Artists Descriptions & Links - State Street Blues Stroll

Rory Block @ Media Theatre Main Stage* (8:00 – 9:15)

- Heralded as "a living landmark" (Berkeley Express), "a national treasure" (Guitar Extra), "the top female interpreter and authority on traditional country blues worldwide" (The Blues Foundation), and "one of the greatest living acoustic blues artists" (Blues Revue), Rory Block has committed her life and her career to preserving the Delta blues tradition and bringing it to life for 21st century audiences around the world. A traditionalist and an innovator at the same time, she wields a fiery and haunting guitar and vocal style that redefines the boundaries of acoustic blues and folk. The New York Times declared: "Her playing is perfect, her singing otherworldly as she wrestles with ghosts, shadows and legends."

Winner of 5 WC Handy Awards including - Best Traditional Blues Artist and Best Acoustic Album

Born in Princeton, NJ, Aurora "Rory" Block grew up in Manhattan a family with Bohemian leanings. Her father owned a Greenwich Village sandal shop, where musicians like Bob Dylan, Maria Muldaur and John Sebastian all made occasional appearances. The rich and diverse Village scene was a constant influence on her cultural sensibilities. She was playing guitar by age ten, and by her early teens she was sitting in on the Sunday jam sessions in Washington Square Park.

During these years, her life was touched — and profoundly changed — by personal encounters with some of the earliest and most influential Delta blues masters of the 20th century. She made frequent visits to the Bronx, where she learned her first lessons in blues and gospel music from the Reverend Gary Davis. She swapped stories and guitar licks with seminal bluesman Son House, Robert Johnson's mentor ("He kept asking, 'Where did she learn to play like this?'"). She visited Skip James in the hospital after his cancer surgery. She traveled to Washington, DC, to visit with Mississippi John Hurt and absorb first-hand his technique and his creativity. "This period seemed to last forever," Block Recalls nearly forty years later." I now realize how lucky I was to be there, in the right place at the right time. I thought everyone knew these incredible men, these blues geniuses who wrote the book. I later realized how fleeting it was, and how even more precious." By the time she was in high school, her family had splintered in different directions. With nothing holding her down, she left home at 15 with her guitar and a few friends - heading for California on a trip marked by numerous detours and stops in small towns. Along he way, she picked her way through a vast catalog of country blues songs and took her first steps in developing a fingerpicking and slide guitar style that would eventually be her trademark.

She recorded an instructional record called How To Play Blues Guitar in the mid-60s (she was billed as Sunshine Kate on the original recording), but then took a decade off from music to start a family. In the mid and late '70s, she made a few records that ran counter to her inherent blues instincts, and the result was frustration. "Eventually disgusted with trying to accommodate a business which never seemed to accept me or be satisfied with my efforts," she says, "I gave up totally and went back to the blues." The result was a record deal with the Boston-based Rounder label, which released her High Heeled Blues in 1981. Rolling Stone referred to the album as "some of the most singular and affecting country blues anyone — man or woman, black or white, old or young — has cut in recent years."

Back in a groove that felt comfortable and fulfilling, Block threw herself headlong into an ambitious touring schedule that helped hone her technical and vocal skills to a razor's edge, and at the same time nurture a distinctive voice as a songwriter. She stayed with Rounder for the next two decades, making records that simultaneously indulged her affinity for traditional country blues and served as a platform for her own formidable songwriting talents.

The world finally started taking notice in the early 1990s, and Block scored numerous awards throughout the decade. She brought home W.C. Handy Awards four years in a row - two for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year, and two for Best Acoustic Blues Album of the Year. Her visibility overseas increased dramatically when Best Blues and Originals, fueled by the single "Lovin' Whiskey," went gold in parts of Europe.

Block joined the Telarc label with the September 2003 release of Last Fair Deal, a mix of eight original tunes and six compelling covers of early blues and gospel songs. Last Fair Deal finds Block at the absolute height of her creative powers, bringing a world full of life lessons to bear on what she calls "a total celebration of my beloved instrument and best friend, the guitar."

Sharrie Williams & The Wise Guys @ Media Theatre Main Stage* (9:30 – 11)

- Sharrie Williams knows how to sing the Blues . . . Because she's lived the Blues . . . Born and raised in the projects of Saginaw, Michigan, Sharrie grew up surrounded by music and singing her entire childhood, being raised in a musical family. "My Aunt and Grandma were jazz singers, my father was a gospel/jazz singer in the 1950's and 1960's, my brother is a gospel singer and my mother was a gospel singer. Our house was like a Juke Joint . . . Singing, drinking, dancing and the blues playing, with chicken and fish fryin."She teamed up with The WiseGuys in 1997, and began appearing regularly at Chicago's renowned Blues Clubs such as Kingston Mines and Buddy Guy's Legends.

