Wednesday
August 27

8:00PM

Early Show!

Chris Duarte
website >>
$10
Rhythmic style of Texas blues-rock that is at times reminiscent of Stevie Ray's sound, and at other times reminiscent of Johnny Winter. The truth is, Duarte has his own sound that draws on elements of jazz, blues and rock & roll…

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Thursday
August 28

9:30PM

Often imitated... the Open Jam has been a Thursday night tradition since 1992! The host band warms up the crowd from 9:30 to 10:30. Musicians, ranging from the accomplished professional to the inspired novice, are then invited to take the stage.  Unrehearsed and straight from the heart, this is some real Blues guaranteed to fill the house week after week. $3 Cover  photos >>

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Friday
August 29

9:30PM

Delta Highway
website >>
$8
In a generation that has forgotten its musical roots, Delta Highway breathes youth and energy back into the blues. With strong guitar sounds reminiscent of Muddy Waters and R.L. Burnside, combined with a progressive harmonica sound, this Memphis band has developed a style that is all their own and sure to please new and veteran blues fans alike.

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Saturday
August 30

9:30PM

Sonny Rhodes
website >>
$10
An accomplished showman, Sonny Rhodes born November 3, 1940 in Smithville, Texas, exposed to the diversities of country, gospel and blues, and inspired by the unique sound of the lap steel guitar in country music, incorporated this instrument into the heartbeat of his own style of blues music. Rhodes has recorded over two hundred songs since the '60s.. "I'm what you call a self-proclaimed Disciple of the Blues!" says Sonny about his years playin' and singin' for fans around the world. Blues is definitely his foundation but Sonny plays everything from Kansas City Swing Blues to Texas Boogie to Chicago Stomp to Blues-Rock.

In 1976, Sonny was honored for his cultural contribution to the arts by the Smithsonian Institute during the 200th Anniversary of United States of America. He has been nominated for numerous Blues Music Awards and was one of the major forces in establishing the San Francisco Blues Festival.

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Tuesday
Sept 2

8:00PM

Early Show!

Tommy Castro
website >>
$15
Worshipped for his guitar virtuosity, Castro throws a bit more rock and two bits of Memphis-style soul into his basic blues mix... He has the voice, the band and the guitar to pull it off." Hailed from the outset as one of the most electrifying and compelling live acts working today.

"The blues is in good hands. When someone has the right intentions, with sincerity, you can never go wrong. This is the person who has the voice, the sound, and the intentions to touch everybody's heart." - Carlos Santana

"A gifted lead guitarist firmly in touch with his lyrical voice, Castro writes an alluring blend of straight ahead blues and Memphis-style soul. While he has his own definable sound, Castro calls to mind great blues-rock players such as Billy Gibbons of Z.Z.Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan and even Duane Allman." - Blues Revue

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Wednesday
Sept 3

9:00PM

Matt Woods & the Thunderbolts
website >>
$3

Down-home, juke house blues... From the delta to the hills the Thunderbolts thumping rhythm and stomping slide workouts will remind you what real party music is meant to be. Guaranteed to make you shake your ass! HAVE A LISTEN >>

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Thursday
Sept 4

9:30PM

Often imitated... the Open Jam has been a Thursday night tradition since 1992! The host band warms up the crowd from 9:30 to 10:30. Musicians, ranging from the accomplished professional to the inspired novice, are then invited to take the stage.  Unrehearsed and straight from the heart, this is some real Blues guaranteed to fill the house week after week. $3 Cover  photos >>

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Friday
Sept 5

9:30PM

Ronnie Baker Brooks
website >>
$12
From Chicago - Son of the legendary Lonnie Brooks
"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."
- Andy Grigg, Real Blues Magazine

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Saturday
Sept 6

9:30PM

Blue Voodoo
website >>
$7
From Kirksville, MO, Blue Voodoo is a rockin' electric blues quartet featuring lead vocals by BJ Allen. Upbeat rockin' numbers to sultry soul/blues.

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Tuesday
Sept 9

9:00PM

Bob Pace & the Blues Groove
No Cover
website >>

Five piece rhythm & blues band, with the emphasis on the blues!

