Melody Ballroom, 615 SE Alder St., Portland

Wednesday, October 2nd, 7:00 pm

Opening Acoustic Set – Robert Richter

Second Electric Set – Barbara Healy & Her Groove Too Band

 

It is that time of the month again, to head on over to The Melody Ballroom for our monthly membership meeting. Two sets of great blues music to start the month out right, and we’ve got a terrific pair of performances for you that should bring an exciting and fun night for all.

Robert Richter (press photo)

Robert Richter (press photo)

Opening the night will be singer/songwriter/guitarist Robert Richter. An energetic performer creating music that blends different genres from folk to blues to rock to Celtic played with passion and energy as solo, duo or with his band. His credits include hosting his own radio show on KUMZ-FM in Salem called “Local Roots” that features the music of Northwest musicians on all genres; appearing on Tom May’s nationally syndicated NPR program “River City Folk;” teaching slide guitar at NW Folklife; his music was played on Sirius XM’s “Bob Dylan Radio Hour;” he released a live CD in 2012 titled A Change Of Heart; and in the summer of 2013 Richter was filmed performing live as part of a documentary film produced by a German television network. The documentary filmed in Read more

If you would like to have your CD considered by the Cascade Blues Association for submission in The Blues Foundation’s Best Self Produced CD competition, please send your disc to BSPCD c/o Cascade Blues Association, PO Box 14493, Portland, Oregon 97293. You may also turn your submission in at either the September or October Cascade Blues Association General Membership Meetings. No discs will be accepted later than October 2nd.

All discs submitted must have been released after November 1, 2012. A committee set up by the Cascade Blues Association’s Board of Directors will listen to each submission and, like the Journey To Memphis, will rate each on a series of categories (blues content, instrumentation, vocals, art work and liner notes). Entries are only accepted by acts within the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Idaho and Washington). We must receive your entry no later than October 2nd. Please note, the entry that we submit to The Blues Foundation will require that we send them four copies of the disc for their judges. We will notify the appropriate act for the extra copies needed to send.

Phil Berkowitz (press photo)

Phil Berkowitz (press photo)

Phil Berkowitz and Eugene Huggins have been blowing blues harmonica around the San Francisco Bay area for a number of years and have toured across the country with a variety of renowned artists. They will be heading to the Northwest for a handful of shows throughout Oregon and Washington backed by a stellar grouping of fine musicians including multiple Blues Music Award nominee Bill Stuve on bass, in-demand Bay Area drummer Robi Bean, and Oregon’s own Ben Rice on guitar.

Phil Berkowitz has brought his unique & energetic musical style to audiences for a number of years, with his most recent CD, “All Night Party,” testifying to his talent and dedication as a seasoned performer. He has performed with many blues greats, including the likes of Danny Caron, Sean Carney, Mitch Woods, Duke Robillard, Steve Freund, Wendy DeWitt, Terry Hanck, R.J. Mischo, Kid Anderson, Kenny Blue Ray, Billy Branch, Frank Goldwasser, Jimi Bott & the late Gary Primich just to name a few.

Eugene Huggins has appeared on twenty CDs , led the band The Bluejeans, toured as part of Harvey Mandel’s band, and has performed alongside people like Buddy Guy & Junior Read more

JW-Jones (photo by Josh Hathaway)

JW-Jones (photo by Josh Hathaway)

Canadian bluesman JW-Jones is a sensational performer with award winning vocals and whose guitar stylings have been compared to the likes of T-Bone Walker, Johnny “Guitar” Watson and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. Constantly on tour, the band has played in 19 countries, 4 continents and has released seven albums including their most recent, Seventh Hour, that reached the #1 position on BB King’s Bluesville on Sirius XM Radio. A winner of Canada’s Maple Awards, JW-Jones has received high praise from the likes of Little Charlie Baty who said, “JW-Jones is one of the young guns in the blues guitar world who consistently delivers the goods on record and on stage,” and Charlie Musselwhite who stated, “JW Jones is one of the best guitar players I’ve heard in a long time. He and his band do great tunes with cool arrangements and I love listening to them. They play with taste and fire at the same time.”

It has been a few years since JW-Jones last performed in Portland at the Waterfront Blues Festival, so his upcoming show at Duff’s Garage on Tuesday, October 22nd is long overdue. Admission is $10.00 and this is a Cascade Blues Association co-sponsored event, so show your membership card at the door for a $1.00 discount. Showtime is 9:00 pm.

