Category: Blues/Jazz

Winter Carnival 2015: Swampcandy has a Delta Groove

Swampcandy hit the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival and turned the Waterhole into a deep Delta Juke joint. Composed of Ruben Dobbs on vocals and guitar and Joey Mitchell on stand up bass and kick drum, this duo brings raw, stomping, highly rhythmic post modern blues from the Mississippi Hill Country and mixes it with an infusion of punk energy. One, two, three, BAM they start off full tilt with inescapable rhythmic boogie riffs and physically take off with a continuous motion of hands slapping bass, guitar shuffle, bare foot on the kick-drum and hair a-flying.

One can see why they have been welcomed with such great acceptance in blues-aware England and played with T-Model Ford in the Delta. They have been awarded first place in the On The Rise competition at the 2014 Floydfest and are currently number one across the board on ReverbNation. They continue to tour throughout the US, with their second album being released in the spring. Get down and swamp boogie with this band.

February 19, 2015
Upstate’s Joe Bonamassa Gives Albany the Blues

Joe Bonamassa may have been born in Central New York, but his guitar prowess has taken him around the world many times over. In the blues community, Bonamassa built up a name for himself before it was legal for him to have a beer.

On January 19th, Joe Bonamassa brought the blues to the gorgeous Palace Theatre in Albany. The two-set show was comprised of an acoustic first set, and an electrifying second set. Playing his hits, the crowd starting tapping their feet and bobbing their heads as soon as the first notes of “Dust Bowl” flowed until the end of the three song encore “Hey Baby”, “Oh Beautiful” and “So, What Would I Do”.

Joe Bonamassa wasn’t the only living legend playing the blues on stage in Albany either. Reese Wynans (keys), who will be entering the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame this year with Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Carmine Rojas (bass, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder), Lenny Castro (percussion, Toto, Adele, Steely Dan), Tal Bergman (drums, Billy Idol, LL Cool J), Derek Sherinian (keys, Buddy Miles, Kiss, Dream Theater), Mats Wester (strings), Gerry O’Connor (strings) and an incredible horn section.

Acoustic Set: Dust Bowl, Trouble Town, Still Water, Stones in My Passway, Slow Train, Different Shades of Blue, Black Lung Heartache, Happier Times, Athens to Athens

Electric Set: Never Give All Your Heart, Hidden Charms, Living On the Moon, Can’t Be Satisfied, Double Trouble, Love Ain’t a Love Song, Gave Up Everything for You, One Less Cross to Bear, Sloe Gin, Ballad of John Henry

Encore: Hey Baby, Oh Beautiful, So What Would I Do

January 23, 2015
Blues Legend Robert Cray to Play Bardavon January 31

Grammy Award winning blues guitarist Robert Cray and his band will play the Bardavon 1869 Opera House on Saturday, January 31.

A 2011 inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame, Cray released his 17^th studio album in 2014. He has played with the likes of legends Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, and John Lee Hooker and on January 31 leads the Robert Cray Band to the stage of New York State’s longest continually running concert hall.

Cray’s music falls under the blues umbrella, but jazz, funk, soul, R&B and rock influences can be detected throughout his catalog. According to Cray, “When I first started playing guitar, I wanted to be George Harrison – that is, until I heard Jimi Hendrix. After that, I wanted to be Albert Collins and Buddy Guy and B.B. King. And then there are singers like O.V. Wright and Bobby Blue Bland. It’s all mixed up in there.” He’ll let that all loose on January 31 in Poughkeepsie.

Joining Cray on the guitar is Richard Cousins on bass, Les Falconer on drums, and Dover Weinberg on the piano. Cousins has played on and off in The Robert Cray Band spanning five decades while Weinberg played with the band in the 70’s before recently rejoining. On the drums, Falconer is beginning his third year with Cray. The band’s decades worth of playing together adds up to tight grooves and complete control under the limelight.

Their Saturday night performance at the Bardavon is sure to be a hit. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets can be purchased here.

January 22, 2015