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Cain And Full Band To Perform Songs From Alligator Records Debut Raisin' Cain'

Chris Cain? Now that boy can PLAY the guitar!
—B.B. King

Hands down my favorite blues player on the scene today. He’s an absolute blinder of a guitarist,

with the voice of B.B. King and the chops of Albert King.
—Joe Bonamassa

Chris Cain is a hot-shot guitarist and a singer with the maturity of blues masters like Bobby Bland and B.B. King.
—The Washington Post

 

World-renowned blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Chris Cain will release his Alligator Records debut album, Raisin' Cain, on Friday, April 9, 2021. The same evening he will celebrate the release with a full-band live streaming concert from The Center in Grass Valley, California. Concert information is as follows:

Date: Friday, April 9, 7:00pm Pacific time

Tickets: $10.00

Ticket Purchase

Phone: 530- link: https://thecenterforthearts.org/event/from-the-center-the-chris-cain-quartet/

274-8384

Raisin' Cain features 12 original songs, each show casing Cain's fiery musicianship and deft, memorable songwriting skills. According to Cain, who recently received two Blues Music Award nominations (for Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year and Best Guitarist), "These are the best pack of tunes I've ever written. My songs are funky and danceable and my writing is now less personal diary than in the past. I want my songs to tell universal stories.”

From the rocking opener Hush Money to the instantly relatable Too Many Problems to the late-night jazzy blues of I Don’t Know Exactly What’s Wrong With My Baby, the universal appeal of Cain's music is abundantly clear. His songs deliver uncommon, surprising hooks and riffs coming in rapid-fire succession. On four songs, Cain shows off his stellar keyboard skills, and on the far-out instrumental Space Force, he proves himself a funky and jazzy ARP Soloist player. Along with Cain is his road-tested band -- of bassist Steve Evans and keyboardist/organist Greg Rahn, with Chris’ touring drummer Sky Garcia and veteran D’Mar Martin (Little Richard, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats) sharing the skins. The album was produced and recorded by Kid Andersen (Rick Estrin & The Nightcats) at Andersen's Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California.

With more than three decades of worldwide touring and 14 acclaimed previous albums, Cain has earned his reputation as both a fan favorite and a musician’s musician. Since his first release in 1987, he has created his very own blues sound inspired by his heroes 

Both the media and his fellow musicians rave about Cain. Guitar Player said, “Cain is an impressive, top-notch guitarist. His full-bodied tone and big voice pack a punch that had me reeling.” Guitar icon Robben Ford said, “Chris Cain is for real. He’s a great blues player with an intensity that keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering what he’s going to do next. Plus he knows how to write a song you haven’t heard before, full of humor and insight. If you like the blues, you’ll like Chris Cain. I am a stone fan."– B.B. King, Albert King, Ray Charles, Albert Collins, Grant Green and Wes Montgomery. His jazz-informed blues guitar playing is fiery, emotional and always unpredictable. His vocals – gruff, lived-in and powerful – add fuel to the fire. His indelible original songs keep one foot in the blues tradition and both eyes on the future. The pure joy Cain brings to his playing and singing is palpable, and draws fans even closer in.

With Raisin’ Cain, Chris Cain says he is at a new point in his career. “I’m playing and writing better than ever before. I can say more with less,” he says, referring to his dynamic guitar playing and superb songwriting. “I’m as much a fan as a musician,” Cain says. “And I’m as excited to be making music today as I was when I was a teenager. More than ever before, I just play what I feel.”

his singer-songwriter continues to leap forward…intent on both working in the blues idiom and expanding on it. His vocals are as tough as these funky, surprising sounds demand. The 13 original songs are constructed for drama….stories and sounds combine to haunt beyond their specific references, as the best blues songs will."
--The Wall Street Journal

"Living In A Burning House has a big, ferocious sound...it's in your face and exquisitely detailed. Massive, funky greasy grooves...scorching barroom anthems with nasty slide and honking, baritone sax  Strolling rave-up, soul blues with killer vocals. Birchwood delivers knotty, ladder-climbing, biting, distorted guitar, as he testifies to the core about the relentless search for belonging. His solos bleed emotion. On Living In A Burning House, Birchwood erases arbitrary boundaries between blues and R&B. He openly draws from history but situates his original music expansively in the here and now...emotionally resonant and visionary."
--AllMusic

"Selwyn Birchwood reaches back in the blues tradition to launch something out of this world."
--No Depression

Groundbreaking young blues visionary Selwyn Birchwood has just released a riveting new video for his song, Revelation. The highly-charged, hair-raising track appears on Birchwood's recently released third Alligator album, Living In A Burning House. Living Blues declared, "With Living in a Burning House, the 35-year-old guitarist may have made his most fully realized artistic statement to date. But it’s clear, too, that in many ways he’s just getting started."

According to Birchwood, Revelation is a reflection on what's happening now, with the song's message amplified through the video. "This music and video are meant to be felt, not just seen. Revelation projects my interpretation of the Book of Revelation as it unfolds before our eyes. It sizzles in a fever dream of haunting sounds and powerful imagery.”

