Bridget Kelly Band is an electric blues band that rocks the house with
their unique blend of hot smokin' blues. Their NEW CD “Forever in Blues”
was released this summer! (June of 2014). Forever in Blues was picked
by Hit-Tracks Top l00 - 26 TIPS FOR HIT-TRACKS TOP 100! Charlie Boyer
from JazzandBlues Magazine says, "The CD Gods have been very, very good
to us lately! The Bridget Kelly Band are going to put themselves on the
map with this one. Great tunes, production, and delivery - on every
single cut! And, no doubt about it... they are ALL the blues. See you at
the release party..." http://www.reverbnation.com/bridgetkellyband
Their CD “Back in the Blues”, released in March of 2013 (Alpha SunRecords),contained all original blues songs couched in styles that range
from Chicago and Memphis blues to Texas Blues. In live shows Bridget
Kelly Band plays originals, they also perform music of B.B. King, T.
Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Bonnie Raitt. The band’s
original compositions have been featured on WXJZ Smooth Jazz in
Gainesville ,FL(on Q-quincy’s Blues Show) as well as radio shows
throughout the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Italy, Germany, and France.
The group performs at a wide variety of music venues -- clubs, concerts,
and festivals across Florida; and has shared the stage with numerous
recording and touring blues artists including Albert Castiglia, Willie
Green, Jeff Jensen, Brandon Santini, Biscuit Miller, & Victor
Wainwright. Bridget Kelly – vocals, Tim Fik – guitar & vocals, Mike
Hamm – bass, Michael Barady – drums. Members of the band hail from
Gainesville, Florida and Palatka, Florida. Based out of North Florida,
the Bridget Kelly Band are members of the North-Central Florida Blues
Society.Bridget Kelly Band was chosen top 4 by the IBBA for August 2014.
The band’s music has been gaining International recognition, and is
regularly featured on Kevin Black's "Women in the Blues“ and "Black on
Blues" show (U.K.), Tony T.C. Corner’s “Blues Corner” radio show (U.K.),
and earned Best of 2013 CDs on John Hammer’s “Hammered by the Blues”
show. The group continues to perform at festivals and live entertainment
clubs/venues throughout the Southeast. The Bridget Kelly Band was
invited to perform at the Women in Blues Showcase for the International
Blues Competition last year and will perform this year in January, 2015.
Recent dates have included performances at the Hard Rock Cafe Atlanta
IBC,Vetfest and Bikefest (Thunder Music Park,Hampton, FL), St. John's
River Blues Festival, Florida's Azalea Festival, The High Dive
(Gainesville, FL) with Albert “The Kid” Castiglia, The Dirty Martini Bar
(Gainesville,FL), The Thomas Center (Gainesville, FL), Billy's Downtown
Blues Bar (Palatka, FL)with Victor Wainwright, Roberts Hall (Lynn
Haven, FL), Skipper's Smokehouse (Tampa, FL), Topsail Hill State Park's
"Red, White & Blues" Concert (Santa Rosa Beach, FL), Ellie Ray's
(Branford, FL), Bradfordville Blues Club (Tallahassee, FL), Florida Folk
Festival and Florida's Blue Crab Festival... just to name a few.
Bridget Kelly Band's "Back in the Blues" CD (2013) won the North Central
Florida Blues Society’s regional entrant into the IBC's Best
Independently Produced CD for 2013. Bridget Kelly was also featured in
the Women in the Blues Showcase at the IBC in Memphis, closing the show
at the fabled Center for Southern Folklore. Bridget Kelly and guitarist
Tim Fik were invited to sit in with Brandon Santini and Jeff Jensen and
his band at W.C. Handy's Blues Hall (Memphis, TN) the weekend of the IBC
(Jan. 2014). While attending the BMA’s (May 2014),Bridget performed at
Beale Street’s famous Rum Boogie Night Club, sitting in with Sonny Rock
and Tas Cru. BRIDGET KELLY BAND
Selected as Blues Harmonica Player of the Year by the Bay Blues Society
in 2004, Birdlegg has been blowing the blues in the Bay Area for over
20 years.Based on his deep belief in preserving the blues, one of the highlights
of Birdlegg's career was a project he did with Willie Dixon in bringing
teaching of blues to Oakland schools. Birdlegg continues to give
lessons in blues harmonica and mentors many young players.Birdlegg has appeared in many major venues, including the San Francisco
Blues Festival, Mount Rushmore National Memorial Park and tours of
Europe.Birdlegg learned about music on his grandpop's back porch. The blues
grabbed hold of Bird then, and never let go. "All other forms of music, I
had to learn to love, but with the blues, there was no trying at all. I
just love it," he said.
