7th Annual Winter Blues Music Festival Slated for March 10

Winter Blues Music FestivalCelebrating its seventh year, the Winter Blues Music Festival will take place on March 10 at the Elk’s Lodge,13121 SE McLoughlin Boulevard in Oak Grove. This year’s event will feature the music of Gabriel Cox, Timothy James & The Portland Blues Revival, Johnny Wheels & The Swamp Donkeys, Suburban Slim, The Thunder Brothers, Kris Deelane & The Hurt, plus special guest performers from Youth Music Project.

This indoor festival will offer two stages and dance floors, with food and beverages available for purchase. Ticket sales as well as a raffle and silent auction will help raise money for this year’s charity beneficiaries, Youth Music Project and the Oregon Food Bank. Doors open at 2:30, music starts at 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Admission is $20.00 advance through Brownpapertickets.com or $25.00 at the door. Visit www.winterbluesfest.net for more information.

Additionally, we are asking that you bring 6 cans of food, or as another option, you can purchase an $10.00 emergency food box at the door for the Oregon Food Bank.

 

 

Folk Blues Great Chris Smither Slated for the Alberta Rose

Chris Smither

Chris SmitherThe Alberta Rose Theatre welcomes legendary singer/songwriter Chris Smither on Wednesday, March 7 at 8:00 pm for an all ages performance. Smither draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, as well as modern poets and philosophers. Smither began his career encouraged by folk musician Eric Von Schmidt in the mid-1960s, and has in turn inspired many younger musicians, including Bonnie Raitt who has recorded a number of his compositions including “Love You Like a Man.” His signature guitar playing and gravelly voice have made him a mainstay at festivals, coffeehouses, venues, and club circuits throughout North America and Europe.

Tickets for Chris Smither are available through Ticketbiscuit.com and the Alberta Rose Theatre website for $22.00, or at the door for $26.00 day of show. The Alberta Rose Theatre is located at 3000 NE Alberta Street.

Chris Smither will also be holding an in-store performance on Tuesday, March 6 at 6:00 and will be in Eugene for a concert at The Shedd Institute on Thursday, March 8.

Martin Sexton Booked for The Aladdin

Martin Sexton grew up on roots rock and the blues and is known for his spellbinding live performances, amazing vocal, and searing guitar chops. His songwriting blends several genres of American music, including soul, gospel, country, rock, blues, and R&B, with a voice that Rolling Stone described as “soul marinated that can easily be compared to the likes of a young Steve Winwood or Van Morrison.”

Sexton will be appearing at The Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Avenue, on Sunday, March 18, at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $35.00 advance through Ticketfly.com or $40.00 at the door day of show. This is an all ages event. Portland’s Brady Goss opens the show.

Martin Sexton will also be performing at The Shedd Institute in Eugene on Friday, March 16.

Illegal Smile – The Music of John Prine

Lake Theater & Café

An all-star collection of some of Portland’s finest musicians will gather at The Lake Theater & Café on Monday, March 5, for a tribute to one of the greatest songwriters of our time, John Prine. Join Julie Amici, Dean Mueller, Thad Beckman, Mark Shark, and Carlton Jackson for a night that will have the audience singing along to nearly fifty years of Prine’s recordings, such as “Hello in There,” “Illegal Smile,” “Lake Marie,” “In Spite of Ourselves,” “Angel From Montgomery,” and many others.

The Lake Theater & Café is located at 106 N State Street in Lake Oswego. Tickets are $15.00 and can be purchased at laketheatercafe.com. show time is 7:00 pm.

Muddy Waters Celebration & Blues Dance Returns to Lake Theater

Lake Theater & Café

Muddy Waters Celebration Lake Theater & CaféThe Northwest’s top Muddy Waters tribute show will return to The Lake Theater & Café, 106 N State Street, Lake Oswego, on Monday, March 26. This is an early celebration of Muddy’s birthday, who would’ve turned 103 years old on April 4. To properly honor the music of Muddy, four internationally acclaimed bluesmen who bask in the performance of old school traditional blues will be on hand to honor the legend in his original style. Join guitarist Alan Hager, bassist Dean Mueller, drummer Jimi Bott, and harmonica player Mitch Kashmar for a night of dancing and classic Chicago blues.
Tickets for this show are $15.00 available at Laketheatercafe.com. Showtime is 7:00 pm.

Canadian Blues Master Harpdog Brown Headed for Catfish Lou’s

Harpdog Brown

Harpdog BrownCalled the best blues band in Canada, Harpdog Brown & The Travelin’ Blues Show returns to Portland for a night at Catfish Lou’s on Friday, March 23. A perennial winner of the Maple Awards for best harmonica player, Brown has been called a blues evangelist because, as he explains, “I speak the blues like it’s the truth.” Carrying on the traditional sound of old Chess and Sun recordings, this is authentic, down-in-the-alley blues.
Tickets for Harpdog Brown can be purchased in advance at Ticketleap.com for $10.00. Catfish Lou’s is located at 2460 NW 24th Avenue. Show time is 9:00 pm.

