Have been playing their unique style of blues the world over for almost forty years. Not limited to one style, but able to play Chicago Blues in the style of Muddy Waters. Little Walter and Billy Boy Arnold; Kansas City Swing in the style of "Big" Joe Turner; Texas Blues like "T" Bone Walker and Freddie King; and the swampy Louisiana sounds of "Lazy" Lester-all played with the distinctive originality of band leader Sugar Ray Norcia, vocals and harmonica, guitarist "Monster" Mike Welch, Anthony Geraci at the piano and Hammond Organ, Michael "Mudcat" Ward playing acoustic and electric bass, and drummer Neil Gouvin.All of the members of Sugar Ray and the Bluetones have been featured on other Artists recordings which include Hubert Sumlin, John Hammond, Johnny Winter, Otis Grand, Pinetop Perkins, The Mannish Boys, Sugaray Rayford, Debbie Davies, Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl and many more. SUGAR RAY AND THE BLUETONES
Paul Thorn's new album "Too Blessed To Be Stressed" stakes out
new territory for the popular roots-rock songwriter and performer. "In
the past, I've told stories that were mostly inspired by my own life,"
the former prizefighter and literal son of a preacher man offers. "This
time, I've written 10 songs that express more universal truths, and I've
done it with a purpose: to make people feel good."That's really
Thorn's mission for Too Blessed To Be Stressed, which can be heard as a
running conversation about life between Thorn and listeners - a
conversation leavened with gentle insights, small inspirations, and
plenty of cheer. "I wrote these songs hoping they might put people in a
positive mindset and encourage them to count their own blessings, like I
count mine," Thorn observes. "There's no higher goal I could set for
myself than to help other people find some happiness and gratitude in
their lives." PAUL THORN
Mandy Lemons and Low Society are blazing new trails on the stomping
grounds of Blues and Americana music. Texas Blues, Memphis Rock 'N Soul
and a healthy dose of New York attitude help define the sound and spirit
of their latest album, 'You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down', on Icehouse
Records. It's a diverse collection of original songs that inject new
life into, while remaining firmly rooted in, the traditional music that
they live and breathe. Among the albums guest appearances are two of
Memphis' best known musicians, B.B. King and Lionel Hampton alumni Dr
Herman Green on the saxophone and Lucero's Rick Steff on keys and
accordion. The album was recorded at the historic Memphis landmark,
American Recording Studio, and mastered by Stax legend, Larry Nix.Low Society is the brainchild of blues belter Mandy Lemons, and her
partner in crime, guitarist and producer Sturgis Nikides, former
guitarist for John Cale (The Velvet Underground). The pair has codified
their shared love of Texas and Delta Blues, soul music and rock 'n roll
into their own subconscious language. Mandy sings the blues with an
emotionally charged powerhouse voice that mixes original southern fried
soul and northern attitude. Woven together with Sturgis Nikides
blistering slide guitar they blaze their way through a veritable map of
the South. Holding down the rock solid rhythm section are Memphis native
sons, Mike "Drummerlife" Munn and Nick Dodson on the bass guitar. The
band has traveled extensively, playing hundreds of shows on festival,
juke joint and club stages everywhere from Eastern Europe to NYC, from
Mississippi to Texas, to Memphis, to Arkansas and Missouri, to
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Montana, Florida and points
beyond. They have appeared at Clarksdale Mississippi's Juke Joint
Festival for the last 4 consecutive years, the 2012 Bluesalive Festival
in the Czech Republic and Poland, as well as NYC's Howl Festival for 3
consecutive years. They also participated in the 30th International
Blues Challenge. Their first album, 2011's 'High Time' received critical
praise for it's raw "neo-delta" roots and blues sound. Big City Rhythm
& Blues Magazine said “these hipsters have taken southern country
blues and super-charged it to a white-hot intensity”. The band will be
hitting the road, from coast to coast to support the new CD, make sure
to keep an eye on their schedule - you don't want to miss this!!! LOW SOCIETY
