The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Blues tour comes to Black-Eyed Sally’s
HARTFORD — It’s like a blues festival on wheels — carrying some of America’s favorite blues musicians all around New England for a few days to blow away your mid-winter blues.
The New England Winter Blues Tour will make a matinee stop Sunday at Black-Eyed Sally’s Southern Kitchen & Bar.
The show will feature Rhode Island’s Sugar Ray & the Blue Tones, West Coast bluesmen Charlie Baty (formerly of Little Charlie & The Nightcats), who will be playing with the Bluetones, and Rick Estrin (of Rick Estrin & The Nightcats), modern harmonica master Jason Ricci and badass Chicago blues brothers Nick Moss and Joe Moss.
Showtime is 4 p.m. Tickets are $25 available via a link on the Black-Eyed Sally’s website. Get tickets in advance or you may not get in. Black-Eyed Sally’s is at 350 Asylum St.
Nick “Mr. Nick” David, the New Hampshire-based blues harp player who leads Mr. Nick & the Dirty Tricks, produced the show and will also perform.
Some of the shows also feature former Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton harp player Jerry Portnoy, as well as Sonya Rae Taylor, but neither is expected to perform at the Black-Eyed Sally’s show.
Sugar Ray & The Bluetones have been performing for almost 40 years, led by bandleader “Sugar” Ray Norcia on vocals and world-class harmonica. He’s joined by guitarist “Little” Charlie Baty, Anthony Geraci on piano and Hammond organ, Michael “Mudcat” Ward on acoustic and electric bass and drummer Neil Gouvin.
Joe & Nick Moss, who usually tour separately, are both serious, real-deal Chicago blues guitarists. They have only played as a duo on one other festival, organizers said. Both front their own bands.
Rick Estrin, like Norcia and Ricci, is among the best blues harmonica players on Earth. He also is a major personality on stage. A Chicago native who has long lived in the Bay Area, he and his band always deliver a high-energy show.
Jason Ricci, originally from Maine via Nashville, is one of the most popular harmonica players around, with an unorthodox, influential style that has influenced a generation of harmonica players.