Watch and listen to Revelation:

Birchwood calls his original music “electric swamp funkin’ blues,” defined by raw and soulful musicianship played with fire-and-brimstone fervor. His gritty, unvarnished vocals draw his audience deep inside his unforgettable tales of love, passion, pain and pleasure. No other band on the current blues scene is built quite like Birchwood’s. In addition to Selwyn’s electrifying guitar and lap steel playing, the other featured instrument is Regi Oliver’s driving baritone sax. The group is rounded out by bass, drums and keyboards.

Since the 2014 release of his Alligator Records debut, Don’t Call No Ambulance, Birchwood’s meteoric rise from playing small Florida clubs to headlining international festival stages is nothing short of phenomenal. The album received the Blues Music Award and Living Blues Critics’ Award for Best Debut Album Of 2014, and he won the 2015 Blues Blast Rising Star Award. Rave reviews ran in publications from Rolling Stone to The Wall Street Journal, from The Chicago Tribune to The San Francisco Chronicle. He followed in 2016 with Pick Your Poison. DownBeat said, “There’s a deep-seated power about Birchwood’s singing and six string/lap steel guitar work...and there’s an unmistakable emotion and honesty linking him to forebearers like Muddy Waters.”

Chris Cain is a hot-shot guitarist and a singer with the maturity of blues masters like Bobby Bland and B.B. King.
—The Washington Post

Chris Cain? Now that boy can PLAY the guitar!
—B.B. King

Hands down my favorite blues player on the scene today. He’s an absolute blinder of a guitarist, with the voice of B.B. King and the chops of Albert King.
—Joe Bonamassa

World-renowned blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Chris Cain will release his Alligator Records debut album, Raisin' Cain, on Friday, April 9, 2021. The album features 12 originals, each showcasing Cain's fiery musicianship and deft, memorable songwriting skills. According to Cain, who recently received two Blues Music Award nominations (for Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year and Best Guitarist), "These are the best pack of tunes I've ever written."

Of Raisin’ Cain, Chris Cain says, “My songs are funky and danceable and my writing is now less personal diary than in the past. I want my songs to tell universal stories.” From the rocking opener Hush Money to the instantly relatable Too Many Problems to the late-night jazzy blues of I Don’t Know Exactly What’s Wrong With My Baby, the universal appeal of Cain's music is abundantly clear. His songs deliver uncommon, surprising hooks and riffs coming in rapid-fire succession. On four songs, Cain shows off his stellar keyboard skills, and on the far-out instrumental Space Force, he proves himself a funky and jazzy ARP Soloist player. Along with Cain is his road-tested band -- of bassist Steve Evans and keyboardist/organist Greg Rahn, with Chris’ touring drummer Sky Garcia and veteran D’Mar Martin (Little Richard, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats) sharing the skins. The album was produced and recorded by Kid Andersen (Rick Estrin & The Nightcats) at Andersen's Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California.

With more than three decades of worldwide touring and 14 acclaimed previous albums, Cain has earned his reputation as both a fan favorite and a musician’s musician. Since his first release in 1987, he has created his very own blues sound inspired by his heroes – B.B. King, Albert King, Ray Charles, Albert Collins, Grant Green and Wes Montgomery. His jazz-informed blues guitar playing is fiery, emotional and always unpredictable. His vocals – gruff, lived-in and powerful – add fuel to the fire. His indelible original songs keep one foot in the blues tradition and both eyes on the future. The pure joy Cain brings to his playing and singing is palpable, and draws fans even closer in.

Both the media and his fellow musicians rave about Cain. Guitar Player said, “Cain is an impressive, top-notch guitarist. His full-bodied tone and big voice pack a punch that had me reeling.” Guitar icon Robben Ford said, “Chris Cain is for real. He’s a great blues player with an intensity that keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering what he’s going to do next. Plus he knows how to write a song you haven’t heard before, full of humor and insight. If you like the blues, you’ll like Chris Cain. I am a stone fan."

Cain formed his first band in 1986 in his hometown of San Jose, California, and released his first album in 1987, Late Night City Blues, on the locally-based Blue Rock’It label. Almost immediately, booking agents came calling. Incredibly, he was touring Europe even before he started barnstorming the U.S. The album received four W.C Handy Award nominations (now the Blues Music Awards) and the offers to perform kept rolling in. He even opened for his heroes Albert King and Albert Collins, who both asked Chris to jam on stage. The more Cain toured and recorded, the greater his reputation grew. His releases include four albums on Blue Rock’It and three on Blind Pig Records, and his live performances number in the thousands.

Cain has toured all over North America and made repeated trips around the world. He’s performed at the Chicago Blues Festival, The Doheny Blues Festival, The Philadelphia Blues Festival, The Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, and many others. He’s played concerts and festivals in Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Brazil, Belarus, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.

With Raisin’ Cain, Chris Cain says he is at a new point in his career. “I’m playing and writing better than ever before. I can say more with less,” he says, referring to his dynamic guitar playing and superb songwriting. “I’m as much a fan as a musician,” Cain says. “And I’m as excited to be making music today as I was when I was a teenager. More than ever before, I just play what I feel.”