By 1998 Sharrie Williams and The Wiseguys were on their way to Europe. They started with performances in Germany, and by 2004 they had toured Holland, France, Italy the Netherlands, Spain, Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and Great Britain. In April 2004 Sharrie released "Hard Drivin' Woman" on the German label Crosscut Records, to international acclaim throughout Europe and the United States.

Word spread back to the US about her captivating performances and rock solid recording. She performed at US festivals including the Chicago Blues Festival and the Pocono Blues Festival soon thereafter. Her CD sales at the Pocono Blues Festival were at the top of sales records for this storied event, a major contributor in introducing her to the American blues market.

2008 Blues Music Award Nominee for Traditional Blues Female Artist Of The Year

Over her years Sharrie has had the opportunity to collaborate with national recording artists such as Larry McCray and Ron Prince. Her influences are Koko Taylor, Etta James, Pattie Labelle, Aretha Franklin and the legendary Billie Holiday - they have all helped form her unique style. She is poised for the next level. "I love what I do! I can play for five people and feel like I played for 60.000."

Sharrie's unique style of "Rockin' Gospel Blues" is surrounded by strong and powerful vocals and arrangements, with songs that grab your soul, like "Hard Drivin' Woman," "Travellin'" and "Blues Lover". Sharrie touches souls with her talent and passion for her music, combined with her smoky, sexy and imitable style she always leaves her audience calling for one more song. She emerges with grace as a humble and rock solid professional, a talented songstress that stands on her own.

"Having lived the blues, I sing to inspire people, not to let the blues get the best of you."

In January 2007, Sharrie signed a recording contract with the Canadian based Blues label Electro-Fi Records. Andrew Galloway President & Founder, reports "Sharrie Williams is extremely talented and at the forefront of a new generation of Women Blues Artists. We are delighted to welcome her to the Electro-Fi label". The record was released Worldwide in June 2007, Sharrie and the Band are touring extensively throughout the USA and Europe in support of this release.

Blues Divas and Deep Sea Blues by filmmaker Robert Mugge @ Delaware County Institute of Science on Veteran's Square (7pm on Friday June 13th)

- The Media Business Authority will host a special screening of the films Blues Divas and Deep Sea Blues by filmmaker Robert Mugge at the Delaware County Institute of Science in Media, PA [directions] [map] on Friday, June 13, starting at 7pm. Mr. Mugge will be on hand to introduce both films and answer audience questions.

"Robert Mugge is the king of American music documentary" writes the LA Weekly. "Mugge is nothing less than the best music filmmaker on the planet," says Liberation (Paris).

Blues Divas (2004), filmed at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, is hosted by the club's co-owner Morgan Freeman, and features eight of America's most soulful female performers: Renee Austin, Deborah Coleman, Denise LaSalle, Bettye Lavette, Odetta, Ann Peebles, Mavis Staples and Irma Thomas. (at 7pm)

Deep Sea Blues (2007) is a film about the 2007 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise starring Taj Mahal, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Buckwheat Zydeco, Otis Clay, Bobby Rush, Tommy Castro, Deanna Bogart, Ruthie Foster and a host of other acts. (at 9:30pm)

Over a career spanning four decades, Mugge has made more than two dozen feature documentaries, chronicling performers (Al Green, Sun Ra, Ruben Blades et al) to musical styles from the blues to bluegrass, reggae and Hawaiian music. Music to him is a metaphor for the human spirit. "It's beneath the surface of every film I've made," he said in a recent interview. "Music is the leaping-off place for social issues, cultural issues, political issues, even religious issues."

Seating for these screenings is limited. Admission is $5 for each film, $8 to both. Reservations can be made by calling the MBA at 610-566-5039 (Visa & MasterCard accepted).

