Samantha Fish w/ special guest Jesse Dayton Band
JD Simo & Patrick Sweany
JD SimoRather than simply roll up to those fabled crossroads of blues lore, JD Simo builds a bridge by hand. The Chicago born and Nashville based singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer connects the missing link between Motown and Woodstock as he fuses fluid and fiery fretwork with vital and vulnerable vocals. JD has been acclaimed byRolling Stone, NPR, Guitar Player, Relix, No Depression, and more…. Logging hundreds of gigs annually, he has collaborated with Jack White, Tommy Emmanuel,Luther Dickinson and Blackberry Smoke among others. Not to mention, he graced the bills of festivals, including Bonnaroo, Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, and Mountain Jam. Phil Lesh, iconic co-founder of The Grateful Dead, invited him to join Phil Lesh and Friends. Meanwhile, JD’s 2019 solo album, Off At 11, incited fan fervor and tastemaker praise. Billboard claimed the record “channels forbearers such as Jimi Hendrix, Santana and the Allman Brothers Band,” and Guitar World dubbed it, “another step toward the 34-year-oldChicago native establishing himself as a contemporary blues rock giant.”Patrick SweanyPatrick Sweany lives for the Grooves. Whether it’s the ones he records on his albums, the ones he lays down with his band on the stage, or the ones that define his days writing songs and living life in his E. Nashville neighborhood, the Grooves are what have propelled Sweany through 20+ years of performing and recording across 8 studio albums and dozens of countries around the world. Being in the Groove is Sweany’s recipe for success. To say 2020 has disrupted these Grooves, is a severe understatement. The cancellation of live music in the U.S. for the past several months initially ground Sweany’s Groove to a halt. However, it hasn’t all been bad. The time away from the road and away from the studio has forced some introspection and reflection. Serendipitously, Sweany had begun a new experiment in 2019 teaming up with Andrew Trube and Anthony Farrell (the Austin duo known as Greyhounds) to rework and re-record some of his oldest compositions. Taking songs from his first two records, Sweany headed into Bud’s recording Services, Greyhounds’ studio while on tour in Texas. Together with his touring band, Sweany reworked about a dozen older songs, and even tracked a cover and a never-released tune. The experience was rewarding and fun, but with tour dates pending, the rough tracks sat on the shelf for several more months. Once back in Nashville, Sweany began working with local producer Dexter Green at 3 Sirens Studio. Dex began meticulously shaping and mixing them, and Get That Feeling was born. Nine Mile Records is releasing two batches of these recordings (volumes I & II) in 2020 and 2021 while Sweany writes and records another full-length album of new compositions. The songs represent both a look back over Sweany’s long career, and new collaborations that showcase some sides of Patrick’s songs you might find surprising. It’s never too late to find a new Groove.
Tab Benoit and special guest: Lightnin’ Malcolm
Tab Benoit is a Grammy nominated singer, songwriter and guitarist who has built a remarkable 30+ year career on the foundation of his gritty and soulful Delta swamp blues, acquiring a devoted legion of fans along the way, as well as 5 Blues Music Awards, including BB King Entertainer of the Year (twice) and an induction into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. He has recorded and/or performed with Junior Wells, George Porter Jr, Dr. John, Willie Nelson, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Billy Joe Shaver, Maria Muldaur, James Cotton, Cyril Neville, Kenny Aronoff, Allen Toussaint, Kim Wilson, Jimmy Thackery, Charlie Musslewhite, Kenny Neal, Chris Layton, Ivan Neville, Jimmy Hall, Jim Lauderdale, Anders Osborne, and Alvin Youngblood Hart to name a few. Tab’s accomplishments as a musician are matched only by his devotion to the environmental health of his native Louisiana wetlands. Benoit is the founder and driving force behind Voice of the Wetlands, an organization working to preserve the coastal waters of his home state. In 2010, he received the Governor’s Award for Conservationist of the Year from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. Benoit also starred in the iMax motion picture Hurricane on the Bayou, a documentary of Hurricane Katrina’s effects and a call to protect and restore the wetlands.
Duwayne Burnside
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Duwayne Burnside is one of 14 children born to legendary North Mississippi musician R.L. Burnside and his wife, Alice. He has been a frequent performer with the North Mississippi Allstars since the early 1990s, when that group, fronted by Luther and Cody Dickinson, formed. The young Burnside learned his first few guitar licks and chords from his father, but proved a quick study and soon began playing with local club owner Junior Kimbrough and the Soul Blues Boys. He recorded for Hightone and Fat Possum Records with his father’s group before moving to Memphis, where he opened his own club, Burnside Kitchen and Grill, near Highway 61. In 1998, Duwayne traveled to Los Angeles to record his first album, Live at the Mint, as Duwayne Burnside & the Mississippi Mafia. After returning to Memphis, he decided to take a break from the bar business and settled back home in Holly Springs. In 2001, he joined the North Mississippi Allstars on-stage for the first time in Birmingham, Alabama, and that led to incessant touring with the band. He recorded with them on their third album, Polaris, and is featured on two of the group’s EP’s. In 2004, he opened another version of the Burnside Blues Cafe in Holly Springs and formed a new band that fused soul blues with hill country blues. His albums under his own name include Live at the Mint (1998) and Under Pressure (2005), both for B.C. Records. An album celebrating his father’s life and music remains in the works. One of the last things he asked his father to do — R.L. Burnside passed at age 80 in 2005 — was sing with him at the massive, popular Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee. Burnside continues to tour, helping to keep the North County, Mississippi hill-style blues flourishing.
