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BLUES CARAVAN 2020

Ruf Records’ Blues Caravan is unstoppable. Fifteen years after Europe’s most respected label put on its first showcase tour, the founding concept is instantly familiar to blues fans: every night, on club stages across the US and Europe, three rising talents will burn down the house and kick the blues into the modern age. But there’s a twist. With the lineup chosen each year from the cream of the Ruf roster, every Caravan has a fresh vibe, a fizzing chemistry and plenty of flying sparks. And with three wildly different artists running the gamut of styles in 2020, all bets are off.

Jeremiah Johnson is the St. Louis bluesman from the school of hard knocks. After early days as the Southern circuit’s best-kept secret, 2018’s acclaimed Straitjacket album put the bandleader in the spotlight with its searing performances, smart hooks and blue-collar lyrics. “I am Southern blues-rock,” states Jeremiah. “It’s in my blood, my heart and my soul. I always sing my songs from my heart, with the same passion that I had when I wrote them. They come from the blood, sweat and tears of a blue-collar worker in the Midwestern United States. I couldn't be more excited about the Blues Caravan lineup – it’ll be hotter than a two-dollar pistol!”

We first met Ryan Perry as a teenage phenomenon, when he hijacked 2007’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis with his Homemade Jamz Blues Band, and announced his talent for sharp storytelling, stinging guitar and soulful vocals. This charismatic bandleader’s talents have only grown over the last decade, and following 2019’s solo debut on Ruf Records, Ryan is the finished article, armed with a setlist to raise the roof.“Fans can expect high action and low ego on the Blues Caravan,” he says. “My live shows are packed with passion and soul, always fun and full of energy – as only a Mississippi bluesman can deliver.”

There’s no mistaking Whitney Shay. When this San Diego fireball hits the stage, the first thing you’ll notice is the flammable hair and sparkling dresses. But on this year’s Blues Caravan, the singer’s show will match her style, as Whitney shakes out the R&B floor-shakers from her acclaimed A Woman Rules The World album – and gives you a sneak preview of the studio material to come. “When I perform,” she says, “I want people to dance and be engaged. To me, blues has always been about catharsis, the purging of sad experiences. If I can make the audience leave smiling and feeling like they’ve forgotten about the troubles of their day, I’ve done my job.”

 

BLUES CARAVAN  2020 - Tourdates

31.01. DE Torgau Kulturbastion
01.02. DE Forst Manitu
02.02. DE Lichtentanne St. Babara
04.02. DE Karlsruhe Jubez
05.02. DE Oberhausen Zentrum Altenberg
06.02. DE Höxter Tonenburg
07.02. DE Hannover Blues Garage
08.02. DE Berlin Quasimodo
09.02. DE Dortmund Musiktheater Piano
11.02. DE Stuttgart Merlin
12.02. DE Bonn Harmonie
13.02. DE Eppstein Wunderbar Weitewelt
14.02. DE Worpswede Music Hall
15.02. DE Siegen Jazzoase
17.02. DE Rimsting Blues Club Chiemgau
18.02. DE Nürnberg Hirsch
19.02. DE Aschaffenburg Colos-Saal
20.02. DE Kaiserslautern Kammgarn
21.02. LUX Luxemburg Sang & Klang
22.02. DE Rheine Kino Zinema City
23.02. DE Kassel Theaterstübchen
25.02. DE Lindewerra Gemeindesaal
26.02. DE Hamburg Downtwon Blues Club
27.02. DE Halle Objekt 5
28.02. DE Koblenz Cafe Hahn
29.02. DE Offenburg Reithalle
       
14.04. A Rankweil Altes Kino
15.04. CH Frick Fricks Monti
16.04. CH Basel Atlantis
17.04. CH Rubigen Mühle Hunziken
18.04. CH Frauenfeld Eisenwerk
19.04. A Vienna Reigen
20.04. A Salzburg Rockhouse
22.04. UK Edingburgh Bannermans
23.04. UK Hartlepool Supporters Club
24.04. UK Keighley Studio 5 Live @Jam On Top
25.04. UK Louth British Legion Hall
26.04. UK Maidstone Pizza Express
27.04. UK Bilston Robin 2
28.04. UK London 100 Club
30.04. BE Verviers Spirit of 66
01.05. DE Soest Alter Schlachthof
02.05. DE Freudenburg Ducsaal Musikclub
04.04. DE Weinheim Muddy’s Club
08.05. NL Zingem De Korenbloem
09.05. NL Bluesfestival Kwadendamme

ALLY VENABLE - TEXAS HONEY - EUROPE TOUR 2020

 

There’s something about Texas. Open up the history books and you’ll find the Lone Star State at the eye of every rock ‘n’ roll storm. Pull up a stool in any bar-room and you’ll still hear Southern gentlemen spin stories of ZZ Top, Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Now, tip a ten-gallon hat to the bandleader writing her own name onto the state’s famed back pages, as Ally Venable releases breakout third album, Texas Honey – with production from another local hero. “Ally is the future of the blues and the crossover music of American roots-rock,” nods Mike Zito. “She is Texas Honey.”