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Wednesday
Sept 10

9:00PM

Matt Woods & the Thunderbolts
website >>
$3

Down-home, juke house blues... From the delta to the hills the Thunderbolts thumping rhythm and stomping slide workouts will remind you what real party music is meant to be. Guaranteed to make you shake your ass! HAVE A LISTEN >>

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Thursday
Sept 11

9:30PM

Often imitated... the Open Jam has been a Thursday night tradition since 1992! The host band warms up the crowd from 9:30 to 10:30. Musicians, ranging from the accomplished professional to the inspired novice, are then invited to take the stage.  Unrehearsed and straight from the heart, this is some real Blues guaranteed to fill the house week after week. $3 Cover  photos >>

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Friday
Sept 12

9:30PM
 

Johnny Rawls

$10
Johnny describes his style as "between gospel, blues and good hard soul music" which sums things up nicely. There are elements of all these styles but he leans decidedly toward classic southern soul and he makes no bones about it. Johnny Rawls is a soul man. It was the legendary O.V. Wright, "the man with the tear in his voice", who influenced Rawls the most. Johnny was Wright's guitarist and bandleader from 1974 until his death "It was a great experience playing with him, I learned a lot. He was one of the greatest singers that has ever lived. He was a friend of mine. See, we was like brothers. I picked up a lot of soul influences from him."

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Saturday
Sept 13

9:30PM
 

Scottie Miller Band
website >>
$7
Scott Miller and his band perform a wide range of Contemporary New Orleans/Delta/Barrelhouse/Piano Blues, with rich and soulful vocals. His piano playing re-kindles the long lost styles and spirits of legendary players like Professor Longhair, Otis Spann, and Pinetop Perkins.

Former Pianist/Organist/Songwriter with Big John Dickerson and Blue Chamber 1998-2001. Wrote and co-wrote songs on the 1999 CD release, “ARMS OF THE BLUES” (Cannonball Records), such as; “How Long”, When the Sun Goes Down”, and “When I’m Gone”. Produced by Jim Gaines. Toured Europe including, Paris, Athens, Belgium, Budapest, Berlin, Switzerland etc…as well as USA. Performing with and opening for blues icons; Buddy Guy, Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets with Sam Meyers, Coco Montoya, The Blues Brothers Band, Bobby Blue Bland and more. They headlined countless Jazz and Blues Festivals throughout the world. MORE>>

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Tuesday
Sept 16

9:00PM

Bob Pace & the Blues Groove
No Cover
website >>

Five piece rhythm & blues band, with the emphasis on the blues!

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Wednesday
Sept 17

9:00PM

Matt Woods & the Thunderbolts
website >>
$3

Down-home, juke house blues... From the delta to the hills the Thunderbolts thumping rhythm and stomping slide workouts will remind you what real party music is meant to be. Guaranteed to make you shake your ass! HAVE A LISTEN >>

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Thursday
Sept 18

9:30PM

Often imitated... the Open Jam has been a Thursday night tradition since 1992! The host band warms up the crowd from 9:30 to 10:30. Musicians, ranging from the accomplished professional to the inspired novice, are then invited to take the stage.  Unrehearsed and straight from the heart, this is some real Blues guaranteed to fill the house week after week. $3 Cover  photos >>

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Friday
Sept 19

9:30PM
 

Anthony Gomes & the New Soul Cowboys
website >>
$10
Saddle up with Anthony Gomes and the New Soul Cowboys, as the acclaimed tough-rockin' soulful singer-guitarist and his band are ready to take on the world.  Drawing on the musical core that links blues, rock, soul and country, he's joined by his rough 'n' tumble Nashville-based outfit, the New Soul Cowboys.

"First and fore most, we are Southern Rock," Gomes says. "We mine rock, blues, country and gospel in our soul sonic force." The bands scorch and riot sound is definitely right in line with the best of Southern Rock past and today's roadhouse blues and rockin' country. In fact, a Soul Cowboy alumnus is none other than that Redneck Woman herself Gretchen Wilson, right out of the Nashville "Music Mafia".

"There's a place on the sonic landscape where Jimi Hendrix, Hank Williams Jr. and Muddy Waters all meet. That's where we live," Gomes says. "It's like the four corners; we are the four horsemen, the four aces."

The group's Southern Rock credentials are unquestionable. They collaborated with Jim Peterik, chief songwriter for .38 Special, and Tom Hambridge who writes with Skynyrd and Van Zant. Gomes has shared the stage with Gretchen Wilson, Big and Rich, James Otto and blues legends BB King and Buddy Guy. The group also tears it up live and has played shows with Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, the Doobie Brothers, and Cross Canadian Ragweed, among others.