“Every generation has its chosen one and right now, this is Clark’s time” – Entertainment Weekly

Gary Clark Jr. (press photo)

Gary Clark Jr. (press photo)

Based out of Austin, Gary Clark Jr. is continuing the long line of Texas guitar greats. His playing has been compared to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. It is a powerful and inspired mix of blues roots with contemporary soul and hip-hop, and when he’s rolling at his best, he sounds like nothing so much as a natural hybrid of both the past and the future Read more

John “JB” Bigham is a singer, songwriter, performer, producer and innovator — an artist The Soul Of John Black press photowho blends the sounds of the past and the future with the smooth confidence and authority of a card shark shuffling a hot deck. But when it comes to creating visionary music under the moniker of his alter-ego The Soul of John Black, there’s no gambling involved.

A former member of legendary funk/punk/rock/pop group Fishbone, he has also performed with Miles Davis and hit-maker Everlast. Bigham has been able to focus on this own artistic vision over the past decade with the Soul of John Black, a funk, hip-hop, blues and soul hybrid, that has been grown organically.

The Soul Of John Black will be returning to Duff’s Garage, 1635 SE 7th, on Thursday, October 3rd for a special intimate solo performance, celebrating the music from their latest release A Sunshine State Of Mind. Showtime is 9:00 pm and admission is $10.00. This is a Cascade Blues Association co-sponsored show, so remember to show your membership card at the door to receive a $1.00 discount.

trailsendsaloonCody Myers was a sharp 19-year-old who had a passion for music, was a devout Christian, with a desire to help those less fortunate when his life was tragically taken from him three years ago. His family decided to continue his life’s dream of assisting underprivileged youth who wish to learn music which might ultimately lead to faith. They formed the Cody Myers Music Outreach Foundation providing music, instruments, instruction, and guidance both musically and morally thru a structured setting of responsibility, respect and accountability to oneself, Cody and the Foundation.

The Cody Myers Music Outreach Foundation will be holding their third annual benefit Read more

Gov't Mule (press photo)

Gov’t Mule (press photo)

Few bands have a reputation for making music as consistently honest, organic and daring as Gov’t Mule. The enduring group fronted by visionary singer-guitarist Warren Haynes returns to Portland celebrating their first album in four years, Shout! for a performance at The Roseland Theater on Saturday, October 26th. The inventive and incendiary musical performances of Gov’t Mule are legendary, springing from the jazz-like philosophy and creative language the Mule’s members have developed together. They’re the rare rock ‘n’ roll group with an improvisational heartbeat, which allows all four musicians to expand on the songs’ themes in non-formulaic ways. That quality distinguishes the finest jazz, blues and rock recordings of the ’50s and ’60s, but is largely absent in modern music, yet fuels this Grammy Award winning outfit’s powerful creativity.

The Roseland Theater is located at 8 NW Sixth Avenue and showtime is at 8:00 pm. This is a 21 & over only show. Tickets for Gov’t Mule are available through www.ticketswest.com, $28.50 general admission and $40.00 for reserved seating in the balcony.

 

Bonnie Raitt (press photo)

Bonnie Raitt (press photo)

Bonnie Raitt is without doubt one of American’s most beloved blues and roots performers. Over the past four decades she has released sixteen albums, received ten Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Her tours across the country sell out continuously and she has shared stages with the biggest names in the industry including Ruth Brown, BB King, Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’, Sippie Wallace and an endless list of others.

Touring in support of her most recent recording, the Grammy-winning Slipstream, Bonnie Raitt returns to Portland for a performance at the elite Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Saturday, October 12th at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available through www.portland5.com or www.ticketswest.com, with prices ranging from $55.00 to $112.50. But move on these tickets quickly, as Bonnie always sells out in Portland.

Kim Simmonds and Savoy Brown (press photo)

Kim Simmonds and Savoy Brown (press photo)

Legendary…a blues/rock institution…true innovators. These are just a few of the ways Savoy Brown has been described over the past forty years by music critics and fans.

One of the earliest of British blues bands, Savoy Brown, with founder guitarist Kim Simmonds at the helm, helped launch the 1967 UK blues boom movement that brought Read more