genre with an album of original songs that defied all the usual pigeonholes, drawing from his strong influences in blues and RandB, as well as contemporary sounds in hip hop and rock ‘n’ roll. Later that same year, Németh was part of a side project “The Love Light Orchestra Featuring John Németh” recorded live at one of Memphis’ favorite watering holes, Bar DKDC. The 10-piece band was initially envisioned by guitarist Joe Restivo, vocalist John Németh and arranger/trumpeter Marc Franklin.

Németh returned to Electraphonic in December of 2019 with his seasoned road band of young gun players, The Blue Dreamers, featuring 19 year-old guitar phenom from Philadelphia, Jon Hay, drummer Danny Banks and Matt Wilson on bass for a rowdy southern swamp roots session resulting in his 10th album, “Stronger Than Strong” demonstrating, yet again, his uncanny ability to skillfully blend retro and modern blues and soul into compelling music that is simultaneously old and new.

https://johnnemeth.com/

The Porkroll Project, from the greater Philadelphia, PA area is hard rocking 5 piece blues band who play a high energy blend of fresh covers and originals.... 2010 : Semi-Finalist in the International Blues Challenge, Memphis, TN
2010 : Semi-Finalist in the Blues Foundation's "Best Self-Produced CD" for Shake It Twice
2012 : Represented the Billtown Blues Association in the International Blues Challenge
2012 : Three Legged Dog nominated by Diamond State Blues Society for "Best Self-Produced CD"
2014 : Represented the Billtown Blues Association in the International Blues Challenge


The music is blues, but it's done up Porkroll style. Little bit of grease, good dose of funk, whole lotta drive and grind. Throw that together with some dangerous lead guitar and harmonica, powerful organ, and rippin' piano, and you have a recipe for a night where anything can happen!

The band has a collective experience that runs deep and wide, having played together in various other projects for over ten years. They are well seasoned veterans of events such as the Philadelphia Jam on the River, the Annual Chameleon Club Blues Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Riverfront Blues Festival, the Billtown Blues Festival, the Paoli Blues Festival and the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN.

So if you and your crew are craving some hard rocking, foot stomping, hip shaking, earthquaking entertainment, give an ear to a heaping helping of The Porkroll Project. It's the right thing to do, and a tasty way to do it. It's Porkalicious!!

http://www.porkrollproject.com/Index2.html

If you’re longing for some real music that you can feel in your heart, lyrics that speak to your soul, and a live performance with the power to blow the roof off the sky, you can stop right here.... 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 and a recent distribution deal with So Bold Ent/Sony Orchard of Sony Music, her solo career is starting to explode, performing a set at NAMM2022, 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.

Laura Cheadle has opened for/shared the stage with The Jonas Brothers, Sister Hazel, The Spin Doctors, Average White Band, Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals, Kasim Sultan, John Oates/Hall and Oates, Terrance Simien, Peter Tork of The MONKEES,Garland Jeffreys, Constantine Maroulis, Ryan Cabrera, Derek Forbes, The Stars From The Commitments, John Sebastian, Marc Broussard, Robert Randolph and The Family Band, and many more.

https://lauracheadle.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, Rob Hamilton on harp and vocals and Jamey Reilly on bass, usually on the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th 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, generally on the 2nd Sundays.

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 a prime 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. Jamey's features 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 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:

September 28 - Geri Oliver
October 26 - Khadijah Renee
November 9 - Geri Oliver
November 16 - Starlene Bey
November 30 - Khadijah Renee
December 7 - Starlene Bey
December 28 - Khadijah Renee

Protocol for guest singers night vocalists:
Thursday night is jazz night at Jamey's. We love RandB, blues, etc - but that's not what we do on Thursdays. Remembering this and following the guidelines below, prepare a list of the songs you want to do and the keys in which you do them. If you have videos of your versions of the tunes on line (e.g. YouTube), include links to them as a guide to your style. Our house band leader will contact you by email a few days ahead of your scheduled performance to get your list.

• 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 a dozen fresh cold brews on tap from our partners at Conshohocken Brewing Co as well as hard cider and premium PA wines and spirits, 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.