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This series was started in 1991 and has grown to become an international event, having played festivals and theatres like Nottonden Blues Fest (Norway), San Francisco Blues Fest., Chicago Blues Fest., Ultimate Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Pocanos Blues Fest., Mississippi Valley Blues Fest., American Music Fest. (Fitzgeralds), BB King's (NYC), Heritage Blues Fest., NY R & B Fest., King Biscuit Blues Fest., El Dorado Blues and Brews (Reno, NV), Edmonton Blues Fest., Yoshi's NiteClub, Monterey Jazz Fest., North Atlantic Blues Fest., and many other venues that have been sell-out shows. A list of performers that have played would take many pages but the short list is: John Mayall, John Hammond, Norton Buffalo, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, Huey Lewis, Curtis Salgado, Kim Wilson, Watermelon Slim, Sugar Ray Norcia, Kenny Neal, James Harman, Fingers Taylor, Snooky Pryor, Dave Earl, Rod Piazza, Magic Dick, William Clarke, Rick Estrin, Paul DeLay, Billy Branch, Lazy Lester, Carey Bell, Little Sonny, Paul Osher, Lee Oskar, Cephas and Wiggins, Gary Primich, Paul Rischell and Annie Raines, Carlos Del Junco, Sam Myers and many more! All the acts excepting acoustic duos are backed by the Blues Survivors. This is a sampling of some of the packages available to either tour through or fly in to your event. See if the package is already booked on the road by checking the Blowouts listed on the Calendar on this site. |
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JAMES COTTON - to many, is the last of the old guard 1950s Chicago Blues Harmonica greats. Cotton's bio reads like a who's who of Blues history: raised by Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) from age 12 to 15, at 17 yrs. old played in Howlin Wolf's band plus recorded his own sides at Sun Records in Memphis. Took Little Walters spot in Muddy Waters' band in 1957, then stayed 12 yrs., recording the historic LIVE AT NEWPORT LP on Chess records in 1960, among other great Muddy records. In 1966 Cotton started one of the great Chicago blues bands of all time with Luther Tucker, Francis Clay, Bob Anderson & others. They became one of the most in demand Chicago blues bands on the rock ballroom circuit. Cotton's band played regularly with Butterfield's band, Janis Joplin, Electric Flag, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead & every other 60s rock band in rock ballrooms all over the US ,thanks to manager Albert Grossman (Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin). Cotton remains a certified blues icon to this day and has won Grammys & Blues Awards galore! www.jamescottonsuperharp.com |
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CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE - is one of the most recognized names in Blues harmonica. Born in 1944 , Musselwhite has traveled the long road from backwoods Mississippi to a teenaged upbringing in Memphis, where he first heard and learned the blues from it's originators. On to the south side of Chicago, Charlie served his apprenticeship with Johnny Young & Big Walter Horton. By the mid '70s he & Paul Butterfield were the two trendsetting white bluesblowers in the biz. In the mid-'90s Charlie Musselwhite signed with Alligator Records and had a string of successful recordings. Musselwhite has recently hit his stride with Real World (Peter Gabriel's label) -- his newest being DELTA HARDWARE, a throwback to his early '60s sound with a little funky Mississippi mud in the grooves. Charlie Musselwhite has received several Grammy nominations and won 19 W.C. Handy Awards. Not bad for a southern country boy from Kosciusko, MS. www.charliemusselwhite.com |
MAGIC DICK - is the original harp man from the J. Geils Band, whose many hits flooded the airwaves during the 1970s and 1980s. Chart-toppers like "FreezeFrame", "Centerfold", "First I Look At The Purse", "Must a Got Lost", "Give It To Me" and Magic Dick's own "Wammer Jammer" were in the Top Ten off and on for 20 years and made them one of the few top bands(other then WAR) that featured a harmonica prominently in the frontline. Dick went on to start "Bluestime" with J. Geils after the original band broke up, making two CDs for Rounder Records. JERRY PORTNOY - hails from the Blues heavy Windy City of Chicago. Jerry started his career with Muddy Waters,whom he worked with for 12 years. After the band left Muddy, over a managerial dispute, Jerry started the Legendary Blues Band,with Pinetop Perkins, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. Louis Myers and Calvin Jones. It was only after leaving Ronnie Earl and the Broadcastasters, Portnoy got the call of a lifetime, when Eric Clapton asked him top join his band. Portnoy played harp for four years with Clapton all over the world and recorded on the "Live At Albert Hall","From The Cradle" and "Me and Mr. Johnson" discs. Portnoy's Harmonica Masterclass series has proved to be a huge selling instructional disc. www.harpmaster.com RICK ESTRIN - has been the harp wizard, frontman, singer, songwriter & master of ceremonies for Alligator recording artists Little Charlie & the Nightcats for over 30 yrs. More then a little of the bands' success can be attributed to Estrin's far reaching skills & humor. Estrin's won the Blues Music award a few times now thanks to his songwriting. Tunes like MY NEXT EX WIFE, DUMP THAT CHUMP, THINKING WITH THE WRONG HEAD and many other songs Rick has written have garnered him fans worldwide. Throw in Rick's colorful stage personna & offbeat humor and you have the makings for one of the most entertaining stage shows on the planet. Estrin is one of the most formidable harp men alive, offered the coveted harp chair in Muddy Waters' band in the early 70s. Rick Estrin on MySpace   Rick Estrin & Curtis Salgado |
