The blues are back in town
Tickets are going fast for this Jackson Delta reunion April 15 at Market Hall
Three old friends are reuniting to share their love for those classic blues.
The local classic Jackson Delta will be coming back after a two-year hiatus for an acoustic performance at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre at 8 p.m. on April 15.
They’ll be playing all night, with no opening act.
Al Black, the band’s drummer, singer, songwriter and harmonica player, Al Black, said the group’s been “rehearsing-slash-socializing ” for a couple of months leading up to the concert and they plan on having new songs mixed with their classic favourites.
“It’s nice to go back and revisit old tunes, but we still have some fresh ideas,” said Black.
Guitar player and vocalist Gary Peeples said the group made a “pact years ago” to never replace any of the members and still call the band Jackson Delta.
Peeples said he often plays with his fellow guitarist in the band, Rick Fines, during other performances around town.
“(Rick) is one of the few people I know who’s smart enough to go out and play music for a living,” said Peeples.
The three band members got their start jamming privately before they decided “just as a lark” to play publicly at a Trent pub called the Hangman in the late ’80s, said Black.
Peeples said all three members were also a part of two other bands called Side Effect and Loose Change at the time.
Jackson Delta went on to record their first album in Memphis, Tenn. at Sun Records. Since then they’ve recorded two Juno nominated albums called Acoustic Blues and I Was Just Thinking That.
The group split in the early 2000s but remained good friends said Black. The last time they performed together as Jackson Delta was two years ago at Market Hall.
Black said he expects people to come far and wide to fill out the concert, including harmonica player Terry Dockery, from the U.S., who will introduce the band and join them on stage for a few songs.
The band was inspired by older Delta and Piedmont blues, both named after regions in the U.S. south from which they originated, said Black.
“We got together in the first place because we all loved the same kind of music,” said Black.
The musician said his band has excellent chemistry on stage and they aren’t afraid to give one another “veiled insults” during banter sessions between songs.
“We all sing in equal amount, that’s what people loved about us,” said Black. “They often say they felt they were getting three concerts in one.”
Peeples said the sound work for the concert will be done by the band’s long-time friend Andy Pryde, a bass player for Black’s other band, Al Black and the Steady Band.
NOTE: The floor seats for the concert have already been sold out, said Black. The remaining $30 regular tickets can be purchased online, at Market Hall or Moondance Records on George St.