British Blues Guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor Making Rare Portland Stop

Joanne Shaw Taylor

Joanne Shaw TaylorJoanne Shaw Taylor has established herself as the UK’s number one blues-rock artist, touring extensively around the world and releasing critically acclaimed albums. Originally discovered at sixteen by Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics, Shaw, now thirty-one, has taken hold of her rightful position as one of the most sensational guitarists of the genre, following in the steps of her heroes Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins, Bonnie Raitt, Led Zeppelin, and others.
Joanne Shaw Taylor will be appearing at the Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Avenue, on Monday, March 19, at 8:00 pm. This is an all ages event with tickets at Ticketfly.com for $20.00, or $22.00 at the door day of show.

Hit Broadway Play, A Night With Janis, Plays Portland For One Night Only

Like a comet that burns far too brightly to last, Janis Joplin exploded onto the music scene in 1967 and, almost overnight, became the queen of rock & roll. The unmistakable voice, filled with raw emotion and tinged with Southern Comfort, made her a must-see headliner from Monterey to Woodstock. Now, Portland is invited to share an evening with the woman and her musical influences in the hit musical A Night With Janis Joplin.

Fueled by such unforgettable songs as “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Piece of My Heart,”  “Mercedes Benz,” “Cry Baby” and “Summertime,” this sensational show is a musical journey celebrating Joplin and her biggest musical influences—icons like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Odetta, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith, who inspired one of rock & roll’s greatest legends.

The New York Times raved that A Night With Janis Joplin “rocks the house,” Variety called it “electrifying,” The Los Angeles Times said “A Night With Janis Joplin will rock your world!” and The Washington Post proclaimed it “Exhilarating … Remarkable … A joyful ruckus.”

First scheduled for this past October, A Night With Janis was postponed to the current Sunday, February 11 date at The Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay Street. The original tickets sold will be honored for the new date. Tickets are available at Ticketswest.com ranging from $35.00 – $65.00. Show time is 7:30 pm.

Three Rockin’ Nights Of Blues With Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

Tommy Castro & The PainkillersCalifornia’s blues heroes Tommy Castro & The Painkillers will be heading up the coast for a handful of shows celebrating the release of their latest recording on Alligator Records, Stompin’ Ground. Night after night, Tommy Castro, a fierce and fiery road warrior, fervently delivers his driving, blues-soaked, soul-baring music to fans all over the world. The road is where he honed his guitar playing to a razor’s edge. It’s where he learned how to captivate an audience with his intensely passionate vocals and his memorable songs, licks and grooves. It’s where he learned to turn his band into a dynamic, high-performance engine, able to bring down the house with a soulful ballad and then bring fans to their feet with a blistering blues rocker. In the words of Blues Revue, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong.”.

The first stop will take place at Jaqua Concert Hall, at The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts in Eugene on Friday, February 16. Tickets are $29.00 and available online at Theshedd.org. The Jaqua Concert Hall is located at 285 E Broadway.

On Tuesday, February 20, the band returns to Portland at The Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 Alberta Street. This is an all ages event with advance tickets available at Albertarosetheatre.com for $22.00. show time is 8:00 pm.

Then on Wednesday, February 21, they will be heading to Central Oregon for a show at The Belfry, 302 E Main Avenue in Sisters. Show time is 7:00 pm and tickets are $20.00.

Seth Walker – Blues, Soul & Americana Master at White Eagle

Seth Walker

Seth WalkerSeth Walker boils down the American music experience into a savory roux.  A splendid mix of roots styles: blues, soul, and Americana, featuring deep-fried guitar licks, churchy organ and crisp horns, mostly delivered over spot-on shuffles. An artist who the Austin American Statesman calls “pure talent, a masterful blues guitarist, a singer with swing in his voice and a writer whose songs sound less composed than unleashed.”

Having lived in two of America’s musical meccas, Walker had taken his experiences from both Nashville and Austin, blending the influences left upon him by artists like Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, and BB King, and developed his own unique form of songwriting and performance. And audiences have been enthralled by his diverse creativity both on recordings and on stage.

Seth Walker will be appearing in Portland at The White Eagle Saloon, 836 N Russell Street, on Thursday, February 1 at 8:00 pm. Tickets for this 21 and over show can be purchased in advance through Cascadetickets.com for $10.00 or $12.00 at the door day of show. Opening act is Portland-based Rainbow Electric, an electric folk/rock/blues band featuring improvisational jams and a range of emotion you won’t want to miss!

On Sunday, February 4, Seth Walker will be heading to the north Oregon Coast for a performance at Fort George Brewery, 1483 Duane Street in Astoria. Show time is 8:00 pm. This is a free show.