He played his first gig with Massalah, then a blues icon in
Berkeley. He played with the much beloved Cool Poppa for 13 years. He
formed the first Tight Fit Blues Band in 1980, but it was another decade
before he felt he'd earned his rightful place next the bluesmen elders."Everything I am is wrapped up in music," he said. "I'm so fortunate to
have something no one can take from you. They can take your money, your
wife, your kids. But they still can't take the music. It's yours."ecently, Birdlegg moved to Texas. There he is fronting a new group of great musicians, known as the Texas Tightfit Bluesband.
Birdlegg continues to win over new fans every day by keeping the blues alive. BIRDLEGG
Deak Harp has been playing harmonica since he was 12 years old. His
biggest early inspiration came when his brother introduced him to the
music of James Cotton.Deak followed Cotton's band along the east coast for close to five years
before Cotton offered Deak a job driving his van. For the next six
years, Deak toured with the James Cotton blues band, eventually opening
acts and playing along with "Superharp" himself.Deak has since played with multiple bands and has shown his flexibility
as a musician in the varying styles of his performances. From the
classic blues standards, to Chicago blues, all the way to Mississippi
Hill Country blues, Deak's repertoire continues to grow.
Deak has spent time with the Deak Harp Band in its various forms
throughout the years, the Kilborn Alley Blues Band (including a tour of
London), and has played in states across the country.Deak
has traveled in recent years with Big City Rhythm and Blues magazine,
performing his innovative one-man show at festivals and events,
including the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise in the Caribbean and the
2013 SPAH convention, where Deak played in front of hundreds of fellow
harmonica players and was given a standing ovation by his audience.Deak gets his unique sound by playing an amplified harmonica while
simultaneously playing electric guitar or diddley bow, keeping rhythm
with a snare drum and a stomp box, and singing his own vocals. DEAK HARP
Ever
since bursting on the scene with his 1993
release The Nutcracker Suite,
Tim Sparks has captivated guitar fans with
some of the finest fingerstyle guitar
playing around. An artist who can be
difficult to categorize, Sparks’
albums and live performances have featured
classical, blues, jazz, folk, klezmer, and
other styles, and yet they all have a
common thread that makes them immediately
identifiable.Clearly, for Sparks the music
itself is more important than the genre it
may have originated in, and
Chasin’ the Boogie continues
this approach. Whether completely
re-imagining the Beatles’
“Blackbird,” creating a complex
guitar arrangement of Joni Mitchell’s
“Both Sides Now,” playing the
folk standards “Wayfaring
Stranger” and “I’ll Fly
Away,” or getting gritty on the
“Mississippi Blues,” Sparks
creates solo steel-string guitar magic
like only he can. Put simply,
Chasin’ the Boogie is guitar
music at its best. Even on songs that you
thought you knew, you’ll find
yourself hitting the “repeat”
button to make sure that what you just
heard really happened. Whether you’re
already a fan of solo guitar music or not,
give Chasin’ the Boogie a spin
and allow yourself to be taken along! TIM SPARKS
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Blues and Rock have met at many different crossroads since its inception
in the mid-60s. From Cream and Johnny Winter to Stevie Ray Vaughan and
Gov't Mule, these Blues Rock recipes are often boiled down to a simple
trio. Such is the melting pot of influences and presentation of Eclecto
Groove recording artists the Alastair Greene Band. Alastair formed his
first Blues Rock trio with former members of the legendary Southern
California band The Pontiax in 1997. The Alastair Greene Band (AGB) has
gone through several incarnations and line-ups over the years and has
included alumni of The Steve Miller Band, Paul Butterfield Band, and
Junior Wells Band. The AGB has also backed many blues artists in the
studio and on stage, including Delta Groove recording artists Mitch
Kashmar, Franck Goldwasser, as well as the incomparable James Harman.
Currently, the line-up has solidified with Alastair handling vocals and
guitar, Jim Rankin on bass and vocals, and Austin Beede on drums.
The AGB has opened shows and appeared on Blues festivals with artists
such as The Fabulous Thunderbirds, John Mayall & The Blues Breakers,
Tommy Castro, Lonnie Brooks, Michael Burks, Robin Trower, Jonny Lang,
and many more.
Alastair has released four studio records and one live record since
2002. His fifth studio record release, Trouble At Your Door (release
date June 17th, 2014 on Eclecto Groove Records) is sure to be his most
explosive recording thus far. The AGB combines a deep respect for
traditional forms and themes but adds a modern approach combined with a
classic rock sound.
