INA FORSMAN

Ina Forsman is a Finnish blues singer and songwriter based in Helsinki. A singer from a young age, Forsman initially caught the ear of renowned harmonica player Helge Tallqvist, who heard her compete on the inaugural season of The Voice of Finland when she was just 15. With her dynamic range and powerhouse voice, Tallqvist sensed Forsman's potential as a blues artist and became her mentor, helping her form her first band and inviting her to sing on-stage with him. In 2013, the two recorded a collaborative album together, and the following year Forsman represented Finland at the European Blues Challenge in Riga. This led to a tour with Belgian blues artist Guy Verlinde. Forsman made her solo debut with a self-titled album on the Ruf Records label in 2016 and toured worldwide with the 2016 Blues Caravan.

AKEEM KEMP

If you are unfamiliar with Akeem Kemp, it is about time you get it. He is a young man from Morrilton, AR,  who is delighting audiences at every outing. He has released his second cd, "A Woman Needs Love" that is achieving US aficionados.
Akeem Kemp is rapidly rising as the heir apparent to the blues throne in Arkansas. His sultry vocals and smoking' guitar strokes are coupled with the intangible "IT" factor that separates the good players from stars. For these reasons, this young rising star is commanding respect at every turn from fans and fellow musicians. It is just a matter of time for an ever expanding base to be let in on Arkansas's treasure. Steeped in the tradition of the church, Akeem's vocal prowess reflects his soulful gospel roots. These powerful and heartfelt vocals with his ability on guitar distinguish Akeem as a real deal emerging artist. Gifted with the ability for writing, the young Kemp demonstrates an uncanny ability beyond his years. Composing all material on his debut Album "Sneaking Out" gives a preview of what is to come in his budding career.
Performing since the age of 13 has allowed Akeem to find his comfort zone on stage. He has opened shows for top local Little Rock bands and most notably was paired with Eric Gales for a recent show. HIs club sets include his interpretations of songs from various old school and contemporary artists including: Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Albert King and Al Green, to name a few, along with his originals. Akeem continues to make his mark as a musician's musician with striking performances at local blues jams. He represented the Arkansas River Blues Society at the 2015 International Blues Challenge Youth Showcase in Memphis. After this performance, the buzz began on a more widespread level. Akeem performed at the 2014 King Biscuit Blues Festival lighting up the Rising Biscuit Stage.

Akeem Kemp(Guitar,Vocals)
Kentrell Clemons (Bass)
Juwaan Trezvant (Drums)
 

JOHN PRIMER

John Primer has undisputedly helped build the sound and style of Chicago blues as we know it today. The echos of tradition bellowing from the birthplaces he played such as: Maxwell Street, Theresa's, Checkerboard and Rosa's Lounges, pulse from every chord in his fingers today. John Primer is a Chicago Blues Living Legend.
In 1979, the great songwriter Willie Dixon persuaded him to join his band the Chicago Blues All Stars. John traveled the U.S., Mexico and Europe, trying on hats as a rhythm guitarist, lead slide player and powerful singer. Muddy Waters heard John play and six months later Muddy recruited him not only as his guitar player and bandleader, but also as an opening act. John stayed loyal to Muddy until his death in 1983.After Muddy’s death, John signed on with the legendary Magic Slim. For the next 14 years, he toured with Magic Slim & the Teardrops as bandleader and guitarist, culminating with the Teardrops being voted repeatedly the number one blues band in the world. This unstoppable blues band invented the "Chicago lump" blues sound we know and love today.

In 1995, John ventured out on his own as a veteran bluesman
and released his solo major label debut, The Real Deal. Since that time he’s released or been recorded on over a dozen albums and toured extensively all over the world. A master storyteller and songwriter, his catalog of songs is endless. Some of the awards attached to him include: 2 Grammy nominations and 2 Living Legend honors as well as a Blues Music Award for Best Traditional Blues Artist from the National Blues Foundation and many more.

Born in 1958, the son of famed blues harmonica player Carey Bell, Lurrie Bell picked up his father’s guitar at age of five and taught himself to play. He was clearly gifted. In addition, he grew up with many of the Chicago blues legends around him. Eddie Taylor, Big Walter Horton, Eddie C. Campbell, Eddie Clearwater, Lovie Lee, Sunnyland Slim, Jimmy Dawkins and many more were frequent visitors to his house. They all helped to shape and school him in the blues, but none as much as his father’s long-time employer Muddy Waters.

At seven years old, Bell left Chicago to live in Mississippi and Alabama with his grandparents. During this time he played mostly in the church, immersing himself in the passionate expressiveness of the gospel tradition. At fourteen he moved back to Chicago and continued to play in church as well as forming his first blues band while attending high school.

By seventeen Lurrie Bell was playing on stage with Willie Dixon. In 1977 he was a founding member of The Sons of Blues with Freddie Dixon (son of Willie) and Billy Branch. The band recorded three standout tracks for Alligator Records’ Grammy nominated Living Chicago Blues series. In 1978 Bell joined Koko Taylor’s band and stayed for several years, honing his chops and learning the ropes of being a traveling musician. He continued to work with his dad as well, recording the 1984 Rooster Blues album Son Of a Gun and several other titles for UK’s JSP Records. Not only was Bell recognized as an exceptionally talented guitarist and musician, his knowledge of different blues styles, his soulfulness and his musical maturity delivered write-ups in publications such as Rolling Stone and The New York Times.