Film tickets ordered by Phone (610-566-5039) or by PayPal may be picked up at the door under the name used to order them. If ordering by PayPal, standard PayPal email notification will be your only confirmation. Though not required, this may be printed out as a receipt.
(PayPal ordering deadline for Film Tickets, noon Friday, has passed)

Lonnie Shields Band @ Sligo (9:30)

- Rooster Records Artist / 1993 Living Blues Critics Award; Media's Bluesman in residence. For inspiration, Lonnie cites the season-to-season survival techniques learned first-hand growing up in the heart of the Delta, in West Helena, Arkansas. He learned the Blues firsthand from Sam Carr's groups, Unforgettable Blues Band and Jelly Roll Kings - featuring legendary harpist Frank Frost and guitarist Big Jack Johnson-in the juke joints of the Delta. An appearance at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena led to Lonnie's work with Rooster Blues Records. Lonnie Shields' career has skyrocketed over the past few years and he is performing all over the world. He was the first Delta artist that Rooster Blues picked up after moving to Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1987. His CD, Portrait, was released in 1992 and reads like a who's who of Delta Blues performers. Since then he has gone on to release more CDs and build an impressive list of songwriter credits.

Leroy Hawkes and the Hipnotics @ Joclyn's (9)

- Hawkes, whose career began in the church as a gospel singer in Virginia, later moved to Philadelphia where he sang with various local acts. There he developed his musical style, reflecting the influence of singers such as Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Joe Tex and Wilson Pickett. By the 1980's, Hawkes was appearing with greats like the Temptations and the O'Jays when he became stricken with an affliction which left him temporarily blind. With his recovery comes the rebirth of an exciting vocalist with a band that can truly exemplify his talent. The nucleus of The Hipnotics is assembled around a rhythm section cast in the mold of Memphis' MG's and New Orleans' Meters.

Deb Callahan Band @ Brodeur's on State Street (9:30)

- Blues and soul drenched vocalist and songwriter, Deb Callahan has been fronting her Philadelphia based band with passion and conviction since 1997. During that time she and her band have gained a reputation in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington DC area for an exciting live show featuring a mixture of blues, soul, rock, folk and jazz music. Deb hails from Boston, MA but has been living in Philadelphia for the past 12 years. She is most often compared to singers such as Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin, Susan Tedeschi and Lydia Pense from the late 60's San Francisco group Cold Blood. She cites her biggest vocal influences as Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Rickie Lee Jones, Bessie Smith, Joan Osborne, Ray Charles, Al Green and Mavis Staples. During the past few years, Deb has focused on writing original material that retains the flavor of the music she loves, while mixing in contemporary experiences and sounds. Her newly released CD "If the Blues had Wings" is the result of this effort.

Melanie Mason @ Azie Global Restaurant (9)

- Singer-songwriter Melanie Mason sings the blues, rolling in hot with her blue Stratocaster uncoiling some mean twangy riffs. She has delighted crowds with her own brand of blues guitar and has been recognized in her hometown area, Washington, D.C., with several prestigious Washington Area Music Association Awards (WAMA) called WAMMIES by Washingtonians. In 2001 (Bendin' the Blues) and 2004 (Lonesome Is I), Melanie won the Association's Blues Recording WAMA Award while in 2003 she was the winner of the DC Blues Society International Blues Challenge. The Melanie Mason Band's Bendin' the Blues debut album has topped the CD Baby charts for over three years. The hard driving band has Sam Goodall on bass and Torro Gamble on drums.

Like Raitt, Mason is a triple threat as singer, guitarist and songwriter, and she's able to hold her own in both band and solo settings. - Richard Harrington, the Washington Post

Mason laces sweetness with sultriness — a promising guitarist and songwriter. - Frank-John Hadley, DownBeat Magazine

A hot blues-rock group fronted by a woman who sings and plays lead guitar . . . a new generation of Washington musicians beginning to wow crowds. - William Triplett, Washingtonian Magazine

From the day this CD dropped on my desk I just cannot stop playing it . . . 10 out of 10. - Ray O'Hare, Blues Matters Magazine, Great Britain

Mason was featured in several guitar TV spots to promote PBS' Martin Scorsese film The Blues and has opened for artists like the legendary Robert Cray, Taj Mahal, Don McLean, Corey Harris, Little Feat guitarists Barrere and Tackett and many more. - from Modern Guitars Magazine interview

Skyla Burrell Band @ Iron Hill Brewery (9:30)

