May/June gigs!

This is a huge couple of months for me: a “New England Independently Blue Tour” with the Duke Robillard Band, a Sugar Ray and the Bluetones trip to California and Europe, my first time playing with the Mannish Boys (as well as another chance to play with the great Curtis Salgado), local gigs with everyone from the Bluetones to Darrell Nulisch to James Montgomery to Barrett Anderson, and some recording with Sugaray Rayford and a mix of East and West Coast blues heavyweights.

May

May 3 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Acoustic Brew, Voluntown, CT

May 10 – w/The Duke Robillard Band, Tupelo Music Hall, Londonderry, NH

May 11 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, The Knickerbocker, Westerly, RI

May 16 – w/James Montgomery and Brad Hallen (trio) – Charles Cafe, Millis, MA

May 18 – w/The Duke Robillard Band, Regattabar, Cambridge, MA

May 23 – w/The Duke Robillard Band, Bridge Street Live, Collinsville, CT

May 25 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Festival, Simi Valley, CA

May 26 – w/The Mannish Boys featuring Curtis Salgado, Audrey Turner, Mike Finnigan, Sugaray Rayford, Frank Goldwasser, Kevin Selfe, and more, Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Festival, Simi Valley, CA

May 29-30 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Le Sonograf, Le Thor, FRANCE

May 31 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Blues Now, Basel, SWITZERLAND

June

June 1 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Blues Station, Tournon d’Agenais, FRANCE

June 3 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Blues au Chateau, Oupeye, BELGIUM

June 14 – w/Barrett Anderson, Smoken’ Joes BBQ, Brighton, MA

June 16 – Blues Jam, Cady’s Tavern, Chepachet, RI

June 21 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Chan’s, Woonsocket, RI

June 22 – TENTATIVE – w/Darrell Nulisch, Powderhouse Park, Somerville, MA (1 pm)

June 22 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Black Eyed Sally’s, Hartford, CT (9 pm)

June 26 – Blues Jam with the Double Ds, Tavern, Plainville, MA

June 30 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Mystic Blues Festival w/Al Kooper, Knickerbocker, Westerly, RI

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Independently Blue Out Today!

Buy it on Amazon or iTunes
Official websites: Stony Plain Records (North America), DixieFrog (EU)
Duke Robillard’s website
Duke, the band, and I will be promoting it on select New England dates in May.
Check “Upcoming Shows” for more info.
Go see Duke with Bob Dylan, too.  He’s quite good.

IndependentlyBlue

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Thoughts on Duke Robillard on the eve of Independently Blue’s release, Part One

485327_10151382210084352_1803326885_n-1This ended up being much longer than I anticipated, so I’ll be splitting it into two parts. Tomorrow, April 9, marks the release of The Duke Robillard Band’s Independently Blue, on which I’m honored to be a featured guest and collaborator. Duke Robillard is a genuine hero of mine, and as I’ve said before, getting the call to make a record together was like being asked by Batman to join him on his crusade against crime. The coincident release of Independently Blue and Duke’s new gig with Bob Dylan made me want to share some thoughts about what Duke’s music means to me. Hope you enjoy it.

Here’s a confession for you: for years, I didn’t quite “get” Duke Robillard. Don’t get me wrong – I was a fan from the first time I heard him, and he profoundly influenced my playing. I just didn’t fully understand what he did. Although the word “encyclopedic” is thrown around a lot to describe Duke’s knowledge of roots guitar styles – and have no doubt, it’s accurate and deserved – I feel like the word does Duke’s greater talents a disservice. Duke’s knowledge and skill are consummate and worthy of the praise they receive, but there’s a lot more going on with Duke’s music, and I feel like it’s worth talking about.

Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

Independently Blue CD release party

Image

 

Saturday the 30th.  8PM.  Chan’s in Woonsocket, RI.  I’ll write more about the album soon.

Buy tickets.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

March/April gigs!

IndependentlyBlue

 

 

 

 

March

March 1 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Chan’s, Woonsocket, RI

March 7 – w/Anthony Geraci, Michael “Mudcat” Ward and Marty Richards, The Bailey, Marshfield, MA

March 10 – w/Danny Banks, British Beer Company, Franklin, MA (1-4pm)

March 16 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Knickerbocker, Westerly, RI

March 17 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Narragansett Cafe, Jamestown, RI

March 23 – w/Barrett Anderson, Smoken’ Joe’s, Brighton, MA

March 24 – w/Shayne Soto, John Bunszell, and Douglas Banks, British Beer Company, Pembroke, MA

March 30 – W/THE DUKE ROBILLARD BAND, “INDEPENDENTLY BLUE” CD RELEASE PARTY, Chan’s, Woonsocket, RI

April

April 2 – w/Ed Scheer and Barrett Anderson, Smoken’ Joe’s, Brighton, MA

April 6 – w/Shayne Soto, John Bunszell, and Douglas Banks, Annabelle’s, Hyde Park, MA

April 12 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Popa Chubby and Joe Louis Walker, The Flying Monkey, Plymouth, NH

April 13 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Tampa, FL

April 24 – Blues Jam with the Double D’s, Tavern, Plainville, MA

April 25 – w/Anthony Geraci, Michael “Mudcat” Ward, and Mark Teixeira, The Bailey, Marshfield, MA

April 27 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Cady’s Tavern, Chepachet, RI

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

January/February Shows!

January

January 24 – w/Anthony Geraci, Michael “Mudcat” Ward and Marty Richards – The Bailey, Marshfield, MA

January 26 – w/Barrett Anderson, Atwood’s, Cambridge, MA

February

February 6 – Blues Jam with the Double D’s, Tavern, Plainville, MA

February 9 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Popa Chubby and Joe Louis Walker, The Flying Monkey, Plymouth, NH – POSTPONED

February 11 – w/The White Owls, Toad, Cambridge, MA

February 17 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Blues For The Beach Benefit, Knickerbocker Cafe, Westerly, RI

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

August/September Shows

August

August 18 – w/Danny Banks, Pembroke 300th year celebration, Pembroke, MA (6pm)

August 30 – w/Anthony Geraci, Michael “Mudcat” Ward, and Chris Anzalone, the Bailey, Marshfield, MA

September

September 1 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, DC Blues Society Event, Carter Barron Amphitheater Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC

September 7 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Harry’s, Hyannis, MA

September 8 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Cady’s Tavern, Chepachet, RI

September 14 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Knickerbocker, Westerly, RI

September 16 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Blast Furnace Blues Festival, Bethlehem, PA (3:15 and 7:45)

September 20 – w/Anthony Geraci, Michael “Mudcat” Ward, and Marty Richards, the Bailey, Marshfield, MA

September 21 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Chan’s, Woonsocket, RI

September 25 – w/Mr. Nick and Ed Scheer, Smoken’ Joe’s, Brighton, MA

September 26 – Blues Jam with the Double D’s, Tavern, Plainville, MA

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment