THE BLUES HARMONICA Blowout Heads South In 2019

Grammy nominee Mark Hummel returns, kicking off the new year with the latest iteration of his all-star blues revue, the 2019 Southern Blues Harp Blowout. As always, his guests are stellar: Grammy Award-winner Bobby Rush is a ten-time Blues Music Award winner, B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, and Rolling Stone "King of the Chitlin' Circuit" winner. Alabama harpman James Harman- one of the great performers, writers and unique characters in the blues today - has employed some of the all-time great blues musicians in his bands. Kenny Neal is a second-generation southern Louisiana bluesman, 2017 Grammy nominee and winner of two Blues Music Awards for his Bloodline recording. And Jumpin' Johnny Sansone studied harmonica with Junior Wells and James Cotton; his former band Jumpin Johnny's Blues Party was the foundation of the New Orleans-based The Iguanas. Rounding out the good times is blues supergroup Golden State/Lone Star Blues Revue.

Mark Hummel's Southern Harp Blowout will blow the roof off of the Harris Center Thursday, January 17, 2019 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $22-$42; Premium $48. Children and Students with ID $12.Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 12 noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

Bobby Rush is not your typical octogenarian. At age 85, he exudes the energy of a 20 year old, and is on the road for over 200 dates a year. Bobby completed US dates with the star studded Take Me To The River Revue with Charlie Musselwhite, William Bell and other Memphis stars, promoting the documentary of the same name last year. Rush estimates that he has cut over 300 songs since he first began making music; he has been honored with four Grammy nominations, as well as 41 nominations and 10 awards from the Blues Foundation, and a 2006 induction into the Blues Hall of Fame. In 2007, he earned the distinction of being the first blues artist to play at the Great Wall of China. And in 2016 - at the ripe young age of 83 - he released what easily ranks as one of the best recordings of his astonishing 60-plus year career. Porcupine Meat won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album after a debut at #1 on the Living Blues radio chart.

James Harman has hosted a Who's Who of blues greats on stage with him for years. The James Harman Band has included Phil Alvin and Bill Bateman, who left to form the Blasters; Gene Taylor, who departed also to join the Blasters before moving on to the Fabulous Thunderbirds and later Kid Ramos. Among other members of the band was Hollywood Fats, who left his own band in 1980 to play alongside Harman for five years.

Kenny Neal is a second-generation southern Louisiana bluesman-- his dad, harpist Raful Neal, was a Baton Rouge blues mainstay whose pals included Buddy Guy and Slim Harpo (the latter gave three-year-old Kenny his first harmonica). at 17, landed a job playing bass for Buddy Guy. Neal's sizzling guitar work, sturdy harp, and gravelly, aged-beyond-his-years vocals served him well, and he cut four albums for Alligator Records. Kenny's 2016 release, Bloodline, was nominated for a 2017 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album and also won two 2017 BMAs (Blues Music Awards); one for Best Contemporary Blues Album and the other for Best Contemporary Male Blues Artist.

Jumpin' Johnny Sansone comes from musical stock-- his father played saxophone in Dave Brubeck's band during World War II. By the time he was 12, Johnny had learned to play the saxophone, guitar and harmonica, studying the styles of both Junior Wells and James Cotton. Sansone toured with Robert Lockwood, Jr., David "Honeyboy" Edwards and Jimmy Rogers. His former band Jumpin Johnny's Blues Party was the foundation of the New Orleans offshoot group The Iguanas. Johnny also toured with guitarist Ronnie Earl.

Golden State/Lonestar Blues Revue will be the backing band for the Harris Center concert, with Mark Hummel acting as Master of Ceremonies and Band Leader. The band features the Grammy-nominated Hummel, guitar legends Mike Keller (Fabulous Thunderbirds/Marcia Ball/The Keller Brothers), Anson Funderburgh (winner, with his band the Rockets, of ten Blues Music Awards), another guitar sensation Rusty Zinn (Jimmy Rogers, Kim Wilson), drummer Wes Starr and bassist RW Grigsby.

The Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College brings the community together to share in cultural experiences featuring the work of artists from throughout the region and around the world. Built and operated by the Los Rios Community College District, the $50 million, state-of-the-art regional performing arts center boasts three intimate venues with outstanding acoustics, an art gallery, a recording studio, elegant teaching spaces, plenty of safe parking and all the other amenities of a world-class performing arts venue. Each year the Center hosts over 400 events attracting more than 150,000 annually.

Tickets are available online at www.HarrisCenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time.