Today marks the release of the Mannish Boys’ Wrapped Up and Ready on the Delta Groove label! (Listen to samples and order here, or maybe at iTunes) I was honored when Randy Chortkoff asked me to participate – I’ve been a fan of everyone involved for years – and I ended up playing on eight of the sixteen songs and contributing two originals. Along with the core team of Jimi Bott on drums, Willie J. Campbell on bass, Kirk Fletcher and Franck Goldwasser on guitars, Randy Chortkoff on harp, and the mighty Sugaray Rayford on vocals, the special guests include Candye Kane and Trenda Fox on vocals, Fred Kaplan and Rich Wenzel on piano, Ron Dziubla on saxes, longtime personal heroes Kid Ramos and Steve Freund along with new heroes Laura Chavez and Nico Duportal on guitar, and harp players Bob Corritore, Jacob Huffman, and in a personal bucket list moment for me, I got to play on three songs with Kim Wilson. (That sound you just heard was me getting in the DeLorean to go high-five 13-year old Mike Welch. Seriously, if you had said to me, “this whole prodigy thing you’re going through won’t make you a big star, but you’ll be in Sugar Ray and the Bluetones and make records with people like Kim Wilson,” I’d have been overjoyed. I’ve had insane luck backing up harp players, and I’m thankful for every minute.)
Seriously, listen and order at Delta Groove Productions or at iTunes. I think you’ll be happy you did. (And if you get it on iTunes and want to know who played on what, I included the credits. Click the picture to make it readably big.)
ALSO…
Here’s some tour dates with the Bluetones, the Mannish Boys and more! As always, the complete schedule is on the Upcoming Shows page, and everything’s subject to change.
June 21 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Joe’s Jazz and Blues Fest, Powderhouse Park, Somerville, MA
June 22 – w/Danny and Douglas Banks, Blues Brunch at the British Beer Company, Framingham, MA
June 27 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Amazing Things Arts Center, Framingham, MA
June 28 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Mystic Blues Festival, Mystic, CT
July
July 5 – w/David Maxwell featuring Darrell Nulisch, Marblehead Festival of Arts, Marblehead, MA
July 7 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Stockroom Blue Monday, Mystic, CT
July 11 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Peter’s Players, Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada
July 12 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Ottawa Blues Fest, Ottawa, Canada
July 13 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Beaches International Jazz Festival, Toronto, Canada
July 15 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, B.B.’s Blues, Jazz and Soups, St. Louis, MO
July 16 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Pearson Lakes Arts Center, Okoboji, IA
July 17 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Blues In Central Park, Decatur, IL
July 18 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Buddy Guy’s Legends, Chicago, IL
July 19 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Thunderbird Cafe, Pittsburgh, PA
July 26 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Soundwaves Cruise, Boston Harbor, Boston, MA
July 30 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Blues On The Beach, Westerly, RI
August
August 1-2 – w/The Mannish Boys, Calgary International Blues Fest, Calgary, Canada
August 9 – w/Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Gloucester Blues Festival, Gloucester, MA
August 14-18 – w/The Mannish Boys and more, Blues Now! Festival, Basel, Switzerland
August 24 – w/Sugaray Rayford, Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Marshfield Fair, Marshfield, MA
August 27 – w/David Maxwell, MFA Courtyard Concert Series, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Monster Mike Welch 