koko Taylor News

Now an annual musical event in Folsom, Mark Hummel's Blues Harmonica Blowout is a show no blues lover dares to miss. This year's all-star gathering will be a Chicago Blues Celebration, and the lineup is straight Windy City: Billy Boy Arnold (Muddy Waters), John Primer (bandleader and lead guitarist for Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon), Mark Hummel, Deitra Farr (vocalist; Chicago Blues Hall of Fame), Oscar Wilson (Cash Box Kings), R.J. Mischo, Billy Flynn, June Core, RW Grisby, and Bob Welsh.

Blues-rock guitar wizard, vocalist and songwriter Tinsley Ellis will celebrate the release of his powerful new CD, WINNING HAND, with a live performance on Sunday, January 21, 2018 at City Winery in New York. Since his Alligator debut 30 years ago, Tinsley Ellis has become a bona fide worldwide guitar hero.

Black Ensemble Theater's Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor announces the 2018 Season featuring tributes to legendary artists Chuck Berry and Patti LaBelle, as well as the Blues (highlighting the music of some of the greatest Blues artists from Muddy Waters to B.B. King), Hip Hop music, and the Women of Soul. Performances will be held at the Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark Street in Chicago.

'To understand where you're going, you gotta know where you've been.' -- Slam Allen

See the newly announced lineup for September at Chicago City Winery below!

Following her strut down the red carpet at the Grammy Awards and her newest release "Blue Again," soul-blues star Janiva Magness will be debuting her new material live on her Blue Again Tour. Magness will demonstrate how her robust and soulful voice can seamlessly shift from swampy blues to funky soul as she performs songs from her 2017 Grammy nominated album and 12th release Love Wins Again as well as her entire repertoire on Saturday August 12 in Pawling, NY at Daryl's House at 8 PM.

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, announces father-son duo Jeff Daniels with the Ben Daniels Band, Israeli pop star Rami Kleinstein, "The Voice of Ireland" Tommy Fleming and more. The following shows go on sale to the public on Friday, July 7 at noon at citywinery.com/chicago.

Ruthie will celebrate the album tomorrow, March 21, at 8:30 p.m. at City Vineyard (Voices Along the Hudson, 155 Varick, NYC).

Lurrie Bell has been acclaimed for his intense guitar playing and passionate vocals which have made him a favorite at clubs and festivals around the world and earned him a reputation as one of the "leading lights" in the future of the blues.  Son of famed blues harmonica player Carey Bell, he has appeared on over 50 recordings either as leader or featured sideman and received numerous awards and honors, including Best Traditional Male Blues Artist in 2015 by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, and Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar) in 2016 by Living Blues magazine. In this program he will be joined by his band and include selections from his acclaimed Delmark albums, Blues in My Soul and the recent Grammy-nominated Can't Shake This Feeling. His band is composed of Willie "The Touch" Hayes (drums), Roosevelt Purifoy (keys), and Melvin Smith (bass).

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, Chicago, has announced its 2016 holiday lineup. 

 City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, announces powerful singer Res, pop rock band Freddy Jones Band and more. The following shows go on sale to the public on Wednesday, November 23, at noon at citywinery.com/chicago.

For 30 years the Women's Blues Revue has been bringing blues lovers together for an evening honouring the contributions to the genre of some of Canada's finest musicians. Over the years, the Women's Blues revue has brought artists like Serena Ryder, Molly Johnson, Amanda Marshall, Jackie Richardson, Sass Jordan and more together on the stage to celebrate the past, present and future of blues music in Canada.

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, Chicago, has announced its 2016 holiday lineup. 

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) will honor four Chicago artists and arts advocates and one iconic cultural institution at the 3rd annual Fifth Star Awards presented by Allstate Insurance Company today, September 14 at 7pm-at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

'It was pretty hardcore, you sink or swim; I went into the deep end of the pool, but I was determined and I was just thrilled to be jamming with these guys. Meeting Otis Rush; playing with Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Junior Wells. I can't believe I'm actually doing all this! I was 22, 23 years old.'

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) will honor four Chicago artists and arts advocates and one iconic cultural institution at the 3rd annual Fifth Star Awards presented by Allstate Insurance Company on Wednesday, September 14 at 7pm-at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

?Robert Browning, called “the entrepreneur who almost single-handedly created and filled New Yorkers' passion for world music” in the New York Times, begins a new season with traditional and cross-cultural music from various countries around the world, including India, Iran, Mali, Spain, Armenia, Turkey, Ireland, Haiti, and the US.

“I'd like to think I'm trying to keep that (blues) tradition going. Everything else came from it, whether that's blues or gospel. I'd like to see that reflecting everything I do and how I live, I think it's important to do that as a musician, and that's become more and more important to me, and more respectful when it comes to music.”

Gritty-voiced Ruthie Foster traverses blues, soul, rock, folk and gospel as she draws from her past - rural Texas church choir roots, a tour with the U.S. Navy Band and, most recently, time spent in the industry's limelight as a Grammy nominee. Four-time winner of the Blues Music Awards Best Traditional Female Artist of the Year (the Koko Taylor Award), the captivating Ms. Foster delivers a sound The New York Times calls "long-suffering, forthright, resilient and thoroughly at home." Her April 2 concert fills The Eccles Center with high voltage blues and soul at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 435-655-3114 or online at EcclesCenter.org.

On May 4, 2016 five legendary blues performers, two individuals who were instrumental in the creation of blues music, five single blues recordings, one blues album and an important piece of blues literature will be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.