Wildly fun, musically fearless and bursting with bravado, 2018’s Blues Music Award- winning Band of The Year Rick Estrin & The Nightcats have created one of the blues’ most instantly recognizable sounds and no-holds-barred styles. Featuring the world-class talents of harmonica master, songwriter and vocalist Rick Estrin, guitar wunderkind Chris “Kid” Andersen, keyboard wizard Lorenzo Farrell and dynamic drummer Alex Pettersen, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats serve up sharp and incisive original blues and gritty roadhouse rock ‘n’ roll. They were nominated four times for the prestigious Blues Music Award for Band of The Year. Years of worldwide touring and a series of critically acclaimed recordings have earned Estrin five Blues Music Awards, including two nods for Song of The Year (1994 and 2018), Best Instrumentalist—Harmonica (2013) and Traditional Blues Male Artist of The Year (2018). Rick Estrin & The Nightcats have not only picked up where Little Charlie & The Nightcats left off, they’ve taken everything to the next level.
Author: Andrea Knies
James Cotton Tribute with Mark Hummel & James Cotton Band
The iconic harmonica man James Cotton passed in 2017 at the age of 81. Cotton’s considered by most the last great harp titan of the generation that produced Little Walter (who James replaced in Muddy Waters Band), Sonny Boy Williamson 2 (who raised Cotton from 12 years old), Jr Wells, Big Walter and many more. James’ career spanned more than six plus decades and put him on the map of All Time Blues Greats! The James Cotton Blues Band is Steve Freund , Tom Holland (guitars), Cros Charles Mack (bass), Mark Mack (drums) plus Mark Hummel playing and singing James’s role as front man. Hummel produces The Blues Harmonica Blowouts (Mayall, Musselwhite, Huey Lewis, Lee Oskar, Magic Dick) for 30 years that featured Cotton on seven national tours as part of that event. James commented, “Mark is all about the music.” Mark has a Grammy nom in 2013 and two Blues Music Awards, and 30 albums to his credit.
Lurrie Bell
Son of the Blues harp legend, Carey Bell, Lurrie began sitting in at his father’s sessions from the time he could walk, mentored by Blues greats such as Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, and Buddy Guy. He quickly came into his own as a talented and in-demand guitarist, working with the likes of Koko Taylor and Eddie C. Campbell, and teaming with Billy Branch and Freddie Dixon as the founding members of the Sons of Blues. He has garnered industry recognitions including Blues Music Awards in 2014 and 2015 and a Grammy nomination in 2016. Lurrie has lived the life of a true Bluesman, as a featured sideman, band leader, and solo artist in over 50 recordings. Lurrie’s elegant and intense guitar playing, and passionate vocals have made him a favorite on the national and international Blues circuit, earning him a reputation as one of genre’s rightful heirs and “leading lights.”
John Primer and the Real Deal Blues Band
John Primer was just nominated for 3 Blues Music Awards by the National Blues Foundation for Traditional Blues Artist, Traditional Blues Album and Album of The Year for his Hard Times album. He was given two Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2013 for Keeping the Blues Alive from the Pennsylvania Blues Society as well as from the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, he has been nominated for two Grammy Awards by the Recording Academy in 2010 & 2016 for Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year, and won Traditional Blues Artist of the Year this year – 2021 and in 2016 as well as more than 15 nominations year after year by the Blues Foundation’s Blues Music Awards for the Best Traditional Blues Artist of the Year as well as Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year. John just won the Living Blues Magazine award for Best Traditional Blues Album with Bob Corritore. John is one of the last Legendary Traditional Blues Musicians alive today with his roots in Mississippi. He is a living legend and a true master of the blues!
Crystal “Country Girl” Thomas
Crystal Thomas using her voice as a positive influence and as encouragement. She enjoys lifting people up to be better, love better, and live better. Crystal Thomas is big and she’s bluesy, and raw. She can grind a note and use it any way she wants. After all, she grew up listening to Muddy and Jimmy Reed and Johnnie Taylor and rapped, too. Gritty music is in her blood. She sang before she talked. She belts it out in church, in juke joints, wowing the crowds in Hong Kong, Japan and Europe. This woman sings with the kind of raw emotion that makes you glad you are alive – even if life it tough. Crystal is the real deal. She can tell you about growing up in Mansfield, Louisiana in the deep country. She remembers playing DJ while her family played cards and picking up the trombone in fifth grade because her brother had it and her mom didn’t want to purchase another instrument.