 
"Selwyn Birchwood heralds a fresh, exciting new direction in the blues. Toe-tapping, hip-shaking, joyful and inviting... always original. [This is] The Selwyn Birchwood Band at their very best…a new level of excellence and artistic achievement." —Blues Music Magazine
 
"No one in blues compares to young Florida-based blues guitarist Selwyn Birchwood. Fresh, powerful blues [that] pulses and stings. Birchwood balances clever concepts with authoritative playing and stinging solos. Living In A Burning House is his finest release. It’s the mark of a true iconoclast that the album's 13 songs pay tribute to his influences without sounding like any of them." —American Songwriter
 
Today, Friday, January 29, groundbreaking young blues visionary Selwyn Birchwood releases his highly-anticipated third Alligator album, Living In A Burning House. To accompany the release, Alligator Records is premiering a new video interview with Birchwood, album producer Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Susan Tedeschi) and label president Bruce Iglauer. During the far-reaching conversation, Birchwood talks about the album, his songwriting process and his already highlight-packed career.

Click the image below to watch Part 1:
 

Click the image below to watch Part 2:


Birchwood calls his original music “electric swamp funkin’ blues,” defined by raw and soulful musicianship played with fire-and-brimstone fervor. His gritty, unvarnished vocals draw his audience deep inside his unforgettable tales of love, passion, pain and pleasure. The Wall Street Journal says Birchwood is "a skilled, energetic and original artist...his songwriting is observant, clever and pointed. His guitar fluency generates new licks and rhythmic surprises. Expectations have been high for Mr. Birchwood—and he lives up to them."
 
No other band on the current blues scene is built quite like Birchwood’s. In addition to Selwyn’s electrifying guitar and lap steel playing, the other featured instrument is Regi Oliver’s driving baritone sax. The group is rounded out by bass, drums and, for the first time, keyboards.
 
Wanting to capture the power of the now larger band, Birchwood wrote and arranged 13 new songs, and brought in famed Grammy Award-winning musician Tom Hambridge to produce. From the rocking opener I’d Climb Mountains to the sweet soul of She’s A Dime and One More Time to the hair-raising Revelation, Living In A Burning House features some of the most vividly striking writing on today’s blues scene. Birchwood’s voice and vision are clear, his sound is edgy and compelling, and his stories are memorable and lasting.
 
“I write and sing what I know,” says Birchwood, whose musical innovations are as expansive as his influences are deep. “They say everything is better when it’s made with love,” says Birchwood. “That’s how we play our music and that’s how we made Living In A Burning House. I want my audience to say, ‘I know exactly what that feels like,’ when a song hits them. Because that’s when it stops just being music and starts being medicine. After all, we are all stricken with the condition of being human.”

 
Thursday, January 28, 2021 -- Today the Blues Foundation announced the nominees for the 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards, the blues world's highest honors. A total of 15 Alligator recording artists received a remarkable 27 nominations. Rick Estrin & The Nightcats lead all artists with seven nominations (including one each for guitarist Christoffer "Kid" Andersen and drummer Derrick "D'Mar" Martin). Shemekia Copeland received five nominations, while Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite, Tinsley Ellis, Chris Cain, Billy Branch and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram each received two. Curtis Salgado, Lil' Ed Williams (leader of Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials), Selwyn Birchwood, Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith (drummer with The Cash Box Kings) and Dennis Gruenling (harmonica player with The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling), each received one nomination.

 
According to Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, "I’m very proud of so many Alligator artists getting the recognition they so richly deserve. This is a great emotional boost for them in this tough year. This is a time we need the healing power of the blues more than ever, and these wonderful bluesmen and women have delivered that healing on recordings even though they haven’t been able to deliver it in person.”
 
The Contemporary Blues Artist Of The Year category includes four Alligator artists of the five nominees: Rick Estrin, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Selwyn Birchwood and Chris Cain (whose Alligator debut Raisin' Cain will be released on April 9, 2021).
 
The highly coveted B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award nominees list includes three Alligator artists: Rick Estrin, Shemekia Copeland and Lil' Ed Williams.
 
Both the Instrumentalist -- Guitarist (Christone "Kingfish," Ingram, Chris Cain and Kid Andersen) and Instrumentalist -- Harmonica (Rick Estrin, Billy Branch and Dennis Gruenling) nominees lists also include three out of five Alligator artists.
 
The 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards will be presented as a virtual event on Sunday, June 6, 2021. It will be live-streamed on the Blues Foundation's Facebook page as well as on its YouTube channel.

Alligator artists and awards are as follows:

RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS:
B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year
Band Of The Year
Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year
Song of the Year: All My Dues Are Paid (by Kathy Murray, Rick Estrin, Frank Bey and Kid Andersen -- performed by Frank Bey)
Instrumentalist - Harmonica
Instrumentalist - Guitar (Christoffer "Kid" Andersen)
Instrumentalist - Drums (Derrick "D'Mar" Martin)

SHEMEKIA COPELAND:
B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year
Album Of The Year: Uncivil War
Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year: Uncivil War
Song Of The Year: Uncivil War (by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough)
Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year
 
ELVIN BISHOP & CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE:
Album Of The Year: 100 Years Of Blues
Traditional Blues Album Of The Year: 100 Years Of Blues

BILLY BRANCH & THE SONS OF BLUES:
Traditional Blues Male Artist Of The Year
Instrumentalist - Harmonica

