 |
 |
|
FRIDAY JULY 8, 2011 -- 8:00 p.m.
Free show sponsored by KBBN 95.3 FM "The Thunderbird"
Mike Adams and Off the Grid
The weekend will start on Friday evening with Mike Adams and Off the Grid from Kearney, Nebraska. This free show is sponsored by KBBN 95.3 FM "The Thunderbird" and everyone is welcome to join in the festival weekend kick-off.
All Mike Adams’s performances are unique, and still true to American music traditions like jazz, blues, pop, even country and folk. His vocals are incomparable with subtleties recognizing the heart of a song; his guitar playing, especially finger-picking, finds essential rhythms and tones. He has a broad range of musical experiences, playing in Tahoe casinos, small Indiana coffeehouses, Nebraska opera houses, Colorado theatres, nightclubs everywhere, even Africa. He can play to any audience anywhere.
The best bassist around! Terry Sinnard is the go-to guy for bass work. He creates the essential rhythms for many Kearney-area bands — the Marvelous Duo, Mike Adams Trio, Wizzards, Yikes! You can see his magic on Heartland Emmy winning film Prayers for the People.
Mick Johnson, percussionist, brings an eclectic sound to all the performances with his versatile drumming and "other sounds." His vocals create amazing harmonies, adding to the band's one-of-a-kind sound.
|
|
11:30 a.m. -- The Melvin Running Bear Band (Custer County, NE)
Watch for more information about this band!
|
12:30-1:30 p.m. The Matt Cox Band (Omaha)
Since first picking up a 6-string at the ripe age of 14, Shenandoah, IA, native Matt Cox has gone on to produce an illustrious catalog of timeless songs, hymns full of lonely highways, distillery lunch breaks, longing and realization. Cox has defined his singular style and toured a good part of the United States, reaching new fan bases in towns like Denver and Austin, where he was invited two years in a row to perform at their prodigious SXSW festival. Meanwhile stages in Omaha allow Cox to bring his foot-stomping, white-boy blues & old-time country to a constantly ever-growing fan-base. After three years of travelling and about 300 solo performances later, Cox formed the Matt Cox Band in the summer of 2008. Nominated for three Omaha Entertainment & Art Awards in '09 including Album of the Year, Country/Folk/Americana Artist of the Year, and crowned winner of the 2009 OEA Blues Artist of the Year, he was again selected as 2010's Best Roots/Americana/Country/Bluegrass in awards just announced in February 2011. Whether you crave the guitar driven jams of the Allman Brothers, the story telling of Dylan, or the country charm of Willie Nelson, The Matt Cox Band is sure to deliver! We are looking forward to having this group of performers join us in Arnold this July. More information on these performers is available at www.mattcoxmusic.net
|
2-4:00 p.m. The Lil' Slim Blues Band (Lincoln, NE)
Shawn "Lil' Slim" Holt is the son of legendary blues master, Magic Slim, AKA Morris Holt. Shawn started playing the blues at the age of 17, when he went on the road with his father and his Teardrops, where he aquired the name from his late Uncle Nick Holt, "Lil' Slim." Shortly after that tour with his father, Shawn formed his band, "Lil' Slim and The Back Alley Blues Band", with his god-brother, Jeff Boehmer, Joe Manthey & JJ King. Lil' Slim has been a part of the Blues Messengers based in Lincoln, NE and True Sons of the Blues in Minneapolis, MN. In 2009, he hooked up with some of his old band mates and new ones too and created "The Lil' Slim Blues Band". Jeffrey Boehmer, owner of The Zoo Bar, plays a solid bass and his specialty is Chicago Blues. He went to the school of Chicago Blues and was taught by Nick Holt. Read more about this remarkable band on Facebook. Just go to www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lil-Slim-Blues-Band
|
4:30-6:30 p.m. The Kris Lager Band (Omaha)
These guys are back by popular demand and we are thrilled they could work our festival into their summer.
The Kris Lager Band is a Nebraska born group who have dedicated their lives to playing Soulful, original music. With Lager on guitar and vocals and Jeremiah Weir on keys and percussion, the guys have a chemistry that comes from playing well over 1,000 shows together and the word is getting out that they are both powerful and unique. With their "Celebrate Life" mantra and working class musicianship, the show is constantly evolving as the lines between Rock, Soul, Blues, Trance, Zydeco, Reggae, Funk, Hip-Hop, Gospel, and Hill Country Boogie blur into a sound that is truly their own. Their focus is not only on good sounds but also good songwriting. When Kris sings you can tell that he feels every word and lives every emotion as the songs evoke everything from joy to sorrow, celebration to personal meditation. And, longtime sideman and Hammond hauler Weir continues to amaze audiences as he has proven to be a slammin' drummer and all around addition to the groove.
Together with Rockstar drummer and MC extraordinaire John Fairchild and burgeoning bassist Brandon Miller, they have traveled the country and honed their craft. Never resting on past success and always working in new material, it's undeniable that Kris Lager Band is the real deal. Good people, good music, and a Real Good Time. Don't miss them at Arnold this July! Check them out at www.krislagerband.com
|
7-9:00 p.m. --
Earl and Them (Arkansas)
Early evening headliners
He's back one more time!!! For years Jason Davis came to Arnold with his own band, The Spankers, and then he was part of another festival favorite, The Tablerockers. Before last year's festival, Jason had joined up with some other musicians and we were thrilled with the band he now performs with, Earl and Them. Hailing from the beautiful Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, with more than a combined 150 years of playing experience, Earl and Them brings an electricity to the stage that is grounded by a rich history and lasting tradition in the blues. None other than RJ Mischo, the globetrotting, internationally acclaimed blues harmonica ace and illegitimate father of “Them”, has described them as “Arkansas’ hottest new blues/rock band”. Influenced by a variety of musical styles including blues, rock, R&B and soul, Earl and Them provide a smokin' hot show with the widely acclaimed guitar mastery of Earl Cate, the distinct guitar sounds and soulful vocals of Jason Davis, and the tight grooves laid down by Mike Murray on bass and Terry Cagle on drums.
