" ... Back in Germany remembering the Bonita Springs Blues Festival - you really did a great job, thanks! Here is my little story to "Trampled Under Foot":
I've been a week in Warsaw (Poland) and spent an evening in a little Cafe, where local artists perform. I got into a conversation with a musician named Amelia. She knows a lot about blues, mentioning the band "TUF" as extraordinary! Back in Germany, I went researching on them in the internet and I decided have to see them somehow. I went to their homepage, their tour dates and chose Bonita Springs as the place to go! And I am glad that I did. It has been a great Festival with great artists and an amazing performance of "TUF"! I am looking forward to come back again, maybe even next year.
"Keeping the Blues alive" - All the best to you - Andy from Lampertheim, Germany ... "
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Morris Holt, a/k/a Magic Slim was born in Torrence, Mississippi on August 7, 1937. He took an early interest in music, singing in the church choir. His first love was piano but, having lost a finger on his right hand in an accident, he found it difficult to play properly and switched to guitar. He worked in the fields during the week and played the blues at house parties on the weekends.
The Allman Brothers of Macon, Georgia; North Mississippi, Allstars of Memphis, Tennessee… great blues-based Family bands who generated such intense love, pride and excitement in their regional fans that they were propelled to a worldwide stage. Now it’s time to add one more name to that short list: the Schnebelen family of Kansas City, Missouri – Trampled Under Foot.
A North Carolina native, Mel went to Lafayette, Louisiana in the summer of 1969 to visit a college friend and play a little music before going back to UNC. His plans changed when he became totally immersed in the rich culture and physical beauty of southwest Louisiana. He moved permanently to Lafayette at the end of the summer and began playing in a band he co-founded with Sonny Landreth, the Louisiana slide guitar-playing superstar.
The Skyla Burrell Band is a full time, hard working traveling blues band. With co-founder Mark Tomlinson on lead guitar and Skyla Burrell on vocals/lead guitar,
the band's live show consists of all original high energy electric blues.
"Skyla Burrell is another one to watch. Usually when one sees an attractive female blues artist she’s strictly a singer, but when Burrell straps on an electric guitar over her little black dress, look out." - Columbia News and Arts
Rick Russell: Mandolin, Dobro, Banjo, Guitar, Keyboards, Harmonica, Vocal
Rick comes from a musical family (“All five of us played something, my folks saw to it, even though they didn’t play themselves”) He began taking piano lessons at an early age. Growing up in Western N.Y. Rick quickly was drawn to the popular rock music that was burgeoning in the late 60’s & early 70’s. His musical path reached a crossroads when he was exposed to a “magical” treasure of old recordings that his older brother had collected. “Old stuff, field & chain gang hollers, recorded on 78s. He had old Leadbelly, Josh White, Lightning Hopkins, Robert Johnson, & Woody Guthrie vinyl's and I just thought that was the realist stuff I’d ever heard. It opened another window for me to view the world of music”
Kim Page grew up in the suburbs of Boston. Always drawn to music she began performing in church with her family at the age of five. By eighteen, she dropped out of college to form her first band. Kim became a fixture on the New England music scene for over the next two decades while performing at clubs and concert halls, and making numerous television appearances. After a twelve year hiatus, Kim returned to the stage teaming up with pianist and song writing partner, Peter Orifice to bring a fresh, soulful twist to traditional blues. When asked, Kim will tell you her greatest joy has always been to be fortunate enough to be surrounded by outstanding musicians. Kim’s currently working on material for her third CD.
Gator Nate Augustus & Gladezmen - A true bluesman from the swamps of South Florida, GatorNate has been cranking out his brand of countryfied blues for a coons age. With influences ranging from southern rock to surf, and rockabilly to r&b, This one-man-band is sure to rock, whenever he escapes from the swamp, to your city.
Southern blues-rocker Tinsley Ellis may speak no evil, but he sings and plays with the conviction of, as Billboard wrote, “...a man possessed.” Over the course of 11 albums and literally thousands of live performances, Ellis easily ranks as one of today’s most electrifying blues-rock guitarists and vocalists. He attacks his music with rock power and blues feeling, in the same tradition as his Deep South musical heroes Duane Allman and Freddie King and his old friends Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes. Atlanta Magazine declared Ellis “the most significant blues artist to emerge from Atlanta since Blind Willie McTell.”
In just one year, Karen Lovely has shot onto the blues scene like Stack O' Lee's .44, capturing the 2nd Place Band Prize at the 2010 International Blues Challenge followed by 2011 BMA Nominations for Best Contemporary Blues Album and Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist. The title track of her sophomore release "Still The Rain" also received a 2011 BMA Nomination for Best Song. Backed by her stellar band, this singer delivers a blistering mix of contemporary and classic blues, R&B and Memphis soul.
Born and raised in Brandon, Florida, just outside of Tampa, Damon Fowler first picked up the guitar at the age of twelve. After being shown a few chords, it was apparent that he was a natural. While his friends were listening to the musical flavor of the month, Damon was digging into the Blues, and was soon playing small clubs in and around the Tampa Bay area. Years later, with thousands of shows behind him, he is one of the most unique and seasoned artists on the national circuit.
Deb & The Dynamics have been thrilling crowds in Southwest Florida for the last 10 years.
All of the members are influenced in traditional blues, Memphis Soul and Classic R&B, Deb & the Dynamics prides itself in staying true to the music. The band consists of three lead vocalists that each brings something different to the show
Mudbone is a true SWFL "Super Group" comprised of some of the area's most notorious musicians. Rick Howard, David Johnson, Bill E. Peterson and Mario Infante bring together their vast collective musical experience to present their eclectic take on The Blues, adding elements of Funk, Jazz, Latin, Zydeco, Reggae and everything in between! The Blues will never be the same when Mudbone hits the stage.
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