CHRISTONE "KINGFISH" INGRAM:
Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year
Instrumentalist -- Guitar

TINSLEY ELLIS:
Blues Rock Album Of The Year: Ice Cream In Hell
Blues Rock Artist Of The Year

CHRIS CAIN:
Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year
Instrumentalist -- Guitar

LIL' ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS:
B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year

CURTIS SALGADO:
Soul Blues Male Artist Of The Year

SELWYN BIRCHWOOD:
Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year

KENNY "BEEDY EYES" SMITH (THE CASH BOX KINGS):
Instrumentalist - Drums (Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith)
 
DENNIS GRUENLING (THE NICK MOSS BAND FEATURING DENNIS GRUENLING:
Instrumentalist - Harmonica (Dennis Gruenling)

Partnership Between Legendary Blues/Roots Label And Exceleration Music To Create Global Growth Opportunities

Alligator Records, the acclaimed independent blues and roots label currently celebrating its 50^th anniversary, has announced it is joining forces with Exceleration Music. Exceleration Music is a newly established company founded by Glen Barros(former CEO of Concord Music Group) along with four other world-renowned industry veterans, dedicated to enhancing the future of independent labels and artists.

Alligator founder Bruce Iglauer's partnership with Exceleration will strengthen the label by creating opportunities for expanded promotion and marketing along with providing resources enabling Alligator to sign more established blues and roots artists. Iglauer remains at Alligator's helm, just as he has been for the last 50 years. He and his Chicago-based team will continue to handle artist signings, A&R, new release production, project marketing, publicity, and promotion for an aggressive lineup of new recordings by the label’s existing roster as well as by newly-signed artists. Alligator will also continue to market and promote its catalog of over 350 releases. Exceleration will handle financial, operational, and administrative functions for the label. Both partners will also collaborate on marketing initiatives designed to build on Alligator’s great legacy. 

According to Iglauer, "I’m very excited to ally Alligator with Exceleration. I have tremendous respect for the vision, intelligence, industry expertise and professional ethics of the Exceleration team. I’m confident that this partnership will grow the worldwide audience for Alligator’s records and artists. It’s a win-win for all of us."

In addition to its partnership with Alligator, Exceleration has also entered into an alliance with The Ray Charles Foundation, by which they will jointly issue special releases from the Ray Charles vaults, most of which have not been widely available on digital music services for the past decade. In January 2020, Exceleration acquired the venerable but mostly dormant jazz label Candid Records, with plans to relaunch the label later in 2021.

Exceleration Music was formed by five of the independent music industry’s most influential executives. Started by Glen Barros (former CEO of Concord Music Group), Exceleration Music has developed into a partnership of global music industry leaders who will be investing in the future of independent labels from a wide range of culturally important genres. In addition to Barros, Exceleration is led by Dave Hansen (Executive Chairman of Merlin, the digital licensing partner for independents, and previous GM of Epitaph Records), Charles Caldas (CEO of Merlin for 12 years, during which time the organization grew to over 20,000 independent label and distributor members), Amy Dietz (previously GM of independent music distribution leader Ingrooves)and John Burk (Grammy-winning producer and former President of Concord Records).

Backed by substantial investment capital and based on core founding values of integrity, fairness, openness, humility and excellence, Exceleration plans to leverage its partners’ extensive expertise and deep understanding of the independent music culture to make tailored investments in independent music rights and the individuals that create them.

According to Barros, “When I started the company, I decided to go with a ‘first who, then what’ strategy. With our industry becoming more and more commoditized, I wanted to put people first – people who care about independent music and share similar values. Quite frankly, I am completely amazed and truly blessed by how this strategy has developed. To have partners like John, Amy, Charles and Dave is truly a dream come true.  But it goes beyond this, to the great investors we’re working with, the team we’re assembling, our professional advisors, and now the opportunity to work with Bruce Iglauer at Alligator Records. With a dedicated group like this, I know we’re going to do great things for the indie community and have a lot of fun along the way.”

 

Song Featured On New Album, Living In A Burning House, Set For January 29 Release

"A remarkable, contemporary bluesman...a powerhouse young guitarist and soulful vocalist...a major player...highly recommended" —Rolling Stone

"Rising blues star Selwyn Birchwood is the real deal. Birchwood puts his own fresh spin on the blues, taking the tradition and making it into something new." —Guitar World

On Monday, January 18, groundbreaking young blues visionary Selwyn Birchwood debuts his new video for the song Freaks Come Out At Night. The original track is featured on his highly-anticipated third Alligator album, Living In A Burning House, set for release on Friday, January 29, 2021.

Of the song, the rising singer, songwriter, guitar and lap steel player says, "Freaks Come Out At Night was written for, about, and filmed on-site at the last “real” Jook Joint in Florida: Bradfordville Blues Club. This song and music video capture the magic that happens at every show we play there. The song projects the rawness of the music, the sweatiness of the dance floor, the heat of the bonfire, and the greasiness of the fried catfish! The freaks definitely come out at night! And I wouldn’t have it any other way! "

Click on the image below to watch and listen to Freaks Come Out At Night. 