Not only is Alastair a Blues Rock guitar slinging and singing front man,
but he has also served many years as a side man to some legendary
musicians. Currently, Alastair is the touring guitarist with Alan
Parsons and has been touring internationally with the English Pop
Progressive Rock veteran since 2010. After Alastair played on Parsons'
2004 release A Valid Path, Alan was quoted as saying, "Alastair should
be out playing guitar with the biggest bands in the world. I believe
it's just a matter of time." Heady praise indeed coming from the man who
engineered Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon, served as second
engineer on the last two albums by The Beatles, and has also sold
millions of albums with his own Alan Parsons Project. When the guitar
slot for Parsons' band opened in 2010, Greene got the call. Alastair
has also appeared on albums by high profile artists such as drum legend
Aynsely Dunbar as well as Toad The Wet Sprocket front man Glen Phillips.
ALASTAIR GREENE BAND
Manchester trio GoGo Penguin are hotly tipped as the rising stars of
the UK Jazz scene. Featuring pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Nick
Blacka and drummer Rob Turner, GoGo Penguin are an exhilarating live
act, drawing on a heady brew of influences from Aphex Twin to Brian Eno,
Debussy to Shostakovich and Massive Attack to EST.
Their debut album Fanfares (Gondwana Records) has won rave reviews from the Guardian to BBC Music and support from the
likes of Mike Chadwick and Gilles Peterson and was nominated for best
jazz album at the World Wide Awards. It is the band’s unique ability to
synthesis and develop each others melodic and harmonic ideas while
drawing on music from classical to electronica that makes GoGo Penguin’s
music so enthralling and their debut album such a powerful opening
salvo from a powerful new voice in UK music. GOGO PENGUIN
Here’s what you ought to know about me. First off, I love songs. I love pop songs, folk songs, jazz, soul, and rock songs. I write whatever kind of song gets my point across most clearly. My point, usually, is about the miraculous, ridiculous, confusing joy of being alive.I love American pop music from every decade (Louis Armstrong to Beyonce), any folk music with guts (Nick Lowe, Patty Griffin), and just about anything that swings, grooves, or rocks (Billie Holiday, The Band, Donny Hathaway, Elvis Costello). Contenders for my favorite song of all time include "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?", "Suzanne", and "F**k You".I believe that music is magic, and everybody needs it. That’s why I give mine away.I live in a pink house in New Orleans. I’ve got two dogs and a studio out back called The Watermelon. I grew up on a defunct cattle farm in Luray, Virginia. At sixteen I fled the coop to Eugene, Oregon. I cut my musical teeth in Philadelphia. I’ve played shows in most of North America and Europe, and soon, Australia. I’ve toured with Paul Simon, The Wood Brothers, and The Weepies. I ran a crazy-successful Kickstarter campaign. I’m an unschooler, a sex blogger, and a Lindy Hopper. I find four-leaf-clovers.If I died, and somebody came up to me in the afterlife and said, “What were the best parts?”, I’d have to say songs, sex, creativity, raw oysters, bravery, small children, and the feeling you get when somebody is utterly in tune with you, like the same spirit is kissing both your faces. CARSIE BLANTON
Born in Ponferrada, northwest of Spain, studies Jazz Guitar at ESMAE
(Porto-Portugal) with teachers Nuno Ferreira, Michael Lauren, Abe
Rábade, Mario Santos, Carlos Azevedo among others. Previously he studies
with galician jazz guitarist Marcos Pin. Also with Paco Charlín for a
year and with teachers Manuel Gutiérrez, Javier Constenla and Suso
Atanes. Attends to several master classes and courses and have played in
festivals both in Spain and Portugal. Last year he toured with chilean
master, trumpeter Cristian Cuturrufo.When you have a big musical appetite and listen a lot, a gem like this
is immediately recognized. Highly original, great musicians and superb
recording.Favorite track: here´s the wheel that kills the will. GIO YANEZ
"Flautist Jef Kearns steps forward with a very appealing R&B/hip
hop/jazz release that packs a lot of intensity and soul-stirring
melodies throughout the album.
What you will find most pleasant is how Kearns weaves his flute into the
fabric of this very focused album. It floats, it sings, and it pushes
the melodies forward with muscle and charm."
The Smooth Jazz Ride
"When in 2009 I reviewed ‘On The Level’ from flautist Jef Kearns I
described it as dispelling the myth that flute players can’t do urban
jazz. In fact it was a hip, up to the minute, collection that oozed
class and consequently it is pleasing to report that Jef is back with
the equally good ‘Soulfisticated’. In fact it finds Kearns displaying a
whole new musical maturity that is evidenced by the sophistication of
the production, the selection of guest vocalists and, above all, the
quality of the eleven songs that he either writes or co-writes."
Smooth Jazz Therapy JEF KEARNS
