NEWS RELEASE
SIMCOE STREET THEATRE
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Violet’s Blues, a venerable presence in the Central Ontario music scene, is pleased to announce that acclaimed blues guitarist Lurrie Bell will be playing the Simcoe Street Theatre, 65 Simcoe Street in Collingwood on Saturday, March 14.
Chicago Bluesman Lurrie Bell was influenced by the likes of Eddy ‘The Chief’ Clearwater, Big Walter Horton and Jimmy Dawkins. His father, blues harmonica player Carey Bell played in a band with Muddy Waters. For a period during his youth, Lurrie lived with his grandparents in Mississippi, surrounded by the sounds of the birthplace of the blues, and performng in their local church, getting a full immersion in the passion and the sound of southern gospel music. Lurrie returned to Chicago at 14, and formed his first blues band in high school. By 17, he was playing alongside blues great Willie Dixon. In 1977, he co-founded The Sons of Blues with Freddie Dixon, Willie’s son and Billy Branch.
Lurrie also played with his father, recording several albums with him, including 1984’s Son of a Gun for JSP Records. His playing earned positive reviews from no less than the New York Times and Rolling Stone magazine. Personal demons reared their ugly head during the late 1980s, keeping Lurrie off the road and out of the studio, but he battled through and emerged the better man for the journey.
Since the mid-1990s. Lurrie Bell and his band have been playing and recording with wild enthusiasm, keeping the Chicago Blues alive and well for their audiences. The results have been applauded, such as his wins in 2007 of the Living Blues Magazine’s Most Outstanding Blues Guitarist award and their 2008 and 2012 Male Blues Artist of the Year.
On Saturday, March 14, Blues music lovers in Central Ontario will be presented with a night of authentic Chicago Blues that they will never forget.
Tickets are available for $85 via www.eventbrite.com. Find Violet’s Blues on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VioletsBlues and on Twitter at @violets_blues.
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