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.
2023 Lineup
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!
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.
The Shaelyn Band
The Shaelyn Band is a Florida based band capable of shifting from classic soul blues and funk to rock. They are fronted by Shaelyn (aka Shae) Mulberry, a singer and poet who can wail like Joyce Kennedy, charm like Aretha Franklin, and soliloquize like Erykah Badu. With their highly energized live show, The Shaelyn Band is poised to take on the music industry.
The band took shape in 2020, after meeting lead guitar player Erik Guess at an open-mic showcase in Jacksonville, Florida. The lineup that year featured musical director and drummer, Tim Mulberry, and bassist Greg Mullins. Within a couple of years, they knew they had something special. The band recently added Background Vocalist, Mark Barner.
On September 9th, 2022, The Shaelyn Band released their self titled album “The Shaelyn Band”. The album delivers an array of emotions with its various songs of experience like, “Good Time”, “Always You”, “Stay Home Love” and “Just Can’t Leave” to name a few. Listeners are able to dance their cares away, reclaim their lives and destiny, as well as receive encouragement and take a moment to simply reflect on the joys of love and life.
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.