 ABOVE PHOTO AVAILABLE IN HIGH RESOLUTION HERE LEE OSKAR - was born in Copenhagen, Denmark,moved to the States in the late sixties,and along with Eric Burdon,went on to become a founding member of the soul-funk-rock group WAR. Hits like "Lowrider", "World Is A Ghetto", "Spill The Wine", "Me And Baby Brother", and "Slippin Into Darkness" were huge records that got national airplay coast to coast and stayed high up in the charts for months. Oskar's unique approach to harmonica has earned him the distinction of being voted 1976's Instrumentalist Of The Year in three major music publications, Billboard, Cashbox and Record World. Lee went on to start the Lee Oskar Harmonica company in 1983,which is second only to Hohner Harmonicas in popularity and sales. www.leeoskar.com CURTIS SALGADO - first gained northwest fame in the mid 70s as the main frontman - singer in the early Robert Cray Band. At the time, Curtis probably did much or more singing then Cray, who prefered a more backseat role as bandleader. Salgado also played fiery harmonica in the band but when these two vocalists joined their voices in harmony, they truly soared. This was the main reason John Belushi started the Blues Brothers, while filming "Animal House" in Eugene,Or. Belushi would come and listen,hang out & pick Curtis's brain to get inspriration to start the Blues Bros.(the first TV performance & LP are dedicated to Salgado). After leaving Cray, Curt hooked up for a short stint with Roomful of Blues, while Ronnie Earl & Ron Levy were members. When Carlos Santana called Salgado to be his vocalist Curt couldn't say no but soon was ready to resume his own career. Salgado has been a major star in the NW but is just beginning to make a national name. Thanks to several releases on Shanachie records, Salgado's soulful pipes and powerful harp blowing are catching the public's ear finally. Curtis also is making a major comeback from a liver transplant & cancer scare. Now the rest of the world can hear what the NW as known for 25 years, that Salgado can sing & play with the best of them. |
 BILLY BOY ARNOLD - a contemporary of James Cotton and Jr. Wells. who started with Ellis McDaniels in Chicago in 1955,where they created the "Bo Diddley" sound at Chess Records. Billy Boy learned harp at the feet of the legendary John Lee"Sonny Boy" Williamson when Billy was just 12 yrs. old. Billy went on to record singles for VeeJay like "Wish You Would", "Ain't Got You" and "You Got Me Wrong" with an allstar band made up of Jody Williams, Otis Spann and Syl Johnson. Arnold has just released his Electro Fi Records debut CONSOLIDATED MOJO, which was produced by Hummel with backing by the Blues Survivors. www.electrofi.com JOHNNY DYER - was born in Rolling Fork,Ms.,the birthplace of Muddy Waters. Since that time , Dyer has aspired to recreated the Muddy sound in his voice and the Little Walter sound in his harmonica playing. Moving to Los Angeles,Ca. in the late 1950s Dyer became fast friends with George "Harmonica" Smith, "Shakey "Jake Harris ,"Big Mama" Thornton and "Pee Wee" Crayton. Dyer has recorded for Blind Pig, Black Top, Delta Groove(with the Mannish Boys) and most recently ROLLING FORK REVISTED(also produced by Hummel and backed by he and the band) on Mountain Top Records, which hit #3 on the Living Blues Charts. www.westcoastblues.com |
WATERMELON SLIM - (real name, Bill Homans) was born in Boston but raised in North Carolina, where, he says, he was first exposed to the blues at the age of five. He sang in choirs and glee clubs as a child, but he began seriously turning to music after a tour of duty in Vietnam that ended in 1970. He independently released the furiously antiwar album Merry Airbrakes in 1973. He founded a blues band , Fried Okra Jones, in the late '90s and has fronted them ever since with his raw, impassioned blues singing, harp playing, and impressive National Steel guitar style (which he plays left-handed). His songs feature subtle, intelligent twists (he is a member of MENSA, after all) while remaining undeniably in the blues tradition. Assembling a new band, the Workers, he released the hard-hitting and impressive Watermelon Slim & the Workers in 2006 on the Toronto-based Northern Blues label, following it a year later with The Wheel Man and with No Paid Holidays in 2008. Slim has racked up a host of BMAs (Blues Music Awards) in the last two years,while becoming one of the most popular blues acts on the circuit.www.watermelonslim.com JAMES HARMAN - was born and raised in Anniston,Al.,where he quickly pick up on the black blues and soul music being played on juke boxes and the radio in the Deep South. In Harman's teens, he started playing juke joints and dance clubs throughout the South in the early 1960's,recording many 45s for obscure labels. In 1968 Harman made the move to Southern California, where he eventually became freinds with Canned Heat, The Blasters, Hollywood Fats(who played in Harman's band for quite a spell),and many other famous musicians. Harman's music can be heard on labels like Enigma, Rhino , Black Top, and Cannonball. Harman is a one of a kind showman, vocalist, harp player and comic genius. www.jamesharman.com |
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