Open to the public.
7-8pm:
Todd Parrott & Band
Todd Parrott has been called one of the freshest, most innovative and proficient harmonica players today. His soulful, bluesy-gospel style harmonica can be heard in churches and at harmonica events across the USA.
In the words of Buddy Greene, “Todd Parrott is one of the freshest, most innovative and proficient harp players I know. He’s got it all: great chops, killer tone, speed, finesse, and impeccable taste. Todd plays with a sensibility and maturity that lets me know he is first and foremost a great musician who never sacrifices musicality for mere technique. And he genuinely loves sharing whatever knowledge he has with the rest of the harmonica community out there.”...
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Open to the public.
7-8pm:
Todd Parrott & Band
Todd Parrott has been called one of the freshest, most innovative and proficient harmonica players today. His soulful, bluesy-gospel style harmonica can be heard in churches and at harmonica events across the USA.
In the words of Buddy Greene, “Todd Parrott is one of the freshest, most innovative and proficient harp players I know. He’s got it all: great chops, killer tone, speed, finesse, and impeccable taste. Todd plays with a sensibility and maturity that lets me know he is first and foremost a great musician who never sacrifices musicality for mere technique. And he genuinely loves sharing whatever knowledge he has with the rest of the harmonica community out there.”
Adam Gussow adds, “Todd Parrott works the upper octave blues scale in a straight-ahead blues/gospel vein better than anybody out there, IMO. He’s very fast, gets all the notes (overblows and overdraws), and, most importantly, makes it all sound very soulