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JOHNNY RAWLS

DRINK SMALL -THE BLUES DOCTOR

MISS WANDA JOHNSON & SHRIMP CITY SLIM

POP FERGUSON

THE KING BEES REVUE

TAMPA BLUE...MUCH MORE!!

 *JOHNNY RAWLS: Fantastic Mississippi singer, songwriter, guitarist, arranger and producer Johnny Rawls draws on the 1950s' and '60s' deep soul-blues tradition in his guitar playing, yet his lyrics and singing are timeless. Rawls got his early musical education from his grandfather, John Paul Newson, a blind guitarist who played around the Hattiesburg,MS area. Through the years he has been in some of the most important bands around backing up many legends such as Joe Tex and Z.Z. Hill and fronting his own phenominal groups. DOWNBEAT "Rawls envelopes his wise blend of soul and blues in the aura of believable emotional intensity." LIVING BLUES "Rawls deserves national stardom...his blues/soul synthesis is seamless." BLUES REVUE "Johnny Rawls has matured into a singer of enormous depth... His understanding of blues and soul centers his work on the song and delivery, and that alone separates him from the rest of the pack.”THE LONDON TIMES "Johnny Rawls has the earthiness of B. B. King and the Memphis soul of Al Green."NOW(TORONTO)"...a stellar Southern soul singer."

*DRINK SMALL Drink Small (his real name) was born in 1933 in Bishopville (Lee County), SC. Known worldwide as "The Blues Doctor", he plays virtuoso blues guitar, two-fisted piano, and sings in an inimitable basso profundo voice. HE IS THE REAL-DEAL SOUTHERN BLUES, one-of-a-kind and a genius! Drink is a recipient of the S.C. FOLK HERITAGE AWARD, a member of the S.C. HALL OF FAME, and has spent his life touring, recording, and playing a spectrum of Southern roots musics. He has performed at some of the nation's top music festivals - Chicago Blues Festival (twice), New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (three times), King Biscuit Blues Festival (twice), Smithsonian-Folklife Festival, Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, Lincoln Center and Central Park concert series (NYC), and every major blues festival in the Southeast. He has been written up in myriad music magazines (downbeat, Metronome, Blues Revue, Il Blues, Juke Blues, Soul Bag, Blues News) and even made the cover of Living Blues (July/August, 1992 issue). At the age of 74, Drink Small is at the top of his game and performing better than ever!!

*WANDA JOHNSON & SHRIMP CITY SLIM : From the South Carolina LowCountry comes this smoldering, original & spicey stew. Miss Wanda's gorgeous vocal stylings and self-penned songs have won her raves here and abroad. IN FACT, WANDA IS FAST BECOMING A FAVORITE OF THE EUROPEAN BLUES SCENE. Gary Erwin (aka Shrimp City)Slim is a rambunctious, rollicking keyboard player, dynamite singer and excellent tune-smith. Heart-melting vocals and great original songs help Wanda Johnson be, in the words of one reviewer, "on her way to becoming one of the great singers of our generation."

*THE KING BEES REVUE: For over 20 years the High County's own King Bees have been stinging and swinging their originals and soul-stirring covers over this wide country and many others. Queen Bee Zamagni has been hailed in the International press as a dynamically gifted singer/song-writer/bassist. Hound Dog Baskerville raises the roof and shakes the foundation with his incendiary guitar and keys...They will be joined by stellar friends from the Blues World. Kenneth Johnson, THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: "The band is led by the sassy Penny Zamagni on bass and vocals; she can belt it out with the best of them. She’s backed by a superb band highlighted by the burning riffing of guitarist Rob Baskerville."

*POP FERGUSON & CLYDE JR. POP (Clyde, Sr.) FERGUSON has been playing guitar for nearly 70 years! A native of the foothills of North Carolina, Pop developed a unique approach that reflects Appalachian and Piedmont roots with a foundation of pure, deep Blues. Close your eyes and you know you are in the room with Blind Boy Fuller and John Lee Hooker! Pop can also lay down righteous Chicago Blues ala Muddy Waters and Howling Wolf. Through the years Pop performed at numerous cafes and juke joints from South Carolina to West Virginia, from Baltimore to Detroit to Japan. His assorted adventures took him from church to prison and back to church, and from alcohol dependence to sobriety. He was a friend and performing partner of Blues violinist Papa John Creech and the great Etta Baker. A MUST SEE PERFORMER!

*TAMPA BLUE Tampa Blue’s music is based on the blues and spirituals he heard growing up outside of Birmingham, Alabama. He was chosen as Florida's first Master Artist of the blues for the NEA’s apprenticeship program and was voted the Pioneer Florida Old-Time Music Champion for Finger-Pick Guitar. Blue says he plays: “Traditional, acoustic, Delta, slide, Piedmont, finger-style, Southern rural, pre-war, country, pre-electric with a touch of spirituals, hollers, rags and American finger-style guitar seasoning.” Tampa Blue will take you on a musical journey you don't want to miss!!

AND SO MUCH MORE!!

COMPLETE ROSTER FOR 2009 WILL BE COMING THIS SPRING!!