David Julia is in his teens and dead serious about the blues. He began performing at the age of seven, and over the next ten years has grown in a blues powerhouse who is beginning to establish himself far beyond his Florida home. David has been touring regionally and has already participated in the Memphis-based Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge four years in a row, drawing rave notices from the worldwide crowd.
Bridget Kelly Band is an electric blues band that rocks the house with their unique blend of hot smokin’ blues. The Bridget Kelly Band will release Blues Warrior in the summer of 2018 and will be touring this summer to support the new release! Blues Warrior is an emotional body of work that taps into important issues concerning women. The Bridget Kelly Band’s “Bone Rattler” CD was released in May of 2017 on Alpha Sun records. The eclectic 2-disk CD, comprised of 22 all-original songs that cover a fairly wide spectrumof “Electric Blues” and “Blues-Rock” styles, the CD has been well-received by critics and fans alike. A summer tour 2017 included shows in Florida and Georgia, a CD release party at Darwin’s in Atlanta, as well as club and festival dates throughout the Midwest (including a standing- ovation performance at the Northwood Blues Festival).
John Long was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1950 & was first exposed to the music he’d make his life’s work not long after. By the late 1950s John was absorbing the sounds of Jimmy Reed, Buster Brown, Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Junior Parker, and all the rest of the R&B and jump blues of the day, & working on recreating those sounds with his own guitar.
“When we’re onstage we play with a lot of emotion.” Noelle says. “And then we feed off the crowd’s emotional reaction to us and we git it right back to them.”
Central to the Magnolia Boulevard experience is a sound that flows easily and seamlessly from a multitude of stylistic tributaries. There’s plenty of blues, soul and rock ’n roll in the mix, but also elements of funk, jam band, folk, country, bluegrass and psychedelia. It’s all fueled by the rhythm section’s elastic grooves. shot through with Erwin’s expressive and incisive slide guitar licks and topped by Noelle’s soul-stirring, powerhouse vocals.
“I think it was Gregg Allman who once said, ‘If there’s 10,000 people in the audience and they have one-and-a-half problems each, that’s 15,000 problems out there,” says Erwin. “So if you can put your heart into something and get onstage and help the audience forget about those problems for a couple of hours, then, you know, your job’s done. That’s the greatest satisfaction one can achieve, I believe.”
Mike Tozier is one of the longest-running acoustic musicians in the Bay area. Mike plays with a barrelhouse-style reminiscent of John Hammond and guitar prowess to spare on his dobro and acoustic guitar. A Best of the Bay award-winning artist, Mike remains a down-to-earth, salt-of-the-earth fellow that puts on a heck of a show merging country, folk, Delta Blues and Americana.
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is a three-piece American country blues band from Brown County, Indiana. They play more than 250 dates per year at venues ranging from bars to festivals. To date, they have released ten albums and one EP
Veteran harpist Rockin’ Jake has more than three decades of training and performance-from his New England roots to a long tenure in New Orleans that built his prowess.
JUke is a four-piece, “post-blues,” hybrid with a high motor and bottomless soul. Spearheaded by frontman/harmonica-whiz/singer, Eric Garcia, JUke’s content toucheson non-traditional subject matter while simultaneously keeping their crowd moving with a smile on their faces. The addition of Sonny East on guitar, Korian Hannah on the drums, and Marcel Salas on bass now have the band firing on all cylinders.
JUke’s high-energy live performances and imaginative lyrical depth have thrilled music fans at festivals such as Wanee, Hulaween, AURA, Magnolia Fest, and Orange Blossom Jamboree. Now, with that powerful new lineup behind Eric Garcia, JUke prepares to take their stories and shows to the next level!
Castro Coleman, aka: “Mr. Sipp – The Mississippi Blues Child” was born in the small town of McComb, MS. He began playing guitar at the tender age of 6. Through hard work and perseverance, Mr. Sipp has become a Delta Blues force to be reckoned with! Being recognized for his amazing vocals, songwriting ability, musicianship, ability to produce records and entertain Fans with an upbeat, outlandish show all make Mr. Sipp “The Total Package.” With over 125 recording credits to his name, Mr. Sipp has played on over 50 national recordings with several Grammy ® nominated projects.
Mr. Sipp spent 22 years in the Gospel Music Business as a Recording Artist and a Producer! Since his BIG WIN at The International Blues Challenge in 2014 and the release of his debut Blues CD, “It’s My Guitar,” the music community has been abuzz and welcomed him with open arms! On his debut, Mr. Sipp sings all vocals and plays all instruments – on the entire record! Made listing the credits easy. Yes sir, when God was handing out musical talent, Mr. Sipp apparently was at the head of the line!
On his release, his debut recording for Malaco Records entitled “The Mississippi Blues Child,” Mr. Sipp once again handles all of the vocals and plays numerous instruments. However this time around he is joined by other reputable Malaco Mississippi “Hitmen.” All songs with the exception of one are originals and his diverse style of music separates this record from many of the other recent “cookie cutter” Delta Blues recordings. Mr. Sipp is proudly endorsed by Ernie Ball Strings and Epiphone Guitars which he plays exclusively.
J.P. Soars is soaring high, touring the world after releasing a new studio album last Fall, LET GO OF THE REINS, produced by Tab Benoit on Benoit’s Whiskey Bayou label. Soars was also nominated for “Blues Rock Artist of the Year” in the 40th annual Blues Music Awards, alongside blues music heavyweights Billy Gibbons, Eric Gales, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Tinsley Ellis, rounding out the Blues Rock category.