The Blues Project Announces Guitarist Mark Newman Has Joined the Band For Their October 2023 East Coast Tour Dates

Mark Newman is back on tour this October - appearing LIVE on Guitar and vocals with the legendary 60’s group, The Blues Project led by original drummer Roy Blumenfeld in a new lineup that also includes Ken Clark, Chris Bergson & Jesse Williams. East Coast Tour dates include stops in Saugerties & NYC’s Iridium and more. 

Originally from New York, the Blues Project are possibly the best unsung American rock band of the sixties. The music of The Blues Project defies description, ranging from folk-rock to soul, from rock 'n' roll and blues to jazz, all blended together to produce a tremendously wide spectrum.

They have played alongside artists such as Big Joe Williams, Son House, Bukka White, Skip James, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Otis Spann, to name a few. They also performed at the legendary Monterey International Pop Festival which also featured Otis Redding, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix and many more soon to be legends. They even achieved the admiration of their local peers.

The not-yet famous Grace Slick, for example, dreamed to be the band's new female singer after sharing the bill with them at the Avalon Ballroom. 

See the full schedule below, and don’t miss your chance to check out The Blues Project in a city near you!

Upcoming Mark Newman Showdates with The Blues Project: 

Oct 4th - Catskill Mountain Moonshine Co., LLC, Saugerties, NY

Oct 5th - The Iridium, NYC

Oct 6th - Jamey's House of Music, Lansdowne, PA

Oct 7th - Matinee - The Lizzie Rose Music Room, Tuckerton, NJ

Oct 7th - Night - Olive's, Nyack, NY

Oct 8th - Caffe Lena, Saratoga, Springs, NY

Mark Newman is a well traveled and in demand professional whose musical prowess has taken him around the world several times over; working alongside many soul, blues, and rock greats of our time including John Oates (Hall & Oates), Jim McCarty (The Yardbirds), Willy DeVille (Mink DeVille), Sam The Sham, Bobby Whitlock (Derek and the Dominos) and Sam Moore (Sam & Dave),  as part of these bands Mark has shared the stage with stars such as Sting, Elvis Costello, Travis Tritt and Carla Thomas as well.

As an opening act, Mark and his original band have played many dates with acts like Delbert McClinton, Les Dudek, The Doobie Brothers, Don Felder of The Eagles, David Bromberg and many others.

A multi stringsman, Mark has mastered electric/acoustic/lap steel guitar as well as the mandolin and dobro. Past music releases include the singles “At The Border” which was originally written with the struggles people were experiencing fleeing the war in Ukraine in mind, but is also inspired by the millions of people all around the world trying to escape oppression and hunger on an ongoing basis, “Tulsa”, a song and video created in remembrance of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, and “From Me To You”, a cover of the Janis Ian song for her Better Times Project of 2020.

His most recent studio album, “Empirical Truth” was the 2019 Winner of The Long Island Blues Society Best Album Category, and represented the NY area in competition at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Earlier records include 2006’s “Must Be a Pony”, 2010’s “Walls of Jericho”, and 2015’s  “Brussels” - a live acoustic-driven EP.