The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Heirs of blues royalty will rock The Kate
The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center will have Jeff Pitchell & Texas Flood bring together heirs to Blues Royalty, in a Legends show on Saturday. Joining Pitchell are Michael Allman, son of Gregg Allman; Tyrone Vaughan, son of Jimmie Vaughan; and Claudette King, daughter of BB King. Jeff Pitchell will be inducted into the CT Blues Hall of Fame at this show. On Friday, the Legends show is at the Iron Horse.
Get to The Palace in Danbury for a big night of rock, roll, soul and blues when Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez share the stage with legendary drummer Liberty Devitto and his new band, The Slim Kings. Ohlman is a one-of-a-kind blues, rock and soul singer, known for her giant platinum beehive hairdo, vocal work on Saturday Night Live, and playing with musicians across the country. The Beehive Queen mixes a fiery brand of rootsy Americana with an oldschool soul music flavor.
Ohlman has been named a “Living Legend” by both the New Haven and Hartford Advocates. A seasoned performer after more than 24 years with the Saturday Night Live band, Ohlman has sung over the years at such high-profile gigs as Bob Dylan’s 30th anniversary bash, the 2009 Obama inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., The Lincoln Center “American Songbook” series, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Concert in Cleveland.
Ohlman delivers a song like few others are doing these days, from the heart, from the gut and with a whole lotta soul.
Rebel Montez, her band, is Cliff Goodwin on guitar and vocals, Michael Colbath on bass and vocals, and Larry Donahue on drums and percussion. All excellent musicians, this is one tight band with a lot of chemistry.
Liberty DeVitto was born in New York City. He taught himself to play the drums after seeing The Beatles on their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. DeVitto got his break in the music business when he was hired to play drums for Billy Joel in the mid-1970s.
There’s no better way to beat the doldrums of winter than by spending some time at Willimantic’s annual Winter Blues Fest. The evening will have the Mighty Soul Drivers joining forces with F & Blues Band and the new trio Vitamin B-3. Plan to dance away those winter blues with a night filled of rockin’ soul dance numbers, down-inthe-alley testifying, and some funky blues. Time to shake off your cabin fever while helping raise money for Willimantic’s 3rd Thursday Street Fest. Proceeds from this event go to support those great free summer events. The Winter Blues Fest kicks off at 7 pm.
Open mics and jams continue to hit the clubs. They pop up and sometimes move on just as fast. Keep current on the latest jams and know your support helps. Steven Piper writes that he and his colleagues are at a new blues home, The Still in Agawam, MA. Join them from 6-9 p.m. Sunday. Also new to the list are Wednesdays, when Dave D hosts The Music Club Open Mic at O’Brien’s Pub in Wallingford. Every Thursday it’s an Open Mic with Dave Costa at the Cambridge House Brew Pub.
Planning on going to the Connecticut Blues Society Blizzard? Here is a list of the bands: The Sidewinders, Six Pack of Blues, Jr Krauss and the Shakes, Vitamin B-3 and the Rich Badowski Blues Band.
If you are interested in the New England Blues Summit, get more details at http://www.newenglandbluessummit.com/specialdeals.html.
Infinity Hall has created “Fee-Free First Wednesday.” They listened to customer comments, and while ticket fees are an unfortunate necessity for the music business, Infinity Hall wanted to try having a fee-free day. If this is popular, they will continue the program.
On the first Wednesday of the month, starting March 7 from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. they will waive service and facility fees on all ticket purchases.
Infinity Hall Norfolk has Chef Lisa’s Sunday Prime Rib Dinner Special served with a loaded baked potato, veggie and a salad (regular menu also available). Call 860-542-5531 for reservations. There’s free, live music in the Bistro from 6-8 p.m. too.
February has always been a month concerned with the heart. The Blues Foundation celebrates it as the Month of HART — The HART (Handy Artists Relief Trust) Fund, which supports blues musicians and their families in financial need due to a broad range of health concerns. The fund provides for acute, chronic, and preventive medical, vision, and dental care as well as funeral and burial expenses.
The fund also provides free health screenings for musicians throughout the year where doctors, nurses, and other health practitioners are on site to provide a variety of medical tests including but not limited to blood pressure, pulse, cholesterol, diabetes, Hepatitis C, PSA screenings for prostate cancer, and other key medical evaluations. Donation to the HART Fund help The Blues Foundation keep blues musicians healthy.