The Empress Theatre Presents Sugaray Rayford, Today

When Sugaray Rayford belts out a song, you not only hear it, you feel it. The excitement in the room is palpable when he takes the stage. His dynamic voice is as large as the man himself. With his old school vocal style, Echoes of Muddy Waters, Otis Redding and Teddy Pendergrass can be heard. At 6'5" he is a big man, but he moves with grace and energy and his dance steps will remind you of the Legendary James Brown.

Suga started singing contemporary music about 15 years ago in the San Diego area, where he sang lead vocals with a R&B/Funk band called Urban Gypsys. With this band he had the privilege of sharing the stage with many notable artists such as The Average White Band, Dennis Quaid, Joe Louis Walker and Kal David to name a few. After dabbling in blues just a bit, Suga realized that the blues was where his heart and soul belonged. So after some soul searching he left the Urban Gypsys and became the lead vocalist for Aunt Kizzy'z Boyz, a Temecula area blues band. Shortly after joining the band in 2004, they released their first CD "Trunk Full of Bluez". This band was hungry and played over 200 gigs a year for the next few years while their popularity rose exponentially.

In 2006, Aunt Kizzy'z Boyz represented San Diego (Blues Lovers United San Diego) in Memphis at the International Blues Challenge (IBC), and brought home the 2nd place prize. The band began playing higher profile gigs and in 2007 and released their 2nd CD "It's Tight Like That". In September 2008, the Boys won the LAMN Jam Grand Slam Urban Artist of the Year title by a landslide, beating out hundreds of other competitors and were offered a distribution deal on the spot by RBC Records. It was becoming obvious though at this point that the band's most valuable ingredient was that of their dynamic front man, Sugaray! He really knew how to work a crowd and turn up the energy level of a room right quick!

Public Information: Ticket prices are $30 online, $35 by phone or at the box office. Visit www.empresstheatre.org or call 707-552-2400.

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