Composer, saxophonist, poet and Guggenheim Fellow,
Oliver Lake, is one of jazz's most prolific and eclectic artists of the
last 40 years. Oliver Lake is known for everything from his solo
saxophone performances and recordings; to his solo music-theater work;
to his reggae-jazz group Jump Up; to his work as a founding member of
the World Saxophone Quartet; to his Oliver Lake Big Band; to the Oliver
Lake Steel Quartet which performed at The Space in 2004; and The Organ
Quartet, one of his most recent projects. Lake was a founding member of
the Black Artists Group (BAG) in St Louis in the 1970's where he grew up
with trumpeter Lester Bowie and pianist
John Hicks. He has received multiple commissions from the National
Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and the Mary Flagler Cary
Charitable Trust and his works have been performed by the Arditti String
Quartet, the World Saxophone Quartet, the Amherst Sax Quartet,
violinist Regina Carter, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the San Francisco
Contemporary Players, New York New Music Ensemble, and Pulse Percussion
Ensemble of New York. He has worked with a wide range of artists
including the pop singer Björk, rocker Lou Reed, jazz vocalist Abbey
Lincoln and rap group, A Tribe Called Quest. Other projects include a
collaboration with writer and law professor Patricia Williams, and the
Quagmire Trio with komungo player Jin Hi Kim and bassist William Parker.
Also an exhibiting visual artist, Lake continues to perform worldwide
with his own ensembles as well as in Trio Three, the long-standing
cooperative trio with percussionist Andrew Cyrille and bassist Reggie
Workman (sometimes augmented by pianist Geri Allen). OLIVER LAKE
This intergenerational collaboration between Grammy© Award winning
trumpeter Brian Lynch and new piano star on the modern jazz horizon
Emmet Cohen combines new school excitement and exuberant swing. In the
quartet setting, joined by legendary drummer Billy Hart and master
bassist Boris Kozlov, Lynch and Cohen present a program of their own
searching and often epic original music, bridging traditional and
contemporary sounds with virtuosity, passion and swinging aplomb. And as
a duo, they essay and recast jazz classics and standards (both classic
and contemporary) with warmth, intelligence and lack of cliche, often
journeying into uncharted territory only bound by their searching
imagination and desire to swing.
The musical lock between Lynch and Cohen has roots that go beyond the
work they've put in towards crafting a distinctive sound in both quartet
and duo formats. Their common ground in committing to grounded, yet
contemporary and uncliched playing and composing, coupled with the
mixture of Lynch's magisterial command and Cohen's poised beyond his
years musicality, has resulted in a original and compelling new group
sound tailored for today's listener. BRIAN LYNCH AND EMMET COHEN
Sam-One is a Blues Guitarist from the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in
Memphis, Tenn. July 10th, 1951. He began playing the guitar at the age
of eight years old. He also is a vocalist, songwriter, composer and
producer. Sam-One broke into the Southern Soul Market in 2009. With the
release of his CD titled ( You Ain't Right ). "Let's Make Love Tonight "
made it in the top twenty. Southern Soul RnB Songs of 2010. Puts
Sam-One up there among the best. " You Ain't Right " the title track. Is
a favorite among Southern Soul DJ's. His unique style is what made
Sam-One stand out as a respected artist of today. Listen to the way he
hit those Blues Licks that make you sit up and take notice. Sam-One is
destined to be one of the premier Blues Artist around. Although he only
has one CD on the market Sam-One is a seasoned musician who has played
with the best and held his own. There is more to come from Sam-One who
is currently becoming a household name in the music industry. His skills
as an arranger is evident on his CD. The way he put together his CD the
man knows his business. Sam-One is an artist you need to follow. To
purchase his CD go to CD Baby.com. you will not be disappointed. SAM-ONE
Americana, roots music, rough-around-the-edges folk. Canadian
songwriter Lynne Hanson prefers “porch music with a little red dirt.”
