Joe Bonamassa

As Joe Bonamassa approaches his 26th year as a professional musician, he continues to blaze a remarkably versatile artistic trail, and amass an authentic, innovative and soulful body of work. Bonamassa’s career began onstage opening for B.B. King in 1989, when he was only 12 years old. Today, he is hailed worldwide as one of the greatest guitar players of his generation, and is an ever-evolving singer-songwriter who has released 16 solo albums in the last 14 years, all on his own label, J&R Adventures. Bonamassa’s tour schedule consistently hovers at around 100 shows worldwide each year, and a heaping handful of markedly diverse side projects keep him thinking outside the box and flexing every musical muscle he’s got. He founded and oversees the non-profit Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation to promote the heritage of the blues to the next generation, fund music scholarships, and supplement the loss of music education in public schools. There’s a case to be made that Joe Bonamassa, like another star who shared the same initials, is the hardest working man in show business.

Robert Randolph & The Family

When Robert Randolph talks about his new album, Lickety Split, a few words come up over and over—"joy," "freedom," "energy." Which is no surprise, really, because those are the same things that immediately spring into a listener's mind when these twelve tracks from the virtuoso pedal steel guitarist and his longtime accompanists, the Family Band, explode out of the speakers. "My thing is really upbeat, uptempo, with great guitar riffs," says Randolph, summarizing his musical ambitions, "but also catchy choruses and lyrics that someday will make this music into classic tunes." “Robert Randolph is an American Original," says Don Was, President of Randolph's new label, Blue Note Records. "He has mastered what is, arguably, the most complex instrument in the world and developed a unique voice that is equal parts street-­‐corner church and Bonnaroo. This album finally captures the energy and excitement of his legendary live performances.”

Blues Traveler

After selling millions of records and logging thousands of miles on the road, GRAMMY award-winning band Blues Traveler continue to chart new musical directions evident on their upcoming record Blow Up The Moon. A clever collaboration between various artists, Blow Up The Moon sees Blues Traveler keep an open-minded perspective on making music and enlists an eclectic mix of songwriters influenced by the bands remarkable 25+ year career. Blow Up The Moon is first time the band collaborated with other songwriters and this record happened to feature a range of artists across the spectrum, representing country, pop, reggae and hip-hop.

Beth Hart

Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter Beth Hart has been recognized across the world as one of the great live vocalists of our time. For 20 years, she has been leveling audiences with her incredible power, range and soul. A Planetmosh critic said, “I was just blown away by Beth’s voice!”, and American Songwriter proclaimed, “Beth’s tough, throaty voice...she uses that powerful instrument to best effect on dramatic, arena filling ballads.” Four of the greatest lead guitar legends in the business knew this, which is why they asked her to perform with them: in concert with Jeff Beck, in concert and on two spellbinding albums (Don’t Explain and Seesaw) with Joe Bonamassa, on two powerhouse records with Slash (on Beth’s own track, Sister Heroine, and on Slash’s Mother Maria) and on a very special blues album (Rhythm and Blues) with Buddy Guy. It’s no wonder she’s been nominated for two Blues Music Awards.

Marc Broussard

Marc Broussard is an artist with a unique gift of channeling the spirits of classic R&B, rock and soul into contemporary terms. This gift has been a matter of common knowledge since 2002, when Broussard released his debut album, Momentary Setback, which he recorded and released independently at age 20. It was no secret before then, going back to those lucky witnesses who heard him belt "Johnny B. Goode" onstage at age 5 while sitting in with his father's band. Throughout his life, Broussard has been tapped as a talent to watch. Marc’s song “Home” was successful at radio and catapulted him onto the national touring stage. His music has been placed in many TV shows and movies. The timeless, soulful nature of Marc’s vocal lends well to Film and TV, and will continue to do so for years to come. Marc inked a deal with Vanguard records in 2013 and released an LP with them on July 29th, 2014 titled “A Life Worth Living”. The album has received praise as Marc’s most personal yet. He continues to tour to support the record.