- The Skyla Burrell Blues Band is a hard working full time traveling blues band playing local, regional, national and international venues. The band averages 200+ shows a year. With co-founder Mark Tomlinson on lead guitar and Skyla Burrell on vocals and lead guitar, the band's live show consists of all original high energy electric blues. In July of 2004 the band released their debut studio CD, "Working Girl Blues", containing 12 original songs - several of the cuts topping the charts on independent music websites and internet radio stations. "Working Girl Blues" has received local, national and international airplay on blues and mainstream radio. The SBBB was a top 25 finalist in the 2004 Blues Idol competition and "Working Girl Blues" was selected by WTMD 93.7 as one of the top 5 blues releases in 2004. In 2005 the SBBB was invited to play the King Biscuit Blues Festival under the Emerging Artist Stage and was a semi-finalist in the 22nd Annual International Blues Challenge. Also in 2005 Mark Tomlinson received an Honorable Mention for his track from the Working Girl Blues CD, "Bad Dream" in the 14th Annual Billboard Songwriting Contest. In 2006 the band recorded and toured in Europe, and released their sophomore effort, "Livin' Day to Day" which received local, national and international air play on mainstream and blues radio and was featured on cable television's Rockin' Cookin' Kitchen show as well as being named one of the top 50 blues CD's released worldwide by Delta Art and one of top 10 Blues CD's by WTMD FM. 2007 saw the band keeping up their busy schedule (between 2006 and 2007 playing a total of 465 shows!) and expanding their tour radius to include the Mid West and New England. The band opened up for Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials as well as Tab Benoit in 2007 and in the late summer shot a live DVD with the Digital Café Tour in NYC at the Baggott Inn. In the fall the band went back into the studio to record "Painkiller" - another all original effort producing 15 tracks of very personal blues set for release in early 2008. The band played 240 shows in 2006 including The Netherlands, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, New York, Delaware, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia and secured the #1 Top Booked Band slot on Sonicbids, quite a feat for a blues band!

Some Reviews:
"One of the most smokin' blues bands in the US" - Digital Café Tour

"Burrell and her three cohorts find virtue in professionalism. They deliver unpretentious, self described "Hard Drivin' Blues" in which strength and understatement unite in an easy, fluid balance without sucking up to rock." - Downbeat Magazine

"With a female vocalist whose voice jumps out and grabs you by the blues, The Skyla Burrell blues band is the real deal in a solid package that stays true to the real meaning of their genre." - St. Croix Music Magazine

"On stage, she's equal parts siren, blues goddess and ringmistress." - The Daily Times, Knoxville

"Burrell has a great growly voice sure to get under your skin." - Blues Review Magazine

The Band:
Skyla Burrell (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar) was born in Los Angeles and raised in Orange County, California. She had a guitar in her hands by the age of 10, formed her first band at the age of 13 and has not stopped chasing her dream ever since. Skyla played with several bands during her high school days playing up and down Southern California. At 18 she recorded her first original demo with some help from Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Jerry Swallow (Tanya Tucker), she also later recorded backing vocals for Mike Campbell's first solo album. Skyla also had a brief stint on NBC's hit sitcom Wings and appeared in a Movie of the Week with Charles Bronson before relocating to the East Coast where she continued learning and growing from her musical experiences and eventually co-forming the Skyla Burrell Band. Skyla plays Fender amps and guitars.
Mark Tomlinson (Lead Guitar) started his career playing drums with such blues legends as John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, Big Time Sarah and Bobby Radcliff as well as Mike Dugan and the KingSnakes. MT now jumps out on guitar using only a fender amp and Stratocaster. Co-founding the Skyla Burrell Blues Band in 2004 MT also writes and arranges songs for their 100% all original band, playing hard driving blues that comes straight from the heart.
Ezell Jones (Drums) has toured with Tino Gonzales, Deborah Coleman and Bobby Parker . . .
Chris Sellman (Bass) has played with Reggie Wayne Morris and Grammy Nominee Sonia . . .

Don Evans Band @ Picasso (9:30)

- Don Evans, singer, guitarist and well rounded instrumentalist, music producer, and sound engineer, has worked with Billy Joel, Eric Burdon and a list of performers that reads like a who's who of rock. Of late he has been playing gigs with Carol Moog, Dirk Hamilton, Craig Tillman's Blues Mercenaries, and Big LeRoy Foster, among others. His illustrious 38 plus year career in music has taken him to many places, many genres, with many people. He has currently been focusing on Jazz — And the Blues, which inspired him to begin playing.

Melissa Martin & the Mighty Rhythm Kings @ Plumstead Inn (8:15)

- " 'On The Mark' comes from Pennsylvania jump purveyors Melissa Martin and the Mighty Rhythm Kings. The focus on upbeat numbers works well for the band, with its solid rhythms, concise guitar from Neil Taylor and David Sagherian. and the rippling ivories of Paul Matecki, who steps to the microphone on the boogie-woogie barnburner, 'Lovin' Machine'. Martin's husky delivery is ideal for shouting tunes such as 'Get On The Right Track' and 'You Don't Move Me No More'; even her '24 Hours A Day' is sultry. When things slow down on 'Want Me Some Love' everything falls into place - rich vocals, a sublime groove, beautiful guitar and piano breaks." - Blues Revue magazine, Aug./Sept. 2004.