Birchwood calls his original music “electric swamp funkin’ blues,” defined by raw and soulful musicianship played with fire-and-brimstone fervor. His gritty, unvarnished vocals draw his audience deep inside his unforgettable tales of love, passion, pain and pleasure. The Wall Street Journal says Birchwood is "a skilled, energetic and original artist...his songwriting is observant, clever and pointed. His voice is smooth; his singing on target. His guitar fluency generates new licks and rhythmic surprises. Expectations have been high for Mr. Birchwood—and he lives up to them."

No other band on the current blues scene is built quite like Birchwood’s. In addition to Selwyn’s electrifying guitar and lap steel playing, the other featured instrument is Regi Oliver’s driving baritone sax. The group is rounded out by bass, drums and, for the first time, keyboards.

Wanting to capture the power of the now larger band, Birchwood wrote and arranged 13 new songs, and brought in famed Grammy Award-winning musician Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Susan Tedeschi) to produce. From the rocking opener I’d Climb Mountains to the sweet soul of She’s A Dime and One More Time to the hair-raising Revelation, Living In A Burning House features some of the most vividly striking writing on today’s blues scene. Birchwood’s voice and vision are clear, his sound is edgy and compelling, and his stories are memorable and lasting.

“I write and sing what I know,” says Birchwood, whose musical innovations are as expansive as his influences are deep. “They say everything is better when it’s made with love,” says Birchwood. “That’s how we play our music and that’s how we made Living In A Burning House. I want my audience to say, ‘I know exactly what that feels like,’ when a song hits them. Because that’s when it stops just being music and starts being medicine. After all, we are all stricken with the condition of being human.”

Governors State University (GSU) Center for Performing Arts (the Center) will celebrate Chicago blues and Chicago-based Alligator Records’ 50^th anniversary by presenting an online streaming video concert starring four of the label’s most popular artists. “Sweet Home Chicago – An Online Blues Celebration” will feature a performance by legendary harmonica player Billy Branch with his all-star band, The Sons Of Blues, with three special guests -- Grammy-nominated vocalist Shemekia Copeland, slide guitar master Lil’ Ed Williams and beloved Chicago blues guitarist and songwriter Toronzo Cannon. Alligator Records founder and president Bruce Iglauer will serve as emcee.

The once-in-a-lifetime event will be recorded on the Center's stage to its empty 1171 seat house. This concert is part of the Center's 25th anniversary celebration. The show will debut as a ticketed streaming event at 7:00PM Central time on March 13, 2021, and will be available to watch on demand through April 11. The event will stream on the Center’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/GSUCenter.

For tickets and more information, click here.

Rolling Stone says, “Prestigious, scrappy independent blues label Alligator Records has reached dizzying heights in celebrating the blues.” Alligator Records, founded in 1971 by Bruce Iglauer, is home to some of the world’s foremost blues and roots rock talent and is regarded by fans and the media alike as the top contemporary blues record label in the world. From classic Windy City artists like Hound Dog Taylor and “Queen Of The Blues” Koko Taylor, to next generation legends Lil’ Ed Williams and Billy Branch to contemporary stars including Toronzo Cannon and Shemekia Copeland, Alligator’s discography reads like a who’s who in modern blues history. Legendary artists including Lonnie Brooks, Luther Allison, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Rick Estrin, Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Michael “Iron Man& rdquo; Burks, The Holmes Brothers, Mavis Staples, Marcia Ball and rising stars Selwyn Birchwood and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram are just some of the blues immortals who have recorded groundbreaking music for the label. Now, at 50 years old, Alligator is still committed to discovering great new talent, proving that the passion, soul and redemptive power of blues and roots music is alive and well.

Blues giant Billy Branch is hailed internationally as one of today’s greatest harmonica players. The New York Times says, “Branch has a warm, open vocal style and a full command of the blues harp, from wailing notes to chugging rhythms.” With his inventive, deeply rooted playing and gritty, soulful vocals, Branch carries on the Chicago blues tradition that he learned first-hand from icons including Big Walter Horton, James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Willie Dixon and many others. With his instantly recognizable sound and his band, The Sons of Blues, Branch has traveled the world, delivering his signature brand of Chicago blues for over four decades.Branch’s latest album is 2019’s Roots & Branches: The Songs of Little Walter. The album finds Branch and his band boldly reimagining the renowned songs of Little Walter Jacobs. Jacobs was one of the principal architects of the Chicago blues sound and one of the most influential blues harmonica players who ever lived. Living Blues says, “Billy Branch has cemented his place among the kings. Chugging, incessant blues and R&B...greasy, funky, howlin’ harp attack that really burns. Wonderful, bold and surprising." This concert marks Branch's third appearance at the Center.

When Shemekia Copeland first broke on the scene with her groundbreaking Alligator Records debut CD Turn the Heat Up in 1998, she instantly became a blues and R&B force to be reckoned with. The Chicago Tribune says, “Shemekia Copeland is the greatest female blues singer working today.” News outlets from The New York Times to CNN have praised Copeland’s talent, larger-than-life personality, dynamic, authoritative voice and true star power. Shemekia has earned three Grammy Award nominations, 12 Blues Music Awards and a host of Living Blues Awards, including being named the 2020 Female Blues Artist of the Year. With her recent albums, Shemekia broadened her musical vision, melding blues with more rootsy, Americana sounds. Her new album, the soulful and uncompromising Uncivil War, tackles the pr oblems of contemporary American life head on, with nuance, understanding, and a demand for change. It also brings Copeland’s fierce, sultry R&B fire to songs more personal than political. NPR’s All Things Considered says, “Copeland embodies the blues with her powerful vocal chops and fearless look at social issues.” No Depression declares, “Copeland pierces your soul. This is how you do it, and nobody does it better than Shemekia Copeland.”

