Kevin Green, Rushville Republican
Blues fans, take note. A couple of class acts will be paying Rushville a visit Saturday evening as they perform a free concert at Rushville’s Riverside Park Amphitheater.
The Gordon Bonham Blues Band will take to the stage at 7 p.m.
Bonham has been a fixture on the Indiana music scene for 25 years. He’s played with the Ragin’ Texans, The Kings of Rhythm and The Cooler Kings in the past, and is now fronting his own band.
Bonham has entertained at many area venues including the legendary Slippery Noodle Inn in downtown Indianapolis and, most recently, Carmel Fest.
Saturday’s headline act, Roomful of Blues, has been well received by audiences and critics around the country.
USA TODAY wrote: “Excellent...marvelous wall-to-wall grooves…between the wicked guitar work and the brassy horn section, things never stop swinging.”
Count Basie called them “the hottest blues band I’ve ever heard.”
The horn-fueled, jumping, swinging, award-winning band is touring in support of their latest Alligator CD, “Raisin’ A Ruckus.”
According to a press release from the band, since 1967 the group’s blend of swing, rock ‘n’ roll, jump, blues and soul has earned it five Grammy Award nominations and a slew of other accolades, including seven Blues Music Awards (with the nod for Blues Band Of The Year in 2005).
The band, with a membership that has continued to change and evolve over the years, has always boasted great musicianship featuring a stellar horn section. Concert information is as follows:
With a non-stop performance schedule for almost 40 years, Roomful of Blues has earned critical, popular and radio success and a legion of fans around the globe. Twice, the prestigious Down Beat International Critics Poll selected Roomful of Blues as Best Blues Band.
Even though Roomful of Blues’ lineup has changed over the years, the band has always been one of the tightest, most joyful blues ensembles in the world.
The Roomful Horns have backed many artists, including Stevie Ray Vaughan on his 1984 Live At Carnegie Hall album.
Over the years Roomful of Blues has played countless gigs and many major festivals, including The San Francisco Blues Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival, The Beale Street Music Festival, Blues On The Fox, Monterey Blues Festival, Santa Cruz Blues Festival, and overseas at The North Sea Jazz Festival, The Stockholm Jazz Festival, The Montreux Jazz Festival, Notodden Festival and the Belgian Peer Festival.
They’ve gigged with blues stars ranging from B.B. King, Otis Rush and Stevie Ray Vaughan to rockers Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana.
The band has toured—as they always have—virtually non-stop, hitting cities from coast to coast, and traveling abroad to Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey and Russia.
As mentioned, Saturday’s appearance in Rushville is free of charge, as is nearby parking. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and prepare to be entertained.
In the event of rain Saturday’s show will be moved to the RushShelby Energy Community Building at the Rush County Fairgrounds.
A decision on whether the show is a go at Riverside Park is expected by noon Saturday. If the decision is made to move the concert to the fairgrounds we’ll post that information on our Web site at www.rushvillerepublican.com.