Memphis Lightning
Memphis Lightning was born out of tradition with a pedigree second to none. Having played with the Blues Legend Eddie “Blues Man” Kirkland, Memphis Lightning are the real deal. Their energetic performances will bring you back to the days when the Juke Joints were rockin’ and the Blues was King. So bring a friend, roll back the rug and get on the floor….Memphis Lightning is in the House.
JP Soars Gypsy Blues Revue with Anne Harris
Not every blues artist can create a cohesive sound in the genre by weaving in a diversity of other influences, but guitarist and vocalist JP Soars is obviously not just any blues artist. A 2009 winner of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN with his band the Red Hots (and the festival’s Albert King Award winner as best guitarist to boot), the Arkansas native toured extensively through the United States, Canada, South America and Europe with metal bands after relocating to South Florida, and is one of the few guitarists also capable of adding nuances of his long-standing, Django Reinhardt-inspired “Gypsy jazz” side project.
Anne Harris
“Once you have witnessed Anne Harris play the violin, you aren’t likely to forget the experience any time soon. It’s not just the wondrous music she makes drawing her bow across the strings, it’s also the way the spirit of the music emanates from her physically. She inhabits the music, or maybe the music inhabits her, but it is impossible not to be drawn under her spell.” (BluesWax)
Chicago-based fiddle player Anne Harris has been a favorite on the Blues festival scene for over a decade. Her collaborations, live and in-studio, span a large and diverse group of artists, including multi-Blues Music award winner Otis Taylor, Anders Osborne, Living Colour, Amy Helm, Vieux Farke Toure, Guy Davis, and occasional stints with hippie legends Jefferson Starship.
“Anne is an internationally recognized instrumental talent that has captivated audiences around the globe. Her command of the stage is punctuated with a free reeling and coiling whirlwind of sound and visual excitement. Her gypsy-like stage presence is truly unforgettable and revolutionary in the ever expanding Blues genre. ” (Cleve Baker)
Eliza Neals
Original compositions have garnered Eliza a 2018 Detroit Black Music Award for ‘Blues Artist of the Year.’ and FIVE Detroit Music Awards. A total of seventeen nominations in the ‘Independent Blues Awards’ along with ‘Get Ready to Rock UKs’ glowing Best Artists awards in five categories. Eliza last full album ‘Black Crow Moan’ is a Top Album of 2020 after landing on so many bests of lists. ‘Black Crow Moan’ finished 2020 on a high note with continued radio play and rescheduled tours in 2021.
GeminiiDRAGON
From the murky bayous of Louisiana, comes a fresh face to the Blues music scene. A vocal dynamo that channeled her love for the late 60s era and 70s blues and AOR bands/artists into a ferocious mix of blues rock soul…. Blues on Steroids!!! Her 2 debut singles ‘Like It or Not’ and ‘A Storm Is a Comin’ quickly built a heavy buzz in the Blues Community. Now with the release of her latest single ‘Just the Way It Is’ and upcoming debut Album ‘Fighting Fire with Fire’, It would seem that the skies are the limit to her journey.
Blues Fest Merchandise
The Bradenton Blues Festival merchandise can be found at this link.
Ana Popovic
Ana Popovic celebrating 20 years as a touring musician. The award-winning guitar player, singer, songwriter, and high-energy concerts showcase not only Ana’s mesmerizing guitar skills but also her fabulous band, successfully merging musical styles. Ana’s passion on stage is so evident that the title of her CD ‘Live for LIVE’ sums it up, this IS what she lives for. Her dedication to work a little harder and travel a little further to hone her craft, has resulted in twelve albums, two DVDs and six nationwide Experience Hendrix tours. She’s been nominated for seven Blues Music Awards nominations. Her albums ‘Can You Stand the Heat’ and ‘Unconditional’ were USA Today Picks-Of-The-Week and featured on NPR Weekend Edition, who praised her “Fiery technique on the Stratocaster”. Nearly all of Ana’s albums reached the top of the Billboard Blues Charts. She and her six-piece band have toured tirelessly, sharing stages with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa and many others.