Slide guitar-playing blues master Lil’ Ed Williams, leader of Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, comes to the blues naturally. His uncle, Chicago slide guitar king and master songwriter J.B. Hutto, taught him how to feel, not just play the blues. Living Blues says, "Lil’ Ed playsrough and ready blues with unmitigated intensity…swirling, snarling, riveting slide…scorching and soulful, joyous and stomping." With nine albums and thousands of performances under his belt, Lil’ Ed is now universally hailed as a giant of the genre. The Associated Press says, “Williams fills Chicago’s biggest shoes with more life and heat than anyone on stage today.”With his latest album, 2016’s The Big Sound Of Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Lil’ Ed continues to bring his blistering Chi cago blues to fans new and old. His infectious energy, joyful showmanship and masterful playing have been honed to a razor’s edge. The Chicago Tribune says, “Electrifying, raucous, pure Chicago blues….Lil’ Ed is a guitarist extraordinaire…slashing slide and flamboyant stage persona."

Upon release of his Alligator Records debut, The Chicago Way in 2016, Toronzo Cannon burst onto the international stage as one of the most electrifying bluesmen to emerge from Chicago in decades. The Chicago Reader said, “Bluesman Toronzo Cannon is one of Chicago’s finest string-bending storytellers.” He has played major cities all over the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including stops in the UK, Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Poland and Japan, delighting and surprising audiences with one unforgettable gig after another. He has played the Chicago Blues Festival on ten separate occasions. UK tastemaker music magazine MOJO named his latest album, 2019’s The Preacher, The Politician Or The Pimp, the #2 Best Blues Album Of 2019. Chicago’s Newcity and Reader both named Cannon among the city’s greatest musicians. Blues Music Magazine says, “Cannon has all the fire and spontaneity of the Chicago legends. His songwriting is a timely and original look at the world, and his assertive voice is the perfect vehicle to deliver the message.”

Throughout its 25-year history, many blues artists have graced the Center for Performing Arts’ stage: Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Eddie Clearwater, Jimmy Burn, Eddie Shaw, Zora Young, Demetria Taylor, Jamiah Rogers, Tail Dragger, Billy Branch, Howard Levy, Sugar Blue, Corky Sigel, Melody Angel, Lurrie Bell, Chicago Ladies Sing the Blues collective, and more.

The seed of “Sweet Home Chicago – An Online Blues Celebration” sprouted pre-COVID at an Andersonville diner in Chicago, when the Center’s Director Lana Rogachevskaya and Iglauer explored how to celebrate their upcoming institutional birthdays and share their passion for the blues with a larger Chicago community. This conversation reemerged in 2020 with an additional goal of employing Chicago artists, while serving blues fans from all over the globe.

Rogachevskaya says, “Blues is a feeling. A musical genre with origins in American slavery and Jim Crow, its continued popularity is in its universal appeal. Communally held and lived through, blues uplifts, nourishes, and sustains the human soul.  Sweet Home Chicago Blues participants will feel the healing power of blues sounds and stories while being together.”

According to Iglauer, "Chicago Blues is the famous musical signature of the city. This exhilarating music -- music that grew up on the city’s South and West Sides -- has become Chicago’s most vibrant and honored cultural export, reaching a worldwide audience. This concert will be a celebration of the city’s heritage, featuring some of the most talented and exciting blues artists in the world."

"Curtis Salgado’s range and power as a vocalist are a tour-de-force...hard-nosed blues, beautifully nuanced R&B, phat and funky" –Billboard

"Salgado inspires chills. Upbeat and original…poignant and wise with a great sense of humor" –Blues Music Magazine

"Glorious and memorable…Salgado’s voice is center stage just as it should be. Highly recommended" –Blues & Rhythm UK

"Salgado’s vocals are soulful beauty. Fresh, unexpected, authentic, percolating…perfectly executed…simply delicious" –Living Blues

Award-winning vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter Curtis Salgado, the man NPR calls “an icon” with “a huge voice,” will release his new Alligator Records album, Damage Control, on Friday, February 26, 2021. Produced by Salgado, Damage Control is his first full band album in four years, and it’s packed with passionate, insightful, original songs.

With over 40 years of recording, performing, touring and songwriting under his belt, Salgado is revered worldwide for his ability to wring every ounce of soul out of every song he performs. He is famed not only for his powerhouse live shows and ten previous albums, but also for his songwriting. In 2018 he won the Blues Music Award for Song Of The Year for Walk A Mile In My Blues from The Beautiful Lowdown. In total, he has won nine Blues Music Awards, including the B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. DownBeat calls his songwriting skills “an impressive gift.” Billboard says Salgado’s music is “inspired and powerful.”

