[BSO] Blues Cruise Tix On-Sale Saturday night

[tsedivy]

Greetings Blues Fans,

Sorry this is late getting out.

The Blues Disciples, a new band in Omaha, will be playing The Velvet Lounge on Sundays from 4pm-7pm. I understand the new owners have remodeled and it is a better room for live music.
The Blues Disciples:
“The Reverend" Rex Granite (Guitar)
Veteran guitarist Rex Granite toured the Midwest with late '70s hard rock band Monarch. During the ,80s, he spent time between The King
Krust Blues Band on the Texas biker circuit, and rebel country band The Backwoods Brothers touring the Southwest. During the '90s,
along with Petra's drummer Bill Glover, Rex formed the original blues rock band The Crying Fires to concentrate on songwriting. Rex is a
strong Christian, having played neighborhood street corners and Evangelical Churches with Gospel power trio The Sons of Thunder, and
has shared the stage with Buddy Guy, Cub Koda, and Luther Allison to name a few.
Kelvin Wynne Sr. (Bass Guitar/Vocals)
Frontman Kelvin Wynne puts the Soul in The Blues Disciples with his 5 string bass and his passionate vocal prowess. With a Preacher for a father, and the Church pianist/music coordinator for a mother, Kelvin was steeped in a musical environment that has allowed him to fulfill his dream of communicating to people of all origins and cultures through his music. A prolific songwriter as well, Kelvin's main influences are Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughn.
Jason Leader (Drums)
The youngest member of the band, Jason makes sure the true energy and power of the Blues is never missing from the Blues Disciples performances. Born in Albany, New York, Jason has played with local Blues and Original bands Blues Caravan and Soap Box Derby, and has opened for Chris Duarte, Little Ed and the Blues Imperials, Hadden Sayers, and Indigenous.
The core band is a three piece, but regularly brings in special guest musicians on sax and piano.


Tickets for the Sunday, April 29th Cruise go on sale tomorrow night, Saturday, at Murphy's, SHAG, The Lift, and McKenna's. Tix are $25 each. BSO Members may purchase up to two tix at the member price of $20 each. The cruise will board at 2:30pm, with music from Louisiana's Chubby Carrier and The Bayou Swamp Band and Omaha's own Blue House and The Rent to Own Horns starting at 3:00pm.
One word to describe the swampdelic sounds of Chubby Carrier and Bayou Swamp Band? Fun. Pure Louisiana zydeco fun with a hot sauce chaser. Anybody who has doubts about the accordion as an instrument will be swayed the right way with Carrier's passion and fire on the instrument.

If you want tickets in Lincoln, email Moe Jasinski moejas1954@aol.com
If you want tickets in Fremont, email Chuck Hargens biscuit@ellipse.net

The biggest names in the Blues play downtown Omaha this weekend with Eric Clapton and Robert Cray at The Qwest on Saturday and BB King at the wonderful Holland Performing Arts Center on Sunday. Y'all have probably heard the rumor that Clapton is supposedly going to jam w/ BB on Sunday, since he has the day off before playing KC on Monday. If anyone would like to send me a short review of either show, we'd love to print it here or in the BSO Blues Notes.


Rick Galusha has posted several new podcasts of his PS Blues Show: http://kiwrblues.podOmatic.com/entry/eg/2007-03-15T14_16_35-07_00

Last week I was on-air pushing BSO w/ Mike Jacobs for his 2:00pm-3:30pm Monday Afternoon Blues show on 91.5 KIOS. Mike does a great job and it is well-worth remembering to tune into his show each Monday. Very cool indeed. Galusha just wrote an article in the City Weekly on Mike and his show: http://omahacityweekly.com/article.php?id=277

For the first time in a few years, we have decided to continue our Thursday Blues Matinees at Murphy's throughout the summer. It is probably just coincidence, but I have a ton of the top women in the Blues scheduled, including Carolyn Wonderland, Candye Kane, Ana Popovic, Debbie Davies, and EC Scott. Visit The Blues Society's great new website for all the latest bookings and planning your summer: www.OmahaBlues.com

Speaking of "Ladies Sing the Blues":

Back by popular demand – Ladies Sing the Blues returns to Omaha on Friday, April 13. This second annual concert benefiting the Women’s Fund of Greater Omaha features winners of Canada’s 2006 and 2007 Best Female Blues Vocalist Award.

Les Grandes Dames du Blues -- Dawn Tyler Watson, Suzie Vinnick and Shakura S'Aida – will take the stage along with Paul Deslauriers and Jean Sebastian Chounard.

Returning musician Dawn Tyler Watson was selected as Female Vocalist of the Year last year. She's a two-time winner of the Quebec Lys Blues, for Best Female Artist (2003 and 2004), the 2002 International Screamin' Jay Hawkins Award for live performance (France,) and has earned numerous Maple Blues Awards nominations. Her Web site is www.dawntylerwatson.com.
Suzie Vinnick heads the list of winners of this year’s Maple Blues Awards, handed out Jan. 15 by the Toronto Blues Society. She won Female Vocalist of the Year and Bass Player of the Year, while Songwriter of the Year went to both Vinnick and Rick Fines for their 2006 release "Nothing Halfway". Visit her Web site at www.suzievinnick.com.

Shakura S’Aida has performed at the Apollo Theatre in New York and has been nominated twice by the Toronto Blues Society as the Maple Blues “Female Vocalist of the Year” (2004/2005). S’Aida has also had the honor of being named “Best Female R&B Vocalist” in 2005 by Real Blues Magazine. Visit her Web site at www.shakurasaida.com.

• Concert tickets are $50
• Patron tickets, which include a 6 p.m. pre-party event with complimentary drinks and food provided by Shucks/Absolutely Fresh along with an appearance by the performers, are $75
• Concert starts at 7:30 with the Side Effects, followed by the headliner at 8 p.m.
• Open seating (reserved block seating for sponsors). Casual Attire. An age 21 and over show.

The concert will be held at the Scottish Rite, 202 S. 20th Street. Tickets are available at Homers locations, Shuck/Absolutely Fresh or by calling the Women’s Fund at 827-9280.
Proceeds from the event will support the Women’s Funds’ efforts to improve the lives of women and girls in the Omaha area.
Thursday, April 5th, WC Handy Award nominee Tad Robinson makes his Omaha debut at Murphy's Lounge at 5:30pm. Soul-Blues at its finest! Cover just $8.
“Robinson places near the top of the list of the finest living singers of soul blues. His upward-bound voice is of a genuinely handsome quality and he uses it with confidence.”
- Frank-John Hadley, [FONT='Arial', 'sans-serif']Downbeat [/FONT]

Get out and get into it!
Terry O'Halloran
BSO Pres and emailer