Bobby Bland News

It’s been over 40 years since The Legendary Downchild Blues Band have played the iconic El Mocambo in Toronto, so the band thought it would be fun to play the club one more time on Saturday, November 25, 2023 at 8:00 pm with special guest Jeff Rogers.

 An artist who felt a strong connection to B.B. King—and whose guitar skills King greatly admired—will be the headliner for the grand reopening of Indianola’s historic Club Ebony on June 1-3, 2023. Susan Tedeschi and her husband, Derek Trucks, also performed in 2021 at the opening of the B.B. King Museum and Interpretive Center’s Expansion and Memorial Courtyard to pay homage to one of their music mentors.

“Curtis Mayfield was the guy that I always idolized,” says Holvay, who wrote his first song at the age of 12. “I always gravitated toward black music when I was a kid. My roots were always in black music.”

'I think everybody just needs to do what's in their heart and play what they need to play. I don't think the blues has to go any particular direction; I think everybody who creates in this genre need to do it their own way.' -- Albert Castiglia, on the future of the blues...

The whole world is getting hip to Bobby Rush.  After decades of tearing up the chitlin' circuit on a nightly basis with his sweaty, no-holds-barred funkfests, Bobby has thoroughly broken through to the mainstream. He won a long-overdue 2017 Grammy Award for his spectacular album Porcupine Meat and consistently tours the globe as a headliner. What's more, Bobby's brand-new album Sitting on Top of the Blues on his own Deep Rush imprint (distributed by Thirty Tigers), due out August 16, 2019, promises to further spread the news that this revered legend, well past 80 years of age even if his stratospheric energy level belies the calendar, is bigger and badder and bolder than ever.

The whole world is getting hip to Bobby Rush.  After decades of tearing up the chitlin' circuit on a nightly basis with his sweaty, no-holds-barred funkfests, Bobby has thoroughly broken through to the mainstream. He won a long-overdue 2017 Grammy Award for his spectacular album Porcupine Meat and consistently tours the globe as a headliner. What's more, Bobby's brand-new album Sitting on Top of the Blues on his own Deep Rush imprint (distributed by Thirty Tigers), due out August 16, 2019, promises to further spread the news that this revered legend, well past 80 years of age even if his stratospheric energy level belies the calendar, is bigger and badder and bolder than ever.

Grammy Nominated soul band, The GroovaLottos will be playing at SOB's on September 1st. Almost as impressive as their live show are the musician's foundations as backing players for the who's who of classic and contemporary soul music.

Veteran blues guitarist Robert Cray and his band perform at Mayo Performing Arts Center on Thursday, September 6 at 8 pm.  Tickets are $29-$59.

Now celebrating 20 years as a mainstay in the Indianapolis arts and culture scene, the annual Indy Jazz Fest returns in 2018 with a 10-day lineup celebrating the legacy of jazz, modern masters and the discovery of new jazz stars. Indy Jazz Fest returns this year with "The Big Beat" to celebrate and honor the spirit of Art Blakey. This year's festival features Jazz new stars, Indianapolis' notable performers and award winning national acts.

Soulful Productions presents a sizzling celebration of soul, Motown, funk, show tunes and drag with Sweet Bubbling Nights on Saturday, June 23, 2018 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. The performance will bring together 23 of the city's most iconic musical talents, female impersonators and dancers in support of the LGBTI Pulse Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is the first of its kind in the United Nations system presented by International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Migration Agency, and is awarded to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex (and Queer) youth worldwide who are in pursuit of a university or college degree.

The second Wednesday in June marks a special evening of acoustic blues, a concert honoring the roots of the blues while sharing the music of those working at the forefront of the genre.

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, announces holiday concerts with award-winning singer, actress, and comedian Jane Lynch ("Glee") and more. The following shows go on sale to the public on Thursday, April 26 at 2:00 p.m. All tickets will be available at citywinery.com/chicago.

The annual B.B. King Homecoming Festival will return this year to Fletcher Park in Indianola while work continues on an expansion of the museum that bears King's name. Featured at this year's festival on June 2nd will be Tito Jackson and the B.B. King Blues Band. Jackson, well known for his role with the Jackson 5 and The Jacksons, teamed up with the B.B. King Blues Band in 2017 to become their new lead singer. The band is comprised of many of King's former band members who still perform together, so event goers will likely see familiar faces.

Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release Van Morrison's new 39th studio album, You're Driving Me Crazy, a musical collaboration with Hammond organ virtuoso and trumpet master Joey DeFrancesco, on Friday, April 27.

Hall of Fame blues guitarist, and five-time Grammy winner, Robert Cray, brings his smooth voice, and masterful guitar skills to open the Park City Institute's 20th Anniversary Season at the George S. and Dolores Dor Eccles Center, on December 9.

Hall of Fame blues guitarist, and five-time Grammy winner, Robert Cray, brings his smooth voice, and masterful guitar skills to open the Park City Institute's 20th Anniversary Season at the George S. and Dolores Dor Eccles Center, on December 9.

 Amy Black has always been drawn to soul singers. But it wasn't until she began exploring her own southern roots for her last album, The Muscle Shoals Sessions, that she found her musical sweet spot - and knew her next stop had to be the place where blues and soul converge (and where she herself was conceived); where Al Green, Otis Redding and so many others spun grit and groove into some of the world's most beloved tunes. So she traveled from her Nashville home to Soulsville U.S.A. and joined forces with several top musical architects to lay down the sound she was meant to make - the sound of Memphis.

Dynamic blues vocalist and veracious live performer Gina Sicilia's new album, Tug of War, celebrates her status as one of the reigning voices in modern blues marking a potent evolution in her songwriting.

Trinity Church Wall Street's annual series of concerts in January has long been a highlight of the musical season. Entitled 'Time's Arrow' to allude to Trinity's signature juxtaposition of early and modern music, the 2017 festival (Jan 1-12) celebrates the 250th anniversary of the opening of St. Paul's Chapel, the oldest church building in Manhattan.

Featuring a new line-up of incredible talents whose full stories and journeys have yet to be told, TV One's longest-running and award-winning UNSUNG series premieres six new episodes beginning, Today, Nov. 2