Melissa Martin - Vocals, Jim Fogarty - Guitar, Chuck Lindsay - Drums, Jeff Michael - Bass, and Ron Baldwin - Piano

Blues Brothers & A Sister @ John's Grille (8)

- have been on the scene for over 35 years. They started as a three-piece band: the late Mr. Leroy Christy, male vocalist, lead guitarist, a legend in his time; George St. John, Sr., bass guitarist; and Joseph St. John, lead vocalist and drummer. The Blues Brothers traveled for many years as a three-piece band then later added another vocalist, George St. John, Jr. Then came lead and rhythm guitarist and vocalist Ricky Johnson, who was 16 years of age when he started. After seven years of being a Blues Brother, Miss Donna decided to rename the band the Blues Brothers plus a Sister. From South Jersey, the Blues Brothers plus a Sister has performed in many places throughout the region, Zanzibar Blue, Penn's Landing, River Blues Fest, Billy Holiday's Club, Fat Jack's and Ferbees Lounge, just to name a few.

BD Mylo & the Go Daddys @ Stephen's on State (9:15)

- Tammy "BD" Mylo - Vocals - The youngest of the group, BD Mylo's career began in the church (where many might say she found her soul). At age twelve, she recorded with Philly Sound Icon Vince Montana, setting the stage for a musical career that would flourish much later. Since she was a child, BD always pursued songwriting, but it wasn't until her early 20's that she began to explore various vocal styles, soaking up classic influences such as Ella Fitzgerald, Janis Joplin and Mavis Staples, leading to a chance meeting with Soul Control founder Rich "Uncle Monster" Facchinei. They soon formed "The Go Daddys" sharing lyrics and collaborating on new music with an alluring groove. Within her short time with the band, she's managed to perform with national artists like Jim Belushi and Koko Taylor, as well as blues greats like Billy Hector and Commander Cody. BD has honed a stirring vocal and writing style that is steeped in the Blues, soaked in Soul, and delivered with the flair of a Jazz artist. Her powerful performances prove that big things really do come in little packages.

Doug Treen - Sax, Harp, Percussion - A veteran of the east coast club circuit with various groups throughout the years, Doug returned to the scene in 1996 after a two year self-imposed exile, and reemerged as the sax/harp man in the regional touring and recording act JD & the Ravens. Playing festivals and club dates from NY City to Maryland on a weekly basis in support of JDR's CD, "Wild & Strange" on Rimshot Records, the Ravens built a sizable following through several years of solid roadwork combined with a respectable amount of airplay throughout the northeast. Now holding down the sax/harp chair with the Go Daddys, Doug's combination of "Little Walter meets King Curtis" is the one-two punch that adds just the right flavor to the proceedings.

Ken "K.O." Carmen - Drums - A South Jersey native and the newest addition to the Go Daddys, Ken was a long time student and protégée of "Uncle Joe" DiCarlo. Joe was a strong presence on the jazz scene for over 60 years. With that solid foundation, Ken played Latin percussion, fusion jazz, rock, blues and country swing. He spent almost 20 years in New England playing R&B funk, world beat and reggae. Back home again, he brings a strong right leg and left hand to the Go Daddys!

Rab Korpowski - Guitar, Background Vocals - Well versed, and equally at home in various musical styles, Rab literally brings a world of musical knowledge to the Go Daddys. First exposed to the Blues through the British Invasion, Rab began to broaden his musical horizons while stationed in Italy during a stint in the service. While playing hooky from his unit, he hooked up with an Italian musician who taught him the finer points of various Folk, Blues and finger-pickin' styles. Upon his return to the states, he immersed himself in the music of the South, studying the Delta Blues legends, as well as contemporary artists of that time such as Duane Allman. Rab honed his skills in various outfits including Homefry and the Ashwold Lindland Band, landing the guitar chair in the group Soul Control, enjoying a seven year run with one of the most popular Blues/Soul outfits on the Tri-State circuit. This proved to be the perfect connection, and the group has scored higher levels since his initiation as a "GO DADDY".