Guitarist Earl Cate picked up a guitar in the early 60's, and with his twin brother on keyboard, Earl proceeded to become a musician with a trademark tone and style that are now legendary. Their band, The Cate Brothers, added Terry Cagle on drums after Terry's uncle, Levon Helm of The Band, introduced them in 1966. They played together for several decades in the U.S. and Europe and have a long list of incredible accomplishments. A few of the highlights include a top ten hit with "Union Man" in 1976 and television performances on American Bandstand and Austin City Limits. Earl and Terry, with the Cate Brothers, toured with "The Band" for a couple of years in the early 1980's. They were also invited to play at President Clinton's Inaugural Ball where they shared the stage with Bob Dylan, Steven Stills and Dr. John, among many others. Bassist Mike Murray got his first guitar at age 12 from his honky-tonk piano-playing grandma. With her as inspiration, Mike played bass through high school and then went on to tour with Bo Ramsey through the 70' and 80's. In the mid 80's, he toured with Nashville recording artist Aaron Russell. Moving from Missouri to Arkansas, Mike hooked up with Michael Burks and toured with him all over the U.S. and Europe around the turn of the century. After some time off to raise kids, he started a band in 2003 called Jennifer B and the Groove Kings. Mike has played with the likes of RJ Mischo, Greg Brown, T-Bone McPherson, Al Garth and Kevin Gordon. Guitarist and vocalist Jason Davis toured for 10 years with his trio, "Baby Jason and the Spankers." During that period, they played some of the top blues venues in the country, including Buddy Guy's Legends, Antones, the Grand Emporium, the Zoo Bar and Blues on Grand. He has also had the honor to play with the likes of Magic Slim, Sue Foley, James Harman, Jimmy Thackery, Tab Benoit, and Indigenous over the years. Jason also played with the esteemed 'Arkansas' Tablerockers for 7 years before joining up to help create Earl and Them. To date, his highest personal achievement has been to play the South Loup River Blues Festival for 16 years running.
Whether you want to sit and listen to a stunning show played by accomplished, unsurpassable talented musicians or you just want to dance your socks off, Earl and Them delivers what you need, every time. Get to the festival early so you don't miss one of the festival's perennial favorites. Until then, follow Earl and Them at www.myspace.com/earlandthem
|
9:30 p.m. --
Super Chikan and the Fighting Cocks
(Clarksdale, Mississippi)
Late night headliner
James "Super Chikan" Johnson is a Blues Music Award winning American blues musician, artist and guitar maker based in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He is the nephew of fellow blues musician Big Jack Johnson.
James Louis Johnson was born in Darling, Mississippi on February 16, 1951. He spent his childhood moving from town to town in the Mississippi Delta and working on his family's farms. He was very fond of the chickens on the farm, and before he was old enough to work in the fields, he would walk around talking to them. This led his friends to give him the nickname "Chikan Boy". At an early age, Johnson got his first rudimentary musical instrument, a "diddley bow", which was simply a piece of wood with a piece of baling wire stretched from end to end. As he grew up, he came up with new ways to improve and vary the sounds he could make with it, and finally, in 1964, at the age of thirteen, he bought his first guitar, an acoustic model that had only two strings, from a Salvation Army store in Clarksdale.
As an adult, “Super Chikan” began driving a truck for a living. During the long stretches on the road, he began composing his own songs. When he showed some of the songs to his friends, they convinced him to go a studio and record them. He then started playing with some renowned local musicians, but he decided he would rather perform on his own than try to conform his style to that of his band-mates.
He did so, and in 1997 “Super Chikan” released his debut album, Blues Come Home to Roost, influenced by such musicians as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Chuck Berry. He went on to release What You See in 2000, Shoot That Thang in 2001, Chikan Supe in 2005, Sum Mo Chikan in 2008, and Chikadelic in 2009, which was awarded the 2010 Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Album.
Welcome To Sunny Bluesville, Super Chikan's latest CD, was recorded at XM / Sirius Satellite Radio's state-of-the-art performance studio in Washington, DC. It features both Chikan solo and with his band, The Fighting Cocks.
In the Clarksdale area, "Super Chikan" is probably best-known for performing regularly at Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero blues club, and for being Freeman's favorite blues performer. “Super Chikan” has toured and performed at festivals in Africa, Iceland, Japan, UK, Denmark, Canada, Mexico, Finland, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia and Switzerland, and has performed for the President of the United States. He was recently nominated by the Blues Foundation, for his second year in a row, the Blues Music Awards for BB King Entertainer of the Year and Traditional Male Blues Artist.
Last year, he was honored with four nominations, including BB King Entertainer of the Year, Song of the Year for "Fred's Dollar Store", Traditional Blues Male Artist, and he won the BMA for Traditional Blues Album of the Year for Chikadelic. He was previously nominated for the Best New Artist Blues Music Award in 1998, and has received five Living Blues Critics Awards. In 2004, “Super Chikan” received the Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. This year Super Chikan is once again nominated for BB King Entertainer of the Year and Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year.
Read more by going to www.superchikan.bandzoogle.com
|
|
|