The songs say it all: "Rebel Highway," "Purple Whiskey Sack," and that musical mission statement, "New Soul Cowboy." The crunchy "What It's All About" is a prime slice of catchy-riffing Southern Rock while "Born To Ride" is roadhouse blues and southern fried. The wild wild west gets wilder in the stompin' "Painted Horse," a motorcycle anthem if there was one, with it's you-can't-help-but-sing-along "bang bang bang giddy-up bang bang" chorus, plus references to Hendrix and Johnny Cash as Rock and Country history share a beer and a shot bellying' up to the bar.

"We're like a Hillbilly Guns N Roses," Gomes says. "We aren't afraid to rock, but we have some dust on our cowboy boots."

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Saturday
Sept 20

9:30PM
 

Joanna Connor
website >>
$10
The Chicago Sun Times called her “a powerhouse guitarist with a sense of rock dynamics – her playing has a fire that is free of self-indulgence”.

"From the root to the fruit, from the seed to the flower," Joanna Connor presents an intense, high-energy, rhythmic, virtuostic, guitar-driven musical experience. Pushing the envelope of the blues by combining funk, rock and world beat, audiences are compelled to get on their feet. Joanna's soulful voice and guitar mastery has received accolades from publications such as Guitar Player, Guitar World, The Village Voice, Playboy Magazine, Billboard, Downbeat, Relix, and most major newspapers. She has shared the stage and toured with Jimmy Page, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Robert Cray, Poi Dog Pondering, Luther and Bernard Allison, Albert Collins, and Los Lobos.

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Sunday
Sept 21

Iowa Blues Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremony

details will follow when available

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Tuesday

Sept 23

8:00PM
Early Show!

Affrissippi
website >>
$8
From desert trance marches to fisherman chanteys, Afrissippi channels ancestral African boogies & today's Mississippi hill country groove through the Delta Recording style to give birth to a brand new sound.

The nucleus of the band was born when Eric Deaton, apprentice of the late Junior Kimbrough, invited West African griot Guelel Kumba to explore the hill country sound of North Mississippi. Eric brought Guelel to the home of legendary bluesman R.L. Burnside where they quickly realized and naturally explored the eerie similarities between many of Guelel's Fulani folk melodies and these two patriarchs of north Mississippi hill country boogie and cotton patch trance blues.

With R.L.'s blessing, Guelel & Eric recruited his son and grandson, Garry & Cedric Burnside, as Afrissippi's rhythm section. When they left to launch Burnside Exploration, Kumba brought aboard Junior's son and drummer, Kinney Kimbrough of Chulahoma and bassist Justin Showah (Cary Hudson Trio, Taylor Grocery Band) of Oxford. Afrissippi features a revolving cast of guest artists including Memphis horn legend Herman Green (B.B. King, Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis), and wordsmith and American rebel soul hero John Sinclair.

Guelel Kumba lives on a tall hill in Oxford, Mississippi, and comes from the Fulani people of West Africa, the largest nomadic group in the world.! His first instrument as a child was the molo, a single gut string attached to a small gourd.! Eric Deaton accepted boogie music as his saviour at age 14 and cut his teeth playing with Junior Kimbrough & R.L. Burnside every Sunday night at Junior's Place! Kinney Kimbrough played drums with his father Junior, in & around Chulahoma, Mississippi his entire life. His beats hold the secrets of the backwoods discogroove.

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Wednesday
Sept 24

9:00PM

Matt Woods & the Thunderbolts
website >>
$3

Down-home, juke house blues... From the delta to the hills the Thunderbolts thumping rhythm and stomping slide workouts will remind you what real party music is meant to be. Guaranteed to make you shake your ass! HAVE A LISTEN >>

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Thursday
Sept 25

9:30PM

Often imitated... the Open Jam has been a Thursday night tradition since 1992! The host band warms up the crowd from 9:30 to 10:30. Musicians, ranging from the accomplished professional to the inspired novice, are then invited to take the stage.  Unrehearsed and straight from the heart, this is some real Blues guaranteed to fill the house week after week. $3 Cover  photos >>

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Friday

Sept 26

9:30PM
 

Matthew Skoller Band
website >>
$8
Matthew Skoller is considered one of Chicago's top harp blowers and band leaders. For the past 20 years he has played in some of Chicago's heaviest showcase venues and toured much of the world with his ensembles. Deeply rooted in the tradition of the Chicago blues elders with whom he worked and studied, Skoller has developed a unique style that conjures the past while being firmly planted in the present. His blues wardrobe, clothes a range of original songs whose subject matter comments on many of the issues and realities of life during this age of technology, information and upheaval. Skoller, known for his fiery and engaging performances combines passionate harp playing and singing with original songwriting and prodigious production skills making him one Chicago's most accomplished blues-based artists.