Timmy Spillane - Bass, Vocals - Starting his musical training at age 11, Timmy learned from the best that SoJo had to offer, studying under Lee Wondo, Pere Lopez, and Mike D'Allesandro. He made his presence known on the club scene during the 80's as a solid vocalist and thunderous lead guitarist for several original and cover bands. The move to bass/vocals in the mid 90's was a natural one, earning Tim gigs with the heavy/alternative band Disruption, whose debut EP garnered support and airplay from 94 WYSP's "Loud and Local" show, and Mastermind, a progressive metal band with a worldwide fan base and several internationally released CD's in their catalog. Most recently he could be found playing his one-man acoustic rock review in NJ restaurants and clubs, where he could enjoy "simply playing for the love of music". Timmy's musical influences on bass are varied, naming John Entwhistle, Jaco Pastorius, Paul McCartney, Chris Squire and Steve Clarke as early heroes. Timmy's streamlined, "less is more" approach toward bass and vocals make for an extremely solid, yet undeniably energetic sound and stage presence.

Belma Amiano - Keyboards, Organ - Go Mamma Go! Belma's love and devotion of music has served to continually blossom her talent and musical expression. As a veteran of the music scene, she's opened for national artists such as Merl Saunders, bringing forth many different flavors and styles to add presence to all her performances. Her dynamic playing style enriches the music with a deep emotional depth. She has the ability to lay down a soulful groove and then propel into a powerful energetic playing style reminiscent of her rock roots. She was one of the original members of the Grateful Dead Tribute band "Splintered Sunlight", as well as the popular regional act, "The Jug Band". Her influences range from Chick Korea and Yes, to Genesis and Dr. John.

Stacy Brooks Band @ "Quotation's" (9)

- Stacy's musical career began at the age of five, in Zweibruken, Germany. Her mother sung in a Choir and decided to have Stacy open for them that evening. Her solos were "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Jesus Loves Me". After receiving her first standing ovation that night on an Army Recreation Center stage, there was no turning back. She had been bitten by the music bug. She wrote her first song at the age of 6 (a Broadway type tune) performed in her parents living room on the coffee table for company. She performed at every musical opportunity anyone had to offer. Recognizing her energy as a child, her parents kept her enrolled in Tap and Jazz dance classes.

Returning back from Germany her passion for music continued to grow. She performed with a Sweet Adeline Group (female barbershop quartet), Jazz Choir, High School Concert Choirs, and her Youth and Young adult choir at Patuxent United Methodist Church in Calvert County, MD. Her sophomore, junior and senior years she competed and won a position with one of the Tri-County Chorus' in Maryland. Her senior year she competed, and received the opportunity to perform with The Maryland All-State Chorus. She also won The National School Choral Award that year, which is given to one student per school per year. Her high school peers voted her "Most Talented".

Throughout the years she has sung for local radio jingles, R&B tracks for LaFace records, and voice-overs. Performed at the Apollo in Harlem, NYC with Reggae Artist Culture Ranks, Bohemian Caverns, The Kennedy Center in DC, and many other venues up and down the east coast.

Her quest for the blues began when she joined Mike O'Meara's (radio personality from the Don & Mike show) Crap Blues Band in 2002. While with Crap she performed at the State Theatre, Sully's, The Shark Club to name a few venues. Stacy joined the group Free Rein and began performing at Bangok Blues, The National Grill and other venues in the DC area. Contributed lead and background vocals on Free Rein's Blues/Jazz infused Cold Wind CD. This CD was nominated for a WAMMIE in the Best Blues Recording in 2005 by the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA). She sometimes stuns her audience by singing blues and jazz in German.

She sang lead, background vocals and contributed vocal arrangements on the highly anticipated Ras Iton's Reggae CD projected to be released in the summer of 2008. The single Dirty Rumors is currently blazing the music charts in Jamaica. Her eclectic upbringing and background makes her style makes you think of Delta Style Aretha Franklin + Koko Taylor + Teena Marie + Celia Cruz + Shirley Horn + Etta James + Tanya Stephens + Billie Holliday + Diana Krall + Miriam Makeba + Big Mama Thornton + Angelique Kidgo = Uniquely Stacy Brooks.

Her most recent solo project The Stacy Brooks Band has her performing up and down 95. This year she has been doing more blues in the northern regions of the states. Just recently she opened for Lonnie Shields in Wilmington, Delaware. This was performing with Randy Lippincott (Johnny "Clyde" Copeland's former bassist) in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey areas. You can hear her powerful vocals on several other artist's CD's presently in stores and she is presently working on her own. Although her musical career has been diverse, the blues is in her heart.