Blood Brothers featuring Albert Castiglia & Mike Zito
Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia come together to create a musical journey unlike anything seen before in the Blues and Roots genre. Armed with a history of the Blues and Rock ’n’ Roll, they bring both bands together to create the tour of 2022, “Blood Brothers.” Mike Zito is a 5 time Blues Music Award Winner and Albert Castiglia is the 2020 BMA award winner for Blues Rock Album of the Year, “Masterpiece.” With both artists on the exciting Gulf Coast Records label, it only made sense to join forces and give the fans what they wanted. For over 45 years combined in the music business, Zito and Castiglia have toured the world spreading joy and bringing the music to the people. Blood Brothers will showcase each band for a set and then will end with both bands together onstage creating a sound of classic southern rock and blues. This is a high-energy show of epic proportions! Daring and full of excitement, Albert and Mike come together in 2022 to bring you the most awaited tour in years, Blood Brothers.
Mike Zito
Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia come together to create a musical journey unlike anything seen before in the Blues and Roots genre. Armed with a history of the Blues and Rock ’n’ Roll, they bring both bands together to create the tour of 2022, “Blood Brothers.” Mike Zito is a 5 time Blues Music Award Winner and Albert Castiglia is the 2020 BMA award winner for Blues Rock Album of the Year, “Masterpiece.” With both artists on the exciting Gulf Coast Records label, it only made sense to join forces and give the fans what they wanted. For over 45 years combined in the music business, Zito and Castiglia have toured the world spreading joy and bringing the music to the people. Blood Brothers will showcase each band for a set and then will end with both bands together onstage creating a sound of classic southern rock and blues. This is a high-energy show of epic proportions! Daring and full of excitement, Albert and Mike come together in 2022 to bring you the most awaited tour in years, Blood Brothers.
Albert Castiglia
Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia come together to create a musical journey unlike anything seen before in the Blues and Roots genre. Armed with a history of the Blues and Rock ’n’ Roll, they bring both bands together to create the tour of 2022, “Blood Brothers.” Mike Zito is a 5 time Blues Music Award Winner and Albert Castiglia is the 2020 BMA award winner for Blues Rock Album of the Year, “Masterpiece.” With both artists on the exciting Gulf Coast Records label, it only made sense to join forces and give the fans what they wanted. For over 45 years combined in the music business, Zito and Castiglia have toured the world spreading joy and bringing the music to the people. Blood Brothers will showcase each band for a set and then will end with both bands together onstage creating a sound of classic southern rock and blues. This is a high-energy show of epic proportions! Daring and full of excitement, Albert and Mike come together in 2022 to bring you the most awaited tour in years, Blood Brothers.
Nora Jean Wallace
Nora Jean Wallace (formerly Nora Jean Bruso) is a Chicago Blues singer with deep Delta roots. Nora Jean Bruso was born in 1956 and grew up in Greenwood, a town in the heart of a blues-rich region. Nora was born into the world of music, as both her father and uncle were professional blues musicians and the mother gospel singer, the grandmother had a Juke Joint. Nora’s singing career began in 1976. She released a single, ‘Untrue Lover’ in 1982. Her first solo release came in 2002. Her 2004 album, ‘Going Back to Mississippi’ was nominated for a Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year. Nora has been away from music since 2004, where she has cared for her now deceased mother. But in the midst of the world’s madness 2020, Nora returned to the absolute top of blues music with just as much power as when she left it. It proves the latest album “Blues Woman” where she sings with a power that tilts the soul out and leaves no doubt, especially when she sings the title song, “I’m A Blueswoman”. Nora was recently asked to open for, the living legend & 8x Grammy Award winner, Buddy Guy in Chicago at the renowned Buddy Guy’s Legends for his Residency Show in January 2022.