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Saturday

Sept 27

9:30PM
 

Davina & the Vagabonds
website >>
$7

Sowers is a classically trained pianist, originally from Florida, who now calls Minnesota her home. With years of experience in piano performance, she can belt it out with the grit of Joplin or bring down the house with melodic phrasing that reminds one of Bonnie Raitt. Sowers says she grew up listening to jazz standards on her father’s old Victrola record player. “The rasp and the tonal quality put a twisted edge on those standards,” she says. She earned her music degree in music composition and has since shared the stage with Little Feat, Buddy Guy, Elvin Bishop, The Lamont Cranston Band, and The Blues Brothers, among others. Check out Davina's MySpace here>>

photo by Jeff Peabody

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Tuesday
Sept 30

9:00PM

Bob Pace & the Blues Groove
No Cover
website >>

Five piece rhythm & blues band, with the emphasis on the blues!

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Wednesday

Oct 1

8:00PM
Early Show!
 

Albert Cummings
website >>
$10
Breaking every cliché associated with the blues while producing some of the most powerful music of the 21st century comes as natural to Albert Cummings as swinging a hammer while constructing one of his award-winning custom built homes. The Massachusetts native learned the requisite three chords on the guitar from his father, but then switched to playing banjo at age 12 and became a fan of bluegrass music. Like everything he tackles, he threw himself headlong into the pursuit, going to festivals and winning several picking contests in high school. Before graduating he heard the early recordings of Stevie Ray Vaughan, however, and was floored by the virtuosity. While in college in 1987 he saw Vaughan perform and he returned to the guitar with a new outlook and resolve. Not until he was 27, an age when other musicians were either already established or had long ago put their dream aside for the realities of life, did Albert finally decide to go for it.

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Friday

Oct 3

9:30PM
 

Moreland & Arbuckle
website >>
$8
Myth-making and myth-busting is what the blues has always been about. For example: There are intersections where roads cross in the rural South, but there is no “crossroads.” The roots of the blues originate in Africa, but the music did not exist until the African and Anglo traditions met and commingled in post-Civil War America. The death of the blues gets predicted with numbing repetition, but then is regularly “reborn” for an audience hungry for spiritual nourishment.

The great state of Kansas is best known for producing “Dorothy” and a bombastic rock band in the 1970s. Until now. Enter Moreland & Arbuckle fresh from the heartland with their hair-raising mix of stomping Mississippi Hill Country, Delta and rural blues. Reaching the finals at the 2005 International Blues Competition in Memphis allowed them to bust out of their regional confines after performing together for only three years, and since then the dynamic duo have taken their emotionally searing music around the world.

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Saturday

Oct 4

9:30PM
 

Lamont Cranston Band
website >>
$10
"No one infects venues with the party virus quite like Pat Hayes and the Lamont Cranston Band. They've always been my favorite." - Elwood Blues aka Dan Aykroyd

"It's great to hear Lamont Cranston back on the scene. Pat Hayes plays some of the baddest harp and guitar around." - Bonnie Raitt

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Saturday

Oct 11

9:30PM
 

Too Slim & the Taildraggers
website >>
$10
Tim "Too Slim" Langford, with his band the Taildraggers, have created an eclectic style of Roots-Rock, Americana, and Blues, that has become a genre all its own. Too Slim's ever evolving musical direction cannot be classified into any box or category. The eclectic nature of the band allows Too Slim and the Taildraggers to easily cross-over and appeal to audiences of various musical tastes. Too Slim and the Taildraggers are amongst the lineage of talented artists cultivated from the world famous northwest music scene. This award winning band has been voted the Best Regional act, 10 times by the Cascade Blues Association, the largest organization of it's kind in the USA. Too Slim and the Taildraggers have multiple awards from various NW Reader's Polls and other NW Blues Societies for Best Band and Best Album. Founding member Tim ''Too Slim" Langford has won multiple individual awards as Best Guitarists, Best Slide Guitarist, and Best Songwriter. Too Slim and the Taildraggers are in the Hall of Fame in three NW Blues Societies. Their devoted fan base has grown over the years into a National and International following. Experiencing a Too Slim and the Taildragger concert is like taking a journey through the history of American music. Too Slim's music style ranges from down home blues , funky blues rock, americana, southern swamp rock, and instrumental guitar styles.

