91.5 KRCC's 11th Annual Blues Under the Bridge Festival is just around the corner. This year's festival brings some fantastic national and local acts to the stage. In this segment from the latest episode of Air Check, we offer a preview of the great music coming to BUTB on Saturday, July 29th.
Blind Boys of Alabama
The Blind Boys of Alabama are American blues legends. As a band, they've been playing in one configuration or another since 1939. In that time, they've won five Grammies and played everywhere from Civil Rights Era benefits for Martin Luther King Jr. to Carnegie Hall.
Still led by founding member, Jimmy Carter, the Blind Boys of Alabama keep the tradition of gospel blues alive with their powerful recordings and performances.
The Paladins
The Paladins have been honing their energetic rockabilly sound since the early 1980s. With their danceable rhythms, plucky stand-up bass, and blistering guitar licks, The Paladins hearken back to the early days of rock and roll, but they put their own twist on that classic sound.
In addition to Blues Under the Bridge, The Paladins will also be playing a pre-festival show at the Gold Room. Tickets are free for the first 100 BUTB festival pass holders. More information available here.
Bob Corritore and Big Jon Atkinson
Bob Corritore plays the blues harmonica like few others. He's lent his evocative, warbling harp melodies to songs by musical legends like RL Burnside, Pinetop Perkins, Ike Turner, and many others, and received a Blues Music Award for his own album, Bob Corritore & Friends / Harmonica Blues in 2012.
At Blues Under the Bridge, he'll be joined by Big Jon Atkinson. Still under 30, Atkinson has already made a mark in the blues world, playing with some of the biggest names in the business.
Corritore and Atkinson will also be playing a pre-festival show at the Gold Room. Tickets are free for the first 100 BUTB festival pass holders. More information available here.
Erica Brown with the Movers and Shakers
Colorado-based musician Erica Brown has built a national reputation on the strength of her powerful voice. Over the course of her career, she's shared the stage with such greats as B.B. King, Al Green, Tab Benoit, and many others.
Last year Brown was featured on Way Down Inside, an album by Big Head Todd's "Big Head Blues Club" project, and a favorite of 91.5 KRCC staff.
Mike Clark and Sugar Sounds
Local favorites Mike Clark and Sugar Sounds will get things started at this year's festival. Mike Clark made a name for himself in southern Colorado as a member of the Pueblo-based americana outfit, the Haunted Windchimes. With Sugar Sounds, he's gone electric, and tapped a delightful vein of retro-soul inspiration.
Accompanied by a cast of talented Colorado musicians, Clark croons his way through catchy tunes that simultaneously evoke a bygone era and a contemporary sound all his own.