Dustin Arbuckle and the Damnations
Dustin Arbuckle and The Damnations are not a band you can easily associate with one specific genre, and that’s how they planned it. Arbuckle, a veteran of the progressive roots music scene whose singing and harmonica playing first came into prominence in Moreland & Arbuckle, has been kicking up fresh dust with The Damnations since 2017. A musician of vast appetites, he’s long held an appreciation for traditional American music in the vein of Charley Patton as well as the cross-pollinated sounds of The Band or Stax-style soul. The diverse musical sensibilities of The Damnations (Brandon Hudspeth on guitar, Caleb Drummond or Mark Foley on bass, and Kendall Newby on Drums) allow for all of that along with occasional forays into deep country and even jazz. “When we started playing together we all wanted the band to be a space where we could play anything we wanted to,” Arbuckle notes, “and that’s created this cross-genre electric Americana vibe.”
Lady A
This songstress began singing at age 5. She began her performance career as a back-up singer in a Motown Revue band during the 90’s. Her love of music, gospel background, Louisiana roots, and musical family always led her back to the Blues and Gospel music, mixed with flavors of soul and funk. Known as “The Hardest Workin Woman in Blues, Soul, Funk & Gospel”, she produced The Big Blues Blowout with mentor and friend, 2017 Grammy Winner, Bobby Rush, Chicago’s Nellie Tiger Travis, and Producer, Dexter Allen, proving she is a producer as well as an artist. She is on the Board of Directors of the Rhapsody Music Project in Seattle, WA, also a mentor and vocal coach and newly named Director of Washington Blues Society Blues in the Schools program for 2022. Continuing to be a National and International sensation, whether during a Festival, in a nightclub, or private party setting or simply by helping others in order to educate in music and positive lifestyle, this Pacific NW Diva is always backed by one of the best and ferocious bands out of Washington, Oregon or across the pond.
Dikki Du & the Zydeco Krewe
The Carrier family is as synonymous with Zydeco music as beads are with Mardi Gras. Dikki Du Carrier marks the third generation of the Carriers to keep the musical tradition alive. Zydeco is a family thing. If one plays, everyone plays! He picked up the washboard at nine years old, the drums at 13, and traveled the world professionally at 19. But Dikki’s life changed when he decided he wanted a band of his own. Dikki taught himself how to play accordion, he says, “I just stayed in a room and played the accordion for a whole year.” Zydeco continues to grow as a music genre, including a short-lived category in the Grammys from 2008-2011 that Dikki’s brother Chubby Carrier won in 2011.
Harper and Midwest Kind
Award winning Australian singer/ songwriter/ virtuoso harmonica player “Peter D. Harper”, now based in Detroit, Michigan, creates a heady mix of roots music through his creative use of the harmonica, and the haunting drone of the didgeridoo. Known in the music world as “Harper”, brings forth his latest release “RISE UP” (Access Records), featuring 10 original tunes that reach deep within. “RISE UP”, which had its debut at #3 on the Billboard Blues Charts. Harper has received an amazing 14 x Blues/Roots Music awards (including a Gold Record) in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada and achieved 4 x Top Ten Billboard Blues Charting albums. He recently won a Detroit Music Award for “Outstanding Vocalist”. “RISE UP” is without a doubt Harper’s best work to date and was listed in the Top 20 Albums of the Year by Blues Blast Magazine. Harper and Midwest Kind were nominated for the 2021 Independent Blues Awards for *Best Modern Roots Band and *Best Modern Roots Album – “RISE UP”. Harper is backed by his talented Midwest based touring band called “Midwest Kind” which features: Austin Johnson on guitar, Lee Lewis on Bass Guitar, Jeremy Canonico on Drums and Bobbi Llewellyn on backing vocals/percussion.
Gabe Stillman Band
The Gabe Stillman Band is a three-piece machine that runs at full tilt for every performance. While their sound is unmistakably rooted in the blues, the band draws from the deep well of all-American roots music. Since landing in the final 8 of the 35th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN, and being 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” features him backed by legendary band, The Nighthawks.
