Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Blue Heaven Studios
June
18, 2004
On June 18, 2004, renowned rock/blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd
will reunite several members of both Muddy Waters’ and Howlin’
Wolf’s bands for an historic concert as part of a documentary
film and accompanying record (Audio/DVD) to raise funds for Music
Maker Relief Foundation (MMRF). The Foundation offers assistance
to the pioneers of the Southern music tradition, ranging from recording
and distributing their music to providing food, shelter and medical
care. The concert will be held at Blue Heaven Studios and tickets
go on sale June 4, 2004.
Kenny will be
bringing his friends Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon,
from Double Trouble, and Noah Hunt to Salina for this extraordinary
event. The lineup will include some of the world’s most talented
and best-known blues artists, including Pinetop Perkins, Hubert
Sumlin, Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin, Willie “Big Eyes”
Smith, Henry Gray, Calvin “Fuzz” Jones, Wild Child
Butler, Lazy Lester and Jimmy D. Lane.
This
concert is the culmination of a 10-day tour in which Kenny will
be filming his visits with some of blues’
most legendary statesmen as well as some of the genre’s
lesser-known but rare and towering talents. He’ll be traveling
to New Orleans and Shreveport (LA), Indianola (MS), Gadsden (AL),
Hillsborough (NC), St. Louis (MO), and wind up in Salina for the
live concert. “I’ll be playing with some of my music
idols and capturing their stories in their hometowns. It is a
dream come true for me,” said Kenny. “I really feel
it is as much a tribute to the masters of the blues as
a way to raise money for a foundation, which supports working musicians
who deserve more recognition.”
The
Audio/DVD, which will include the June 18th concert, will be
released a few months after Kenny’s fourth
studio album, due out this September and a substantial
portion of the proceeds will benefit MMRF. “There are
so many great artists working with us on this project, we hope
we can bring a new awareness of the blues to music fans all over
the country,” said Kenny. Film director Noble Jones will
capture each stage of this project on film and record producer,
Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) will produce the audio recording.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd has sold millions
of albums worldwide with three straight No. 1 blues albums, a
string of No. 1 mainstream rock singles, two 1998 Billboard Music
Awards for Rock Track of the Year ("Blue on Black") and Blues
Album of the Year (Trouble IS…), two Grammy nominations,
one in 1998 for “Trouble IS…” and the other
in 2000 for “Electric Lullaby”. Kenny also was awarded
the 1998 and 2001 Orville H. Gibson Awards for Best Blues
Guitarist.
Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit
organization dedicated to assisting musicians rooted in southern
musical traditions with instrument acquisition, tour support,
life maintenance, medical, and emergency relief.
For more information:
Contact: Kristin Forbes
(318) 965-5600
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