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FEATURED EVENTS
Jason Ricci & New Blood
Blues, Rock, Funk, Jazz Fusion, Eastern, Punk, Carnival, Psychedelic, Performance Art and more are all regularly attached descriptions of the band Jason Ricci and New Blood. Defying category, while respecting the techniques, authenticity and disciplines of each one of those artistic categories, Jason Ricci & New Blood is a rare find. The band has been touring their Blues, Jam and Rock consistently for over seven years, averaging nearly 300 shows annually around the world. In 2009 Jason Ricci and New Blood finished up work on their latest offering for the Eclecto Groove label titled "Done With The Devil". This is their most ambitious album yet produced by Grammy Award winner Phil Wolfe (Alabama).
Brittany Shane - opening act: Crossing Sarnoff
Brittany Shane is an American singer-songwriter and musician based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Wisconsin-born and raised songstress blends rock and pop with poetry. She got her start performing at The Fillmore in San Francisco, CA in 2000, playing acoustic in the Poster Room before acts such as Aimee Mann, Travis and Liz Phair graced the mainstage. Her current lineup includes: Bob Spector on guitar, Rory Judge on drums and Ted O'Connell on bass. Shane is currently on tour promoting her new album "Have Heart Live Young.” Shane has opened for Heart, Foreigner and Peter Frampton as well as headlining her own local shows in the Bay Area.
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked is a U.S. singer-songwriter whose music and performances seem influenced by her Texas roots, her political activism, and a self-assured style that her first major label producer likened to troubadours such as Joni Mitchell, Spider John Koerner, and Dave Van Ronk. Michelle’s stage name dates back to the name she gave when arrested in 1984 at a protest for fair housing during the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, California. Michelle has released over 13 albums, the recent of these include “To Heaven U Ride,” a collection of covers and originals recorded live from Shocked's 2003 performance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, followed by “Soul of My Soul,” a new set of originals released in late 2009.
Christian Scott
Christian Scott, born in 1983 in New Orleans, Louisiana is a Grammy Award nominated jazz trumpeter, composer, and producer. The young trumpeter has mastered the "whisper technique." By manipulating his breathing temperature and articulation he can procure a sound unlike the trumpet and more like a whispering human voice. Billboard Magazine highlighted Scott as one of the "10 Faces to Watch in 2006" and featured him on it’s cover twice that year. His critically acclaimed first album earned him the Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2006. Since then, Scott has released three solo studio recordings, Christian Scott, Rewind That and Anthem, and one live CD/DVD, Live At Newport, which was inspired by Hurricane Katrina's effect on his hometown of New Orleans. He was voted # 1 Trumpet Rising Star in the 2009 Downbeat poll. His latest album, "Yesterday You Said Tomorrow" will be released March 30.
New West
Originally a quartet, New West established themselves as a notable jazz group when they were all students at the University of Southern California. The group has continued to perform in major venues worldwide, and has recently collaborated with renowned jazz vocalist Gretchen Parlato and world-class luthier Jeff Traugott to produce their third album, "Sleeping Lady." This recording marks New West's transition from a quartet to a trio. Over the years, Newest has developed music to combine the sounds of acoustic and electric guitars. By utilizing these different timbres, the band creates a new medium of chamber music. Now in their early twenties, New West has established themselves as articulate and entertaining jazz ensemble with a very bright future.
Joe Louis Walker
Without a doubt one of the most exciting and innovative artists to grace contemporary blues, guitarist Joe Louis Walker continues to lead blues well into the twenty-first century. He was born in 1949 in San Francisco, and at age 14, he took up the guitar, playing blues (influenced by his parent’s musical taste) on the blooming San Francisco circuit. For a while, Walker roomed with Mike Bloomfield, who introduced him to Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead. By 1975, he burned out on blues and turned to God, singing for the next decade with a gospel group named the Spiritual Corinthians. When the Corinthians played the 1985 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Walker was inspired to embrace his blues roots again. He assembled a band, the Boss Talkers, and wrote some stunning originals that ended up on Cold Is the Night. Today, multiple Grammy and Blues Music Award-winner Walker continues to tour, and recently released “Between a Rock and the Blues” featuring guest appearances by label mate Duke Robillard and former “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” music director and guitarist Kevin Eubanks.
McDowell Mountain Music Festival
The seventh annual McDowell Mountain Music Festival (MMMF) has secured the lineup, along with a venue change and additional day (Sunday, April 25th) for a weekend filled with PEACE, LOVE & MUSIC!
Friday performances include: John Brown’s Body (an eight-person reggae group), Toubab Krewe (African music meets North Carolina’s ‘Dirty South’ influences), and Ruthie Foster (powerful blues/jazz vocalist with a Gospel background). New this year, an after-hours ticketed show featuring Assembly of Dust (11 PM to 2 AM inside The Compound Grill).
Saturday performances include: Robert Randolph & the Family Band (New Jersey native, steel-pedal guru), Super Chikan (American Blues musician), Ryan Shaw (young Motown singer from Georgia), as well as three local bands from Phoenix. The after-hours ticketed show for Saturday includes Steve Kimock Crazy Engine from 11 PM to 2 AM inside the Compound Grill.
Sunday performances include: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (three-time MMMF performer; classic rock band features new bassist Catherine Popper and rhythm guitarist Benny Yurco), Trombone Shorty Orleans Avenue (jazz/funk/rock musician) as well as two local Phoenix bands for Sunday.
The MMMF’s mission is to give 100% of the profit back to charity. Beneficiaries for 2010 include Phoenix Day and Ear Candy.
Martin Sexton - opening act: Ryan Montbleau Band
Martin Sexton fueled his dreams on the timeless sounds of classic rock and roll. He began to build his following singing on the streets of Harvard Square in Boston and self-produced a collection of demo recordings, In the Journey, which he sold 20,000 copies out of his guitar case busking. Worldwide touring and activity behind his records has laid a foundation for Martin Sexton’s career with a loyal fan base. Sexton has released Black Sheep, The American, Wonder Bar and Live Wide Open to name a few on his independent label KTR. His latest studio offering, Seeds, debuted at #6 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and the Los Angeles Times writes, “Call him a soul shouter, a road poet, a folkie or a rocker and you wouldn’t be wrong.”
Shelby Lynne - opening act: Findlay Brown
By the time Shelby Lynne won her Best New Artist Grammy, she'd already completed six albums, and had over a decade of recording experience under her belt. Yet in a way, the award was appropriate, since I Am Shelby Lynne was the album that finally found her taking control of her music, following years of casting about in search of an identity. Lynne's work ranges through country, blues, Southern soul, roots rock, Western swing, jazz, and adult contemporary pop; naturally, that eclecticism made her difficult to market, and it also resulted in pressure to record more commercial, radio-friendly material that didn't really suit her. Once Lynne put all the pieces together, she found herself embraced not only by the country mainstream, but by rock critics, British audiences, and the alt-country/Americana crowd. Her latest album, Tears, Lies and Alibis will be released April 20th.