With Damage Control, Salgado has created what he calls “a rock ’n’ roll record with lyrics that hit.” The album was produced by Salgado and recorded in studios in Tennessee and California with three different groups of world-class, road-tested blues and roots musicians. The 13 songs—12 originals and a raucous cover of Larry Williams’ Slow Down (famously covered by The Beatles)—will surprise and delight longtime Salgado fans. Salgado has crafted a soul-searching, street-smart collection of vividly detailed, instantly memorable songs. Salgado’s vocals weave, bob and soar, at times jabbing with nuance, and then striking with unlimited power. Of the title track, he says, “Life is all about damage control...trouble and then some. It’s about dealing with what gets thrown at you and saying, ‘I ain’t finished yet.’”

The album's defiant opening song, The Longer That I Live, was originally released as a digital-only single in June 2020. Listen to the song and watch Salgado's captivating music video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikRzUBWoUIY

Born in Eugene, Oregon, Salgado found his calling early on. By his 20s he was already making a name for himself in Eugene’s bar scene with his band The Nighthawks, and later as co-leader of The Robert Cray Band, where he found himself sharing stages with many of his heroes, including Muddy Waters, Bobby Bland, Albert Collins and Bonnie Raitt. After Salgado and Cray parted ways in 1982, Curtis fronted Roomful Of Blues, singing and touring with them from 1984 through 1986. In 1995 he spent the summer touring as vocalist for Santana. He released the first of his 11 solo albums in 1991.

Salgado’s Alligator Records debut, Soul Shot, was released in 2012 to widespread critical acclaim. Blues Revue said Salgado’s music is “triumphant, joyful, blues-soaked R&B” and declared him to be “one of the most soulful, honest singers ever.” He followed up withThe Beautiful Lowdown in 2016 andRough Cut, the stripped-down acoustic album (with guitarist Alan Hager) in 2018.

Salgado has performed at Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, The San Francisco Blues Festival, Memphis’ Beale Street Music Festival, Denver’s Mile High Blues Festival as well as on The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. Internationally he’s toured in Saipan, Guam, Canada, England, throughout Europe, Brazil, Chile, Panama, The Philippines, Thailand, and Hong Kong. According to Blues Revue, Salgado’s performances “start at excellent before segueing into goose bumps, ecstasy, and finally nirvana.

Salgado has always lived life to the fullest, but he's also faced adversity, overcoming multiple health challenges. Both of these things inform Damage Control. He battled back from liver cancer in 2006 and lung cancer in 2008 and 2012. In March 2017 he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He’s not only come back stronger each time, he’s also become a prolific songwriter, going from writing a few songs per album to writing or co-writing full albums of original songs.

“You can dance to them," Salgado says of his songs, "but the words have to carry the weight.”

 

Uncivil War Debut Concert Marks Copeland's First Full Band Performance Since March 2020

Uncivil War is a masterful record. Finally we have the album that her voice has always deserved.
--Sound Opinions (National radio show hosted by Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis)

 Uncivil War is one of the boldest and most persuasive recordings of Copeland’s already distinguished career. Copeland’s incendiary and positively buoyant vocals [are] one of the great instruments in contemporary blues. A triumph.
--The Chicago Tribune (Howard Reich)

Multiple Grammy Award nominee Shemekia Copeland and her band will perform a live streaming video concert from New York's Jazz At Lincoln Center on Thursday, January 14 at 7:30pm Eastern time, with only a few rebroadcast times to follow. This performance is Copeland's first full band concert since March 2020, and the first time she will be performing her new songs live. DownBeat calls Copeland's new album, Uncivil War, "One of the most important blues albums of this century."

According to Copeland, “With this new album, I’m trying to put the ‘united’ back in the United States. Like many people, I miss the days when we treated each other better. For me, this country’s all about people with differences coming together to be part of something we all love. That’s what really makes America beautiful.”

Find more information on the performance here.

Suggested ticket price is $10.00. Find more information here.

The soulful and uncompromising Uncivil War tackles the problems of contemporary American life head on, with nuance, understanding, and a demand for change. It also brings Copeland’s fiercely independent, sultry R&B fire to songs more personal than political. NPR Music calls Shemekia “authoritative” and “confrontational” with “punchy defiance and potent conviction. It’s hard to imagine anyone staking a more convincing claim to the territory she’s staked out—a true hybrid of simmering, real-talking spirit and emphatic, folkie- and soul-style statement-making.”

When Shemekia Copeland first broke on the scene with her groundbreaking Alligator Records debut CD Turn the Heat Up in 1998, she instantly became a blues and R&B force to be reckoned with. The Chicago Tribune says, “Shemekia Copeland is the greatest female blues singer working today.” News outlets from The New York Times to CNN have praised Copeland’s talent, larger-than-life personality, dynamic, authoritative voice and true star power. Shemekia earned three Grammy Award nominations, 12 Blues Music Awards and a host of Living Blues Awards, including being named the 2020 Female Blues Artist of the Year. NPR’s All Things Considered says, “Copeland embodies the blues with her powerful vocal chops and fearless look at social issues.” No Depression declares, “Copeland pierces your soul. This is how you do it, and nobody does it better than Shemekia Copeland.”