Battling and defeating a series of personal demons kept him out of the studio and off the road for a long spell in the late 1980’s, but Bell persevered and re-surfaced in the mid-1990’s with a succession of four highly acclaimed records for Chicago’s Delmark label

2012 came the arrival of his second CD on Aria BG Records The Devil Ain’t Got No Music, a collection of acoustic blues and gospel songs that recollect the music he often played with his dad and at church in Mississippi and Alabama as a child. In January 2013 The Devil Ain’t Got No Music was honored with the Prix du Blues award from the prestigious French L’Academie du Jazz for the Best Blues Recording of 2012 and the title song (written by producer Matthew Skoller) received a nomination from the Blues Foundation for song of the year.

In 2013 Bell re-signed with Delmark and enlisted famed Chicago producer Dick Shurman to make the record Blues in My Soul. For this project he wanted to get back to the solid foundation of Chicago-styled traditional guitar blues. Blues in my Soul features three new Lurrie Bell originals plus songs by Little Walter, T-Bone Walker, Jimmy Rogers, and Big Bill Broonzy and others. In 2016 Bell returned to studio with Dick Shurman for his next Delmark CD “Can’t Shake This Feeling.”

TAS CRU

(Rick Bates)

Criticism, Eclecticism and Blues

Cru grew up in a very musical and generally unquirky family (except for him).  Unlike his talented brother and sisters, he did not pursue music in school.  A brief attempt to play the trombone abruptly ended after being kicked by his 7^th grade music teacher.  Cru says he deserved it.  Cru instead explored and developed his talent by taking up with a rougher crowd of older, self-taught musicians where he was introduced to the songs of the Sun Records legends.  Cru's first foray into the blues came after leaving the US Navy when he was asked to join a band formed by a former shipmate named Delray Streeter, a bluesman of unlimited bravado and attitude but limited singing and harmonica skills.  Streeter was raised in El Dorado, Arkansas and claimed a rich blues heritage from his upbringing.  This partnership, though shot-lived, proved to be very influential as Streeter's repertoire tended toward the older and much rawer country blues.  Cru's schooling in country blues later served him well and is infused into his original songs along with his Sun Records and rock-blues influences.

Based out of upstate New York. Cru performs in a variety of formats ranging from solo acoustic to a 7 piece-backing band. Tas Cru appears at a number of festivals and major blues venues throughout the US and Canada. Tas Cru's discography includes seven albums of original songs - "Biscuit" (2006), "gravi-Tas "(2008), "Grizzle n' Bone" (2009), "Jus' Desserts" (2010), "Tired of Bluesmen Cryin" (2012) "You Keep the Money" (2015) and his brand new Simmered & Stewed.  In addition to these recordings is Cru's 2009 release, "Even Bugs Sing the Blues,’ an album of original blues music for kids and in 2016  he released a blues album for dog lovers called Doggone Blues.

Tas Cru Band - Live at Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural & Sports Centre, Greene County, NY, USA, October 1, 2011

COREY DENNISON BAND

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Corey Dennison spent a majority of his childhood moving about Tennessee and Georgia.  As a young boy, Corey heard the powerful, soulful sounds of the Blues on late night radio programs and recalls being captivated by the music. He received his first guitar at the age of 6 and began to imitate the music of artists such as Gatemouth Brown, Albert Collins and Albert King. Corey found his musical calling while hanging out with his harp playing uncle. “My Uncle snuck me into clubs where I saw some of the greatest Blues cats of all-time, Albert King, Albert Collins and Junior Wells. This is where it became clear to me; I wanted to be a Blues Man."   He spent 12 years honing his skills as a sideman for Carl Weathersby, a mentor beyond the music: " Pop has  really showed me the real me and have helped me in a lot of ways".

 Playing with Weathersby blessed Corey with opportunities to share the stage with such musical greats as The Kinsey Report, Robert Blaine, Chico Banks, The Steepwater Band, Jimmy Johnson, Robert Randolph, Derek Trucks And John Mayer, Gerry Hundt, Nick Moss, Lurrie Bell, Carlos Johnson, Bill Dickens, and Buddy Guy.

Long-awaited by local fans, The Corey Dennison Blues Band debuted in Chicago in early 2013, storming the stages of Buddy Guy's Legends, Rosa's, and Leroy's Hot Stuff.  In late 2013, Corey's always entertaining stage presence prompted the release of "Live in Chicago," a thrilling document of a typical night in a Windy City blues club. The album left little doubt that the Blues had found its premier young lion in Corey Dennison. After spending much of 2015 storming both sides of the Atlantic with harmonica master Sugar Blue, Corey is back in Chicago and The Corey Dennison Band are the best blues act in the city. His 2016 studio cd debut for Delmark Records is already available.