Tinsely Ellis
According to AllMusic.com, “Ellis’ playing underscores the emotional depth in the lyrics. His meaty solos dig deep.” With Devil May Care, Ellis proves that true again, with ten jaw-dropping, career-topping performances. As he continues adding more dates to his already packed tour schedule, Ellis will bring his high-energy Southern blues-rock to fans all across the country. “It’s been a long 18 months,” he says, “and now folks are ready to have some fun.”
An Evening with Tommy Castro & The Painkillers’ 30th Anniversary
“The hardest thing to do,” says internationally beloved soul-blues rocker Tommy Castro, “is be yourself, take some chances and bring your fans along with you.” Throughout his long, constantly evolving career, guitarist, singer and songwriter Tommy Castro has always remained true to himself while exploring, growing and creating new music, and he has taken his thousands of devoted fans right along with him. Since his solo debut in 1994, he’s made 16 albums—the last seven for Alligator—each its own unique chapter in the book of Tommy Castro. Ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll, each release is solidly built upon Castro’s unshakable musical foundation—a dynamic mix of 1960s-influenced guitar-fueled blues, testifying Memphis-soaked blue-eyed soul and Latin-tinged East San Jose funk, all driven by Castro’s grab-you-by-the-collar vocals and passionate guitar work. Blues Revue declared, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong. ”For Castro’s new album, a roots music odyssey entitled Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town, he tells a timeless story. This special project was composed by Castro along with Grammy Award-winning producer Tom Hambridge. Through its 13 songs, A Bluesman Came To Town tells the tale of a young man working on his family farm who gets bitten by the blues bug. He masters the guitar and heads out on the road seeking fame and fortune, only to find what he’s left behind is the treasure he’s been looking for. Each memorable song—from the blistering title track to the pleading Child Don’t Go to the hopeful I Caught A Break to the emotional Blues Prisoner—stands on its own, as well as contributing to the larger story.“I like to keep things fresh and interesting,” says Castro, “Tom and I have talked about making a record together for a long time. Collaborating with him was even better than I imagined. I had an outline for the story and then Tom and I talked it out and the songs just started to organically grow out of each other.” Castro continues, “A Bluesman Came To Town isn’t a story about me. It’s pulled from some of my friends’ and my experiences though. I’ve seen first-hand for a lot of years what it’s like out there on the road. ”The road has always been Castro’s home away from home. He’ll instantly ignite a crowd, turn them into loyal fans and then keep those fans coming back for more. He has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles and performed thousands of gigs, leading his bands at clubs, concert halls, and festivals all over the world. After a series of successful releases on the Blind Pig, Telarc and 33rd Street labels, Tommy Castro joined Alligator Records in 2009. His label debut, Hard Believer, was released to massive popular and critical acclaim. With the album, Castro won four of his six career Blues Music Awards, including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award (the very highest award a blues performer can receive). In 2012, Castro stripped his music down to its raw essence, creating a high-energy, larger-than-life sound with the formation of The Painkillers. Tommy Castro & The Painkillers’ initial release, The Devil You Know, was embraced by his legion of fans and discovered by hordes of new ones. With the current version of The Painkillers (bassist Randy McDonald, drummer Bowen Brown and keyboardist Michael Emerson), Castro released Method To My Madness in 2015, Stompin’ Ground in 2017, and the irresistible Killin’ It–Live in 2019, with critics shouting praise and admirers cheering the group’s every move.
BLOOD BROTHERS – Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia
Blood Brothers 2022 BioMike Zito and Albert Castiglia come together to create a musicaljourney unlike anything seen before in the Blues and Roots genre.Armed with a history of the Blues and Rock ’n’ Roll, they bring bothbands together to create the tour of 2022, “Blood Brothers.”Mike Zito is a 5 time Blues Music Award Winner and Albert Castiglia isthe 2020 BMA award winner for Blues Rock Album of the Year,“Masterpiece.” With both artists on the exciting Gulf Coast Recordslabel, it only made sense to join forces and give the fans what theywanted.For over 45 years combined in the music business, Zito and Castigliahave toured the world spreading joy and bringing the music to thepeople. Blood Brothers will showcase each band for a set and then willend with both bands together onstage creating a sound of classicsouthern rock and blues.This is a high-energy show of epic proportions! Daring and full ofexcitement, Albert and Mike come together in 2022 to bring you themost awaited tour in years, Blood Brothers.