 

CURTIS SALGADO DEBUTS VIDEO FOR THE LONGER THAT I LIVE
Song From Upcoming 2021 Release, Damage Control

“Salgado inspires chills. Upbeat and original…poignant and wise with a great sense of humor”
–Blues Music Magazine

Award-winning vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter Curtis Salgado, the man NPR calls “an icon” with “a huge voice,” has debuted a new video for his original song, The Longer That I Live. The soul-searching, instantly memorable, street-smart track was written by Salgado, David Duncan and Mike Finnigan, and will be featured on his upcoming album, Damage Control, set for release in early 2021. The song was originally released as a digital-only single in June 2020.

Watch the music video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikRzUBWoUIY

Salgado is famed not only for his powerhouse live shows and ten previous albums, but also for his passionate and insightful original songs. He has been nominated three times for the Blues Music Award for Song Of The Year, winning in 2018 for Walk A Mile In My Blues from his album The Beautiful Lowdown. In total, he has won nine Blues Music Awards, including the B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. He has toured the world multiple times, playing clubs, concert halls and festivals.

Salgado has always lived life to the fullest, but he's also faced adversity, overcoming multiple health challenges. Both of these things inform The Longer That I Live. He battled back from liver cancer in 2006 and lung cancer in 2008 and 2012. In March 2017 he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He’s not only come back stronger each time, he’s become a prolific songwriter, going from writing a few songs per album to writing or co-writing full albums of original songs.

“You can dance to them," Salgado says of his songs, "but the words have to carry the weight.”

"A remarkable, contemporary bluesman...a powerhouse young guitarist and soulful vocalist...a major player...highly recommended" –Rolling Stone

"Rising blues star Selwyn Birchwood is the real deal. Birchwood puts his own fresh spin on the blues, taking the tradition and making it into something new." –Guitar World

"A skilled, energetic and original artist...his songwriting is observant, clever and pointed. His voice is smooth; his singing on target. His guitar fluency generates new licks and rhythmic surprises. Expectations have been high for Mr. Birchwood—and he lives up to them." –Wall Street Journal

Groundbreaking young blues visionary Selwyn Birchwood will release his highly anticipated third Alligator album, Living In A Burning House, on Friday, January 29, 2021. The rising guitar and lap steel player calls his original music “electric swamp funkin’ blues,” defined by raw and soulful musicianship played with fire-and-brimstone fervor. His gritty, unvarnished vocals draw his audience deep inside his unforgettable tales of love, passion, pain and pleasure. No other band on the current blues scene is built quite like Birchwood’s. In addition to Selwyn’s electrifying guitar and lap steel playing, the other featured instrument is Regi Oliver’s driving bariton e sax. The group is rounded out by bass, drums and, for the first time, keyboards.

Wanting to capture the power of the now larger band, Birchwood wrote and arranged 13 new songs, and brought in famed Grammy Award-winning musician Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Susan Tedeschi) to produce. From the rocking opener I’d Climb Mountains to the sweet soul of She’s A Dime and One More Time to the hair-raising Revelation, Living In A Burning House features some of the most vividly striking writing on today’s blues scene. Birchwood’s voice and vision are clear, his sound is edgy and compelling, and his stories are memorable and lasting.

The title track from Living In A Burning House was released as a single in June 2020. Click here to listen and watch the music video.

According to Birchwood, “I tell my stories in my own way, with my own voice. You won’t ever hear me on stage telling someone else's story. Muddy Waters, B.B. King and John Lee Hooker all told their own stories. That’s what I’m doing.”

Since the 2014 release of his Alligator Records debut, Don’t Call No Ambulance, Birchwood’s meteoric rise from playing small Florida clubs to headlining international festival stages is nothing short of phenomenal. The album received the Blues Music Award and Living Blues Critics’ Award for Best Debut Album Of 2014, and he won the 2015 Blues Blast Rising Star Award. Rave reviews ran in publications from Rolling Stone to The Wall Street Journal, from The Chicago Tribune to The San Francisco Chronicle. He followed in 2016 with Pick Your Poison. DownBeat said, “There’s a deep-seated power about Birchwood’s singing and six string/lap steel guitar work...and there’s an unmistakab le emotion and honesty linking him to forebears like Muddy Waters. Thoughtful, persuasive and rugged.”

Birchwood and his band have crisscrossed the U.S. and Europe repeatedly, delivering unforgettable live performances. They have appeared domestically at festivals including The Chicago Blues Festival, Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, The North Atlantic Blues Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival as well as on The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise and Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea. Internationally, they have performed at The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival, Jazz a Vienne in France, the Rawa Blues Festival in Poland, the Moulin Blues Festival in the Netherlands, the Ottawa Blues Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, as well as playing concerts in Spain, Norway, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Belgium and Mexico.

“I write and sing what I know,” says Birchwood, whose musical innovations are as expansive as his influences are deep. With Living In A Burning House, Selwyn Birchwood is looking forward to winning over thousands of new fans. “They say everything is better when it’s made with love,” says Birchwood. “That’s how we play our music and that’s how we made the new album. I want my audience to say, ‘I know exactly what that feels like,’ when a song hits them. Because that’s when it stops just being music and starts being medicine. After all, we are all stricken with the condition of being human.”