Toni has just received her 5th W.C. Handy Award nomination for Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year, and we are super excited about her new CD, Been So Long. Produced by Duke Robillard, Been So Long is Toni's bluesiest album to date, and features a ton of superb old material from the likes of Bessie Smith. Of course, Toni's band is just superb - and Duke also chimes in with some nifty guitar picking!
The ascendance of bassist Jaco Pastorius in the 1970s was a singular phenomenon in the evolution of jazz, with an impact that continues to transcend genres & resonate among his army of disciples more than a decade after his untimely passing. From the mid '70s to the mid '80s - a relatively short span by most standards - Jaco single-handedly shattered the boundaries of the electric bass & redefined its potential across all idioms of music.
The performance will be part of the annual So. Fla.
Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88's are the torch bearers of a great American musical heritage. Taking their inspiration from the great jump n' boogie outfits and swingin' little big bands of the 40's, they breathe fresh life into the vanishing brand of music that gave birth to rock n' roll. Mitch takes his cue from his jumpin', n, jivin', shoutin' n' honkin', pumpin' n' poundin' predecessors, Louis Jordan, Cab Calloway, Joe and Jimmie Liggins, Louis Prima, just to name a few. Friday Nov. 19
TiSHAMiNGo is a gathering of long-time friends originally from Tallahassee, Florida. Their brand of music is blues-based rock & roll with soulful singing, honest lyrics, and two-guitar interplay reminiscent of the bands that have inspired them throughout the years. You'll hear how the rock, blues, and soul music of the late 60s and early-to-mid 70s, as well as growing up in the swampy wetlands of North Florida has influenced these guys' playing and writing.
Ann Rabson has been playing & singing the blues professionally since 1962. A member of SaffireThe Uppity Blues Women, she also performs solo and with various other bands. Sun 11/21
Anthony Gomes is an artist who has fused the sum of his influences into something that is truly fresh and exciting. Drawing from Soul, Gospel, Rock, and R&B, then blending it all together with blues, Gomes has created a sound that is uniquely his own. In the process, he is leaving his imprint on American Roots music.
Few are those whose music will tickle your fancy and kick your ass, fewer still the practitioners who choose to do both in ways that lovingly leave you in a better place for having had such an out-of-mind experience. Poet, philosopher, parlor psychic and vocal expressionist Bruce Hampton (AKA The Colonel) has been at it on the outside looking out, making music for better than 30 years now, long enough to make it a pleasure, sir, and also a custom. WEB SITE Sat. Nov 20
KENNY NEAL and
BILLY BRANCH
With the tragic deaths of so many blues legends in the past year, the blues suddenly belongs to a new generation. Kenny Neal, undeniably one of the brightest young stars, is poised to take center stage & lead the blues in dynamic new directions.
Billy Branch has followed a very non-traditional path to the blues. Unlike many blues artists, he isn't from the South. Billy was born in Chicago was raised in LA. He first picked up a harmonica at the age of ten and immediately began to play simple tunes. Sat. Nov 20
born in Newbridge, Wales, in 1947, Kim is considered a legendary blues guitarist by almost any musical standard. He has even been called one of the founding fathers of British blues by some. Besides his mastery with the guitar, he can hold his own with vocals, piano, harmonica, and even Dobro. The strength of his talent and his willingness to hang tough when weaker men would toss in the towel have carried him through more than three decades in the survive-if-you-can music business. Sat. Nov. 20
Richard Johnston is at the forefront for a new generation of country blues artists. In light of the recent explosion of North Mississippi hill country music onto the blues, rock, jam, & country scenes, artists like R.L. Burnside and the North Mississippi All stars and Buddy Guy have been brought into the spotlight. Now, an artist has emerged that is forcing all involved to listen up and listen hard.
What can we say about Buddy..he's been a Musicians Exchange favorite from the early 80's when he was touring w/Jr Wells. He's Chicago's blues king today, ruling his domain just as his idol and mentor Muddy Waters did before him. Yet there was a time, and not all that long ago either, when Buddy Guy couldn't even negotiate a decent record deal. Times sure have changed for the better -- Guy's first three albums for Silvertone in the '90s all earned Grammys.
Sammy Figueroa has long been regarded as one of the greatest percussionists in the musical world. He has played on countless records, providing the rhythmical framework for hundreds of hits. Well-known for his versatility and professionalism, he is one of the few percussionists equally comfortable in a multitude of styles, from R & B to rock to pop to bebop to Latin to New Age. After a long career as a sideman, Sammy has evolved into the leader of one of the most exciting groups in Latin jazz, the Latin Jazz Explosion.
"A smokin' band that delivers a funky blues/rock hybrid with load of soul. Here is a new, exceptional blues star who is ready, willing and able to carry the torch into the next century."
Veteran blues harpist James Cotton, a veteran of the Chicago blues tradition who ran with Muddy Waters' pack during the '50s and '60s, is returning to the Riverwalk. James has been playing festivals and clubs for the Musicians Exchange since the early 80's. Like Buddy Guy, James Cotton is one of the greatest living legends of the Blues!