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Saturday

Oct 18

9:30PM
 

The Bel Airs
website >>
$10
Living on the road and playing clubs from "Austin to Boston", the Bel Airs are carrying on the tradition of American Rhythm and Blues. Their signature "big guitar" sound and howling vocals over soulful rhythm playing make this trio a powerhouse.

Fronted by brothers Dick and Dave Pruitt on bass and electric guitars, with Michael Cherry on drums, the Bel Airs play a danceable mix with an authentic but eclectic bluesy-country-soul-and-rock-n-roll sound influenced by the likes of Wilson Picket, Slim Harpo, Howlin' Wolf and Johnny Cash. Performing together for more than 20 years, the Pruitt brothers' harmony vocal style sets them apart in the contemporary music scene--leading one reviewer to refer to them as the "Everly Brothers of Blues". David's "big guitar" and Dick's howling vocals over soulful, right-on rhythm playing make this trio a powerhouse.

"Rollicking party blues." Blues Revue

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Saturday

Oct 25

9:30PM
 

Bruce Katz
website >>
$10
"Katz showcases his jazz-meets-blues chops on both the Hammond B-3 organ and piano, with the results sounding something like a progressive, post-bop jazz group heavily into early-period Ray Charles......rootsy and intelligent improvisational music."- Matt Collar, All Music Guide To Blues

"Katz is a killer on the B-3!" - Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times

Bruce Katz occupies a unique space where blues, jazz, rock, soul, and the many aspects of Americana all collide into a style of original instrumental music all his own. He is as comfortable playing "soul-jazz" on the Hammond organ as he is playing 1930's style stride piano or the meanest slow blues.

Over the past twenty years, Bruce has been an in-demand sideman as well as leading his own band. He has played and recorded with many of the leading names in blues and roots music, such as Ronnie Earl, Duke Robillard, Levon Helm, Emmylou Harris, David "Fathead" Newman, Jerry Portnoy, Little Milton, JImmy Witherspoon, Big Mama Thornton, Mighty Sam McClain, Debbie Davies and many others. MORE>>

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Sunday

Oct 26

???PM

Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band
website >>
$10
Chubby Carrier is undeniably "The World's Premier Zydeco Showman." He and his Bayou Swamp band take their highly infectious dance music to clubs, theaters and festivals throughout the United States, Canada and Europe more than 275 nights a year. The Chicago Tribune called them "one of the finer standard bearers of the classic, blues-based zydeco sound among the new generation of Louisiana bands."

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Friday

Oct 31

9:30PM

Gina Sicilia
website >>
$10
Philadelphia's own Gina Sicilia began singing at the age of three and hasn't stopped since. Exposed to music early on by her parents, Gina grew up listening to Doo-Wop and the music of the 50s & 60s. Upon hearing blues legend Bobby Bland for the first time at the age of 14, she was instantly enthralled by the raw emotion and power of blues & soul. After years of polishing her vocal and songwriting skills, she began singing in clubs around the Philadelphia area, and began performing at such acclaimed venues as Warmdaddy's, Steel City Coffee House, AJ's Blue Thursdays, Scotland Yard and the Bluetone Café.

Gina uniquely separates herself from the pack of current vocalists with a style that is neither forced nor cliché.

He debut album, "Allow Me To Confess",  was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2008. The record is a reflection of Gina's diverse musical talent and tastes, and of the years she spent honing her vocal chops and songwriting skills. The album consists of eleven soul-stirring tracks, eight of which were written by Gina herself. As a songwriter, Gina has proven herself to have a deep understanding of American roots music, as well as the ability to compose music that perfectly suits her unique persona. Her expertly crafted songs pay homage to the great roots music of the past, which has inspired Gina throughout the years, and now comes full circle to help her create her own distinct voice in this American art form.

Gina's potential as a vocalist and songwriter is boundless. She is sure to make her mark among a new generation of blues artists.

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