Eric Sardinas

Guitar Player Magazine notes: “Eric Sardinas embodies the modern guitarslinger within the grand tradition of the maverick bluesman. His forte is a fired-up roadhouse style steeped in swampy slide licks and presented with AC/DC energy.”

Eric's signature brand of Delta dynamite has been a long time in the making. At the early age of six, he already had his fingers on the fretboard. “I’m left-handed,” Sardinas told Guitar Player, “but I learned to play righty. I never took lessons, so I wasn’t corrected, and my fretting-hand approach is unorthodox as a result. I have a rapid-fire technique, because my left hand is my strong hand.”

Also helping to shape his artistic direction were the soulful grounds in which he planted his earliest musical roots. Sardinas recalls that it was exposure to gospel, Motown and R&B that eventually caused him to seek out the emotionally charged acoustic sounds of the Deep South. Delta titans like Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson, Skip James, Bukka White, and Fred McDowell were among his favorites. Rural country blues players such as Barbecue Bob and Blind Willie McTell were later added to his list, as was the electric blues sound—Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush and Albert King can be considered responsible for setting Sardinas on a collision course with what would ultimately become the final contributor to his developing style: rock 'n roll, characterized by the artist’s jaw-dropping dive-bomb slide guitar pyrotechnics that reflect his love of Son House and Robert Johnson.

Joanne Shaw Taylor

Both his 1999 debut Treat Me Right and follow up Devil's Train were full of electrified Dobro, but neither surrendered Eric's deeply rooted respect for traditional blues. Mixed alongside his self- penned compositions were searing renditions from the back catalogues of classic blues artists.
Looking back on his two first albums Sardinas can now insightfully reflect, "These records explored everything I'd learned, but at the same time they used blues as a jumping off point to go deeper."

With his third release, Black Pearls, Sardinas soared above and beyond the safe confines of twelve-bar familiarity, encouraging listeners to re-examine many of their preconceived notions regarding blues music. Black Pearls was produced by legendary Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer, and it peaked at number 11 on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart in 2004. Sardinas’ fourth full-length offering, Eric Sardinas and Big Motor, marks the first CD with his current touring band of Patrick Caccia on drums and Levell Price on bass.

Sardinas has garnered acclaim for his explosive live performances, which clearly demonstrate his consummate six-string agility. A veteran of the live circuit, he’s racked up thousands of performances worldwide.

About Joanne Shaw Taylor, the U.K.’s BluePrint Magazine said, “Catch her live if you can; then you can say: I was there at the beginning!” If you missed her at Creekside in Davenport last year, here’s your chance!

Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat

Suhler was born in Dallas, Texas, December 30, 1960, where his first exposure to music was by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and British Invasion bands. He began playing guitar at age 14 and was influenced at that time by Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, ZZ Top, Johnny Winter, Led Zeppelin and others. Suhler was also influenced by Rory Gallagher, AC/DC and the Ramones.

Shawn Kellerman

Here’s a testimonial review from the homepage of Monmouth IL’s Deep Blues Innovators Festival from this October: “Canadian blues-rocker Shawn Kellerman took the stage to deliver a set of such raw energy that the crowd was literally breathless. Moving from original blues rock numbers to century-old gospel tunes, Kellerman shredded the stage with an energy rarely seen in live music. ‘This is the best band I've ever seen play here at the Rivoli,’ said Chris Carr, the sound engineer, ‘and Shawn was the best guitar player I've ever seen live.’" And what Tim Holek of Blues On Stage said about one Kellerman performance could go for all of them: "Shawn hit the stage smoking with energy and left it dripping in sweat."

Guitar wizard Shawn Kellerman is poised to join the inner circle of musicians who define modern blues. His style of blues guitar reinterprets the traditional forms and blasts them into the present with a ferocious authenticity seldom achieved by other guitarists. Shawn Kellerman is frenetic kinetic energy. Blues, funk, upbeat R&B, blues-rock, and classic rock—this young man can play it all. Barely into his thirties, Kellerman’s energy has magnetism that lights up any stage he touches.

James Armstrong

"With a skintight band and a well-balanced combination of fire, technical proficiency, and taste, [James] Armstrong continues on his way to the upper echelon of contemporary blues artists," notes Living Blues. And Jazz Times has said that James Armstrong "demonstrates the kind of flexibility that allows him easily and convincingly to shift gears from slow blues... to urban funk...to N’awlins grooves to rousing roadhouse shuffles. "

Guitarist, singer and songwriter James Armstrong was born to play the blues. His mother was a blues singer. His father played jazz guitar. As a child he absorbed the sounds and lessons of his father's friends, among them, Irving Ashby, Nat King Cole's guitarist. Armstrong formed his first band in the seventh grade and by the age of 17 he was touring the country. Today he travels the world and continues to infuse his voice and guitar playing with his unique personal history, raw instincts and seasoned skills.