Shemekia Copeland

While only in her early 30s, two-time GRAMMY® nominee Shemekia Copeland is already a force to be reckoned with in the blues. She’s opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined at the Chicago Blues Festival and numerous festivals around the world, scored critics choice awards on both sides of the Atlantic (The New York Times andThe Times of London), shared the stage with such luminaries as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Mick Jagger, and Eric Clapton, and has even performed at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama. Heir to the rich tradition of soul-drenched divas like Ruth Brown, Etta James and Koko Taylor, the singer was presented with Taylor’s crown by her daughter, Cookie, on June 12, 2011 at the Chicago Blues Festival and given the honor of the new “Queen of the Blues” by official proclamation of the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. Copeland’s passion for singing, matched with her huge, blast-furnace voice, gives her music a timeless power and a heart-pounding urgency. Her music comes from deep within her soul and from the streets where she grew up,

The James Hunter Six

Minute By Minute With his last two albums, 2006’s Grammy-nominated People Gonna Talk and 2008’s The Hard Way, James Hunter delivered a classic yet perpetually modern brand of rhythm and blues that captivated listeners across generations and earned him two Billboard Blues #1's, tours with Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, Etta James, and Willie Nelson, performances on Leno, Conan, and Jools Holland and critical raves everywhere from the NY Times to USA Today. Minute By Minute, due out February 26, 2013 on GO Records/Fantasy, marks a pivotal movement in this unique artist’s career—not only because it arguably contains his best writing, singing, and playing to date, but because it signals James’ return to the studio following the loss of his wife Jacqueline, who died of cancer in October 2011. It’s also the first album credited to The James H

Eric Bibb with Michael Jerome Browne

Eric Bibb A professional player at 16, playing in the house band for his father’s television talent show, Something New, Eric went on to study (psychology and Russian) at Columbia University, but “after a while it just didn’t make much sense; I didn’t understand why I was at this Ivy League school with all these kids who didn’t know anything about what I knew about,” he says now. Aged 19, he left for Paris, where a meeting with American studio guitarist Mickey Baker focused his interest in blues guitar A few years later he moved to Sweden and settled in Stockholm, where he found a creative environment that, oddly, reminded him of his teenage days in Greenwich Village. He made a handful of albums, starting in 1972, and began meeting and playing with local musicians as well as newcomers from all over the world. He laughs: “There was a budding world music scene going on, long before it became a marketing concept.”

Kirk Fletcher & Josh Smith

Kirk Fletcher Widely considered one of the best blues guitarists in the world, Kirk Fletcher has commanded the respect and acclaim of critics, peers and fans across the globe. He is a four-time Blues Music Award nominee and has played with a variety of popular artists, including a four-year role as lead guitarist of The Fabulous Thunderbirds. He is also the frontman of his own band, having released three studio albums. A live album and a fourth studio album are currently in the works. Kirk first picked up a guitar at age eight, playing alongside his older brother Walter in their father’s church. It wasn’t just a gospel influence that Walter shared with Kirk, but an appreciation of many musical styles from Jimi Hendrix to Steely Dan. One of the most important lessons Kirk received from his brother was about having great guitar tone, something Kirk is known for today.

Selwyn Birchwood

Selwyn Birchwood, Florida's rising young blues fireball, is a guitar and lap-steel-playing bundle of pure energy. He delivers his original songs with a revival tent preacher's fervor and a natural storyteller's charisma made all the more impactful by his raw, unvarnished vocals. Birchwood plays high-octane blues – at once deeply rooted, funky and up-to-the-minute – with true passion and honest emotion. With his band feeding off his drive and exuberance, the striking 6'3" 29-year-old with his trademark Afro roams the stage (often barefoot), ripping out memorable guitar licks with ease. His ability to win over an audience – any audience – is proven night after night on the bandstand. With his warm, magnetic personality, Birchwood is as down-to-earth as his music is fun, thought-provoking and vital. His mission is to spread his music far and wide, to share his joy, to play his heart out, and to push the blues into the future. "There's nothing I'd rather be doing than playing the blues," he says. "And I try to convey that with every song and with every performance."

Jarekus Singleton

“A great, new blues talent…young, original, soulful and intense…superb, blistering guitar” –BLUES & RHYTHM “Jarekus Singleton is making some serious blues noise...blending modern-day blues and emotionally intense soul with melodic, hot-toned lead guitar, funk-seasoned rhythms and hip-hop flavored lyrics” –LIVING BLUES Stinging blues guitar and potent, original songs herald the emergence of a major new talent. - USA TODAY Jarekus Singleton is one of the most exciting blues guitars to come along in years.....Boundless enthusiasm.....Singleton shoots super-heated notes through the chords with an emotional directness and a musical spirit that's all his own. - DOWNBEAT

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