Baltimore-based JUNKYARD SAINTS have performed with such notables as BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO and the IGUANAS, and have appeared at the Twist & Shout Club, The Fort Lauderdale Crawfish Festival, First
Night Annapolis and on 103.1 WRNR Annapolis and National Public Radio.
"Ball is the bayou queen of the piano, steeped in blues and honky-tonk. When revved.. she's a rollicking dynamo spewing heat-seeking triplets from the ivories while her horn-driven band wails. She's also a subtle songwriter & a formidable singer with a wisp of huskiness edging her Cajun-Texan twang." - Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Raucous, Piano-based Dixie R&Bclassic Southern songcraft and passion." - Chicago Tribune
Texas born blues guitarist who has been winning rave reviews at the blues festivals that he has played on recently. Smooth blues guitar, outstanding vocals and a bonafided crowd pleaser. New on the scene but not new playing the blues.
Singer/Saxophonist/Songwriter extraordinaire Terry Hanck hails from Chicago,IL where, as a youngster, he was heavily influenced by the blues, soul & jazz music of the late 1950's and early 1960's . Around 1965, Terry moved to California where he has been perfecting his talents ever since. In 1977 Terry started a 10 yr stint with the Elvin Bishop group, letting the good times roll. Bishop, recognizing a great talent, often shared the spotlight with Hanck, whose ease on stage and rapport with his audiences quickly garnered him a reputation as a dynamic and powerful front man. So much so, in fact, that in 1987, Terry set out on his own. His music has elements of New Orleans gumbo, Kansas City jump, & East Bay funk.
Mrs. Sharrie Williams Is the Voice! A galactic vocal force to be reckoned with, a ragging flame of fire that has been sprayed with gasoline, she has a message burning within her soul. Sharrie has a powerful voice, with a range that can reach and rattle the castle tower one minute, while soothing the soul of a crying child the next.
COREY HARRIS who was scheduled to Play Friday Night for the closing party has taken a European tour for that week and has asked that we release him from his contract and we have.
We have replaced Corey Harris with
JANIVA MAGNESS
for the Friday Night
Closing Party on the So. Fla Blues Society Stage.
Nick Curran and The Nitelites are disbanding and Nick is moving on to play with The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
The Delta Blues sound spawned Hot Tuna; a three decade wonder band with one of the most faithful audiences in popular music, spanning 25 years & a prodigious recording longevity of over 27 albums
FRIDAY NOV. 19
Janiva Magness
WC Handy Award nominee, Janiva Magness, continues to expand her horizons on her 2004 recording, Bury Him At The Crossroads (NorthernBlues Music). Music critics worldwide from publications such as Billboard, Downbeat, Blues Revue and Living Blues have been touting her recording and performing virtues for nearly two decades. With the release of her 6th CD, and a relentless international touring schedule, Magness proves to be a major player on the modern blues music scene. In fact, harp master Charlie Musselwhite asserts, "Janiva Magness always knocks me out because she has such style and poise on stage and she hits every note she sings just right - perfect every time."
Chubby Carrier... is undeniably "The World's Premier Zydeco Showman." Born on July 1, 1967 in Churchpoint, Louisiana, Chubby is the third generation of zydeco artists with
such famous relatives as Roy Carrier (father), Warren Carrier (grandfather), and cousins Bebe and Calvin Carrier who are presently considered legends in zydeco history.
Chubby was one of the original Zydeco acts introduced to So. FL audiences by the Musicians Exchange in the early 80's.
We are very excited to once again ad Chubby to one of our events.
FRIDAY NIGHT IS PARTY NIGHT, AS THE FESTIVAL KICKS OFF WITH SOME ALL TIME GREAT PARTY BANDS INCLUDING CHUBBY CARRIER! CHUBBY'S WEB
163 Unsigned artists from around the country submitted press kits to perform at this year's festival. It was a hard choice, but 3 Acts were selected to perform on the So. FL Blues Society Stage Saturday Afternoon. Two have confirmed so far..
Michael 'Blind-Dog' Gatewood
is a native of the Motor City and has been a music teacher, instrument technician and professional musician since the age of 16. His early exposure to some of the diverse musical influences in Detroit created the framework for his extensive mastery of the blues via R&B, funk, rock, and fusion. He is an award-winning one-man act who has polished his chops in places as far-flung as the Sierra foothills, the Mojave Desert, Mississippi delta and the streets of New Orleans. In September, 2002 he took the first prize in Colorado at the Telluride Acoustic Blues Competition.
"I use to think that the most important thing was to get signed by a major label. That still may happen one day but I am not in a rush to sign with just anyone because I have learned that the most important thing is to 1st find out who you are as a musician and then stay true to yourself. If and when the time is right the label deal will take care of itself. Right now I just want to keep writing songs and keep performing and continuing to grow and develop into the artist I am suppose to be. If I could tour with anyone it would be Etta James, Bonnie Raitt or Aretha Franklin "
At 16 years old, this beautiful talented young women from Collierville, TN has quite a career to look forward to.