Hanson songs are like a favorite pair of jeans. They're rough around
the edges, faded and worn through in spots, with a bit of
honestly-acquired dirt ground into the seams. And they're expressed in
a rich voice coupled with accomplished guitar playing that demands
repeated listening. Hanson grew up in Ottawa Canada, and starting playing guitar when she
was 14, learning on a hand-me-down from an older brother. She released
her award-winning debut album – Things I Miss – in 2006, and with tales
to tell, two more albums quickly followed – Eleven Months (2008) and
Once the Sun Goes Down (2010). Each new release garnered critical
praise, earning Hanson a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination in 2009,
an invitation to the Kerrville Folk Festival as a New Folk Finalist, and
a year later the prestigious Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award handed
out annually by the Ontario Arts Council.Then … silence: A four-year hiatus from recording. It was time to kick
dirt over the tracks on the trail. Lynne took some time to take
control of her personal life and with it, a new approach to song
writing. Her fourth studio album slated for release in Fall 2014 –
River of Sand – is the creative output of that very personal journey. On River Of Sand she’s been fortunate to work with Juno-winning
songstress Lynn Miles as producer. “The songs on this record are honest
and fearless” say Miles, and the search for truth that’s always guided
Hanson’s work takes a turn to the raw. LYNNE HANSON
Koko Jones, the master percussionist and band-leader, makes her
international debut in 2011. Koko brings a ton of experience to her new
band. This talented percussionist has played and recorded with great
artists such as Whitney Houston, The Isley Brothers, Carlos Santana,
Reggie Workman, Louie Vega and Luisito Quintero. Leading a talented
rhythm section and accompanied by 4 beautiful
vocalists, Koko blazes a fresh trail through lush territories of soul,
jazz and Latin music. Musically Koko has studied in a wide range of
educational settings. From her days as a student at UMASS/Amherst where
she studied with Jazz legends Max Roach and Archie Shepp to her days in
New York City studying at the famed Jazzmobile and Tanawa Drum &
Dance. Koko has certainly developed a strong musical upbringing. KOKO JONES
Dividing time between Philly and NYC, Laura Cheadle Family Blues band''s
award winning blues is gaining national and international attention.
Keeping it in the family is their forte with accomplished musician James
"Papa" Cheadle on the keyboards, his son, "Jimmy Lee" Cheadle on lead
guitar and the beautiful star of the show: singer-songwriter: Laura
Cheadle on vocals and rhythm guitar. Not just a thoughtful
singer-songwriter, and not just a soulful funk diva, BLUES musician
Laura Cheadle offers audiences a lively performance filled with upbeat
introspection. James "Papa Cheadle" has played and recorded with Don
Cornell, DJ Jazzy Jeff, The Four Aces, Grover Washington Jr. and The
Soul Survivors,Jaco Pastorius and Peter Erskine to name a few and is
certainly his offsprings main inspiration.Laura Cheadle Family Blues Band have many accomplishments under their
belt opening for: The Jonas Brothers, Sister Hazel, Spin Doctors, Ryan
Cabrera, Kasim Sulton, Terrence Simien, Garland Jeffreys, John
Oates/Hall and Oates, Average White Band, Clarence Clemons III for Bruce
Springsteens After Party and Constantine Maraoulis of American Idol.
These South Jersey Natives and current Philadelphia residents have
toured nationally and internationally everywhere from the East
Coast/West Coast to London. The Cheadle's have appeared on 6ABC's "Tuned
In" as the very first viewers choice, The "NBC 10" Show, the National
reality show 'Next Great Family Band" on NBC/Cosi TV. Laura Cheadle was
named a "Super Woman" in South Jersey Magazine for her active Charity
Work. A very recent accomplishment: Laura Cheadle Family Blues Band
just recently won "Best Indie Jazz/Blues Band of The Year" 2014 at Tri
State Indie Music Awards sponsored by WXPN. LAURA CHEADLE