            She might only be hitting her twenties, but long-term fans will know this isn’t Ally’s first rodeo. Rewind to her childhood in the post-millennium and this rising star found her voice in church, but it was the influence of fiery Texas guitar-slingers like SRV and the melodic smarts of Miranda Lambert that showed her the path. “What’s cool about Stevie is that he introduced so many people that didn’t know about blues to this music,” she reflects. “And that’s what my goal is to do with my music.”

With her soulful vocal, burn-it-down fretwork and heart-on-sleeve songcraft, America was hers for the taking. Detonating venues across the land and holding their own as support for titans like Lance Lopez and Eric Gales, Ally’s lineup of Bobby Wallace (bass) and Elijah Owings (drums) proved a power-trio to rank alongside the best. “I take in that Texas guitar-slinging influence in my shows and songwriting,” she explains. “My band is a three-piece, so it’s a ‘right-in-your-face’ power-trio.”

That live punch was captured on No Glass Shoes (2016) and Puppet Show (2018): the latter dubbed “exceptional” by Blues Rock Review as it scaled the Top 10 on both Billboard and iTunes Blues Charts. Meanwhile, the ETX Awards mounted up in categories including ‘Best Female Guitarist’, ‘Blues Band’ and ‘Album of the Year’. But it’s all been leading to Texas Honey and the Texas Honey 2020 Tour in Europe..

Expect some sweetness – and plenty of sting.

It’s the cherry atop the first great breakout record of 2019 – from a Texas legend-in-waiting with everything coming her way. “I’m very grateful,” reflects Ally, “for all the cool things that have happened, are happening – and will happen…”

20.03. DE Mannheim Hauptbahnhof
21.03. DE Reitwein Festival Live In Reitwein
22.03. DE Starkenberg Kuhstall Tanna
23.03. DE Limburg JVA  
24.03. DE Kassel Theaterstübchen
25.03. DE Bremen Meisenfrei
26.03. DE Dortmund Blues Notez
27.03. PL Chorzow  
28.03. CZ Straznice  
30.03. SK Bratislava Múzeum Obchodu
31.03. A Wien Vienna Blues Spring
01.04. DE Rimsting Blues Club Chiemgau
02.04. DE Eppstein/Ts. Wunderbar Weite Welt
03.04. DE Berlin Kiste  
04.04. DE Münster Hot Jazz Club
05.04. DE Bonn Harmonie
06.04. DE Weinheim Muddy’s Club

MIKE ZITO -ROCK 'N' ROLL - A TRIBUTE TO CHUCK BERRY

1269 cover lr Zito’s upcoming album -- his 16th -- due this November on Ruf Records and descriptively titled Rock N Roll: A Tribute to Chuck Berry, finds him broadening his boundaries still further even as it marks a return to his roots. The album consists of 20 Chuck Berry classics performed by Zito and an impressive array of 21 guest guitarists, among them Joe Bonamassa, Walter Trout, Eric Gales, Robben Ford, Sonny Landreth, Luther Dickinson, Albert Castiglia, Anders Osborne and, significantly, Chuck’s grandson, Charles Berry III.

Available here
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Apple Music: Click here
Spotify: Click here

ROCK 'N' ROLL TOUR 2020 - Tourdates

11.03. DE Bremen Meisenfrei
12.03. DE Idstein- Wörsdorf Scheuer Rocks
13.03. DE Hannover Blues Garage
14.03. DE Berlin Quasimodo
17.03. DE Stuttgart Merlin
18.03. DE Hamburg Downtown Blues Club
19.03. DE Höxter Toneburg
20.03. NL Borger VanSlag
21.03. NL Hilversum De Vorstin
22.03. DE Bonn Harmonie
23.03. DE Kassel Theaterstübchen
24.03. F Marcq-en-Barœul Théâtre Charcot
25.03. F Nantes Le Ferrailleur
26.03. F Massy Salle Paul B
27.03. DE Dortmund Piano
28.03. NL Ridderkerk Bluzey Festival
29.03. NL Weert De Bosuil
20.03. BE Verviers Spirit of 66
02.04. UK Kinross Green Hotel
03.04. UK Hartleppol Supporters Club
04.04. UK Devizes Long Street Blues
07.04. UK Chislehurst Beaverwood
08.04. UK London 100 Club
09.04. UK Pershore Iron Door
10.04. UK Sutton Boom Boom Club
11.04. UK Sheffield Academy HRH Blues

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