Watch out, because she is just getting started . . .

Mark Baker & Blues Breakers w/ Pucci @ Pinocchio's* (7:30)

- Pucci Talbert has a special talent to sing the Blues. In her appearance at this year's Blues Stroll, she will be fronting the much experienced local trio of Mark Baker on guitar, Sam Chicks on bass, and drummer Dave Indevero. Pucci hails from nearby Sharon Hill and, over the years, has given some legendary performances with the likes of The Hipnotics, Roger Girke & the Funky Twisters, and the late great Red Shank and his Shakin' Souls. She and the Barbreakers entertain frequently at CJ's Blues Bar in Glenolden.

Wanamaker Lewis Band w/Seth Holzman @ Coffee Beanery* (7:30)

- This duo has performed their exciting blend of the blues in our region's best blues venues and on live radio.

Wanamaker, on guitar and vocals, is a veteran of the Philadelphia music scene. A well-rounded guitarist, his playing reflects the influences of electric masters like the Kings - Albert, Freddie and BB - and he is also considered one of the area's finest finger-style players.

Harmonica virtuoso Seth Holzman has been performing professionally since 1972, from Maine to Florida, California to Asia. He has played with such notables as Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor and Roomful of Blues. His style reveals his complete immersion into the works of Little Walter, Sonny Terry, Junior Wells and Jimmy Reed.

Donovan Roberts Duo @ Margaret Kuo's Media* (7:30 – 12) (Dinner seating only)

- The vocal half of the duo, Lori Donovan splits her creative time between several artistic endeavors including; sharing the stage with Roberts, the acoustic trio, The Girls, writing for several regional and national magazines and running her own publicity business, the fourth leaf company.

In 2005 she was nominated as Best Female Vocalist by The Lehigh Valley Music Awards, and won the honor of Best Acoustic Group and Best New Group along with her partners Bev "BC" Conklin and Sarah Ayers as The Girls.

She lives and writes (music and more) in Bethlehem, PA with Roberts and her two daughters.

Having toured the country for seven years as guitarist for Blues Night Out, Roberts made the leap to acoustic Blues/Roots in 2004 when he began performing with Lori Donovan.

He has lead his on group, The Jeff Roberts Band and has shared the stage with Lonnie Shields, Big Jack Johnson, Keisa Brown, The Nighthawks, and Joe Bonamassa.

He trades lead guitar duties in the acoustic band, The Girls and in 2005 was nominated as Best Acoustic Guitarist by The Lehigh Valley Music Awards. When he's not performing he teaches at his Bethlehem based business, The Lesson Center.

Howlin' Blue @ Media Gourmet Café* (7:30 – 12)

- Blues tornado Howlin' Blue hails from Chester, PA. He began teaching himself harmonica at the age of 16 by listening to masters like Sonny Boy Williamson II, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed and Lightnin' Hopkins.

"Blue" has honed his skill working with area blues players like Kenny Jones, Randy Lippincott, Lenny & the Soul Senders and Roger Girke. He has "sat in" with such national blues notables as Big Jack Johnson, Sonny Rhodes, Cleveland Fats, Larry Garner, Magic Slim & the Teardrops, Michael Burks, Kenny Neal, Johnny Neal, Louisiana Red and Ann Rabson.

A graduate of The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Blue is an accomplished artist and painter.

Gene Harlack & Rick Penny @ Towne House Forge Room (8 – 12)

- Acoustic Blues. Together they have amassed over three score years as performing musicians. Their guitar influences range from bluesmen Freddie King and Buddy Guy to the British lads headed by Eric Clapton.

They organize some of the best "Blues Open-Mic's" in the area: Every Monday night – Media Inn (Gene). Every Tuesday night – Riddle Ale House (Rick with Ben Singleton). Every Wednesday night – Caroline's in Secane (Gene). Put the Blues back into your week!

Zorro Gato & Company @ Selene Wholefoods Co-Op* (7 – 10:30)

- Three quiet boys with little to say but through the music they play, Zorro Gato & Company came about from a shared list of influences and a mutual love of music. Channeling what they like best from older R&B, blues, rock and whatever else with taste, their music manages to recreate some of that vintage vibe with some modern edge.

Frank Tucci @ Leon BenAri Jewelers* (7 – 10)

- A South Philly guy who stated playing gigs with his guitar at 12 years with the likes of Frankie Avalon and Charles Earland. Then the pre-Casino Louis Mallesque Atlantic City scene. Lands in Vegas at 20 years old and does the Fremont opposite Wayne Newton. Many groups and gigs thereafter. Now owns three music stores, a recording studio and "Independent Artists" booking agency.

