Rusty Wright Band
- 2015 Bands
- Tuesday, 28 October 2014 20:30
- 1439
On Stage: Saturday 2:30pm
For guitarist and singer Rusty Wright, it's "all about the moment," commanding the stage to deliver the musical heat, the infectious grooves and the penetratingly sincere songs that have earned the Michigan musician a burgeoning national audience and recognition as a Master Blues Artist in the International Blues Hall of Fame.
Those who've seen Wright and his top-drawer band wife and singer-guitarist Laurie Wright, keyboard player Robert John Manzitti, drummer Marc Friedman and bassist Dennis Bellinger (Grand Funk Railroad) perform live will attest to the outfit's razor-tight, explosive delivery of inventive blues songs with tasty helpings of Southern rock and Detroit-bred grit.
It's that rare combination (along with Wright's trademark, flowing white hair and eye-popping guitar leads) that commands immediate attention, fills dance floors and earns roars of approval.
It's that fearless approach to music that's cultivated growing legions of loyal fans and driven Wright since he first started sneaking out of the house at night with his cousin on summertime visits to Alabama. The pair explored the wonders of live music, from country to early rock 'n' roll to "the long-hair" stuff of the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Marshall Tucker Band.
Reared in a fertile musical environment that included spinning his auto plant worker dad's vast collection of vintage blues records and playing guitar in his gospel-singing mother's touring group starting at age 13, Wright knew from the get-go what he was born to do.
