Sept. 28, 2007
TICKET SALES: 805/756-2787
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Showcase Brings Solid Blues to Cohan Center Oct. 12
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA – “Solid Blues” is four big-name blues acts under one bill, bringing together blues stylings and star power: Mavis Staples, Charlie Musselwhite, North Mississippi Allstars, and Joe Krown. It's all blues, all night long.
Cal Poly Arts proudly presents their Solid Blues debut tour on Friday, October 12 at 8 p.m. at the Cohan Center.
From early days sharing lead vocals with her groundbreaking gospel group The Staple Singers (“Respect Yourself,” “I’ll Take You There”) to acclaimed solo recordings, Mavis Staples has become an inspirational force in modern popular culture and music.
Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, Staples received three Grammy nominations in 2004, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and three W.C. Handy Awards in 2005, and the NEA’s National Heritage Fellowship Award in 2006.
Charlie Musselwhite has been called “the world’s greatest living blues harmonica player” by the New York Press. Eight-time Grammy-nominee and eighteen-time W. C. Handy Award-winner, Musselwhite has also won Lifetime Achievement Awards from The Monterey Blues Festival and the San Javier Jazz Festival in Spain, and the Mississippi Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.
Musselwhite’s latest CD, “Delta Hardware," was called “an early candidate for blues record of the year” by All Music Guide.
North Mississippi Allstars won three Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary Blues Album and their 2005 “Electric Blue Watermelon” reached No. 1 that year on the Billboard Top Blues Album Chart.
The group recently recorded the soundtrack – along with fellow “Solid Blues” member Charlie Musselwhite – for the recent Paramount film, “Black Snake Moan,” starring Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, and Justin Timberlake.
New Orleans style piano and Hammond B-3 player Joe Krown is a favorite of the Crescent City and has won numerous awards for his recordings and performances. He held the keyboard chair with Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown & Gate’s Express from 1992 until Gatemouth’s passing in the fall of 2005.
Krown has also performed and recorded with other acclaimed artists, including Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, and B. B. King. His latest CD, “Livin’ Large” was recorded with his Joe Krown Organ Combo.
General public tickets for the performance range from $32 to $44, with student discounts available on all seats, and may be purchased at the Performing Arts Ticket Office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
To order by phone, call 805/756-2787; to order by fax: 805/756-6088. Order on-line at www.pacslo.org.
Sponsored by KPIG 94.9 FM, Best Western Royal Oak Hotel, and Radiology Associates of SLO.
For more information on all Cal Poly Arts events, including audio and video samples, please visit www.calpolyarts.org.
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