Moloko Plus @ Baker Street Tattoo (7 – 10)

- New Wave Blues

Johnny B & Irving Street Blues Band and Norman Taylor @ Main Line Today / Bud Light Stage at Veterans' Square* (7 – 10:30)

Johnny B & Irving Street Blues Band - Johnny "Hammond B" Bickel, age 17, Hammond Organ, vocals: Johnny's sound is stylized after the great Jimmy Smith of Norristown and Memphis' Booker T for that soulful edge. Doug "The Rhythm Master" DiFilippo, age 20 on drums: a solid energetic percussionist with a funky grove. Ian "Iceman" Hoper, age 20, electric guitar: a mastery usually found in players with decades more experience. Patrick "Bluesman" Bickel, age 21, on bass: Patrick, also of the Roger Girke Band, has an expertise reflecting his love of the classic Motown / Funk Bros./James Jamerson's sound.

Norman Taylor - Guitar, Vocals, Dobro Slide Guitar, Mandolin, and Keyboards. A Singer/songwriter/acoustic performer from the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, Norman Taylor's style is entrenched in the country blues of people like Robert Johnson and Skip James. He also draws influences from country, 70's rock, soul, gospel and a variety of musical forms. Taylor has performed in many different settings on several different instruments. Norman has also been an opening act for bluesman Guy Davis and singers-songwriter Phil Roy, and Chris Smithers. In addition to openers Norman has also played festivals like Camp Jam in the Pines.

Jerry Burruss, Tom Mullian, The Birch Brothers, Special Brew'd featuring T, Johnny Never & more . . .
@ Keystone Bank / Seven Stones Café "Local Stage" on the Plum Street Mall* (5:30 – 10:30)

Jerry Burruss - is a 72 year old blind black blues and country guitarist and vocalist from Chester County Pennsylvania. Burruss, raised in alcoholism and squalor in the dank dung scented shadows of Kennett Square area mushroom houses, began before age 10 by noodling on a family member's Piano. Jerry was given his first string instrument, a standup bass consisting of a string, a broomstick, and a washtub near age 10. He picked up a guitar at age 13 and taught himself to play overhand.

For 56 years Burruss mimicked blues and country performers on the radio while cataloging lyrics, songs, artists, and music history in his head. During that time he developed a series of open tunings and companion finger work that often leave practiced musicians scratching their heads. The difficulties inherent in growing up blind in alcoholism, poverty, and racial prejudice, each add a layer to the grit in Burruss' singular voice.

Tom Mullian - Tom has played in many clubs and at WXPN's World Café Live. He has performed at innumerable rallies, festivals, and fundraisers. He has been a featured performer in Media's Americana Roots Festival and Blues Stroll. He's also played numerous open mics and at Quaker monthly sharings, schools and meetinghouses. His music has been broadcast on NPR, KYW, and the Independent Media. Tom's most recent release is "Six Strings Against The War".

The Birch Brothers - Richie, Robbie and their cohorts crank up the Geetars and Rock the House at the First Keystone Stage. Beware: they could introduce Strollers to the haunting inner recesses of Chester Burnett, MacKinley Morganfield, Son House and the like. Some say rock; some roll. But it all starts with da blues.

Special Brew'd featuring T - Taking the great leap forward tonight, the new local R&B band that includes of few of Media's gems: Musical Director Mark Hunter, twin brother Mitch, drummer Bob Martin, background vocalist Charles Walton, co-founder lead vocalist Ed Jackson, and co-founder lead vocalist T. When you're tired and down, sad and blue, come to the Special Brew'd. For info and booking call 267-973-9786 or 610-565-1735.

Johnny Never - (not his real name) is an organic acoustic blues artist. Deriving his style from old recordings of Robert Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Blake and others, Mr. Never does not copy these artists as much as honor them with a unique, true to form style of playing. There is no point in playing any particular song exactly the way you hear it on an original recordings, because the original artists never played a song the same way twice. There was always lots of noodling, blues spirit, borrowing of licks and mixing of lines with all the blues originals like Blind Lemon and Big Bill Broonzy. All of em'. Self taught, Mr. Never, who derives his name the 1980's Never Brothers, plays because his soul breaks out in hives if he doesn't. Mr. Never has been pursuing "the honest" blues for about 20 years. He has played at the Point, the State Street Media Blues Stroll, as well as various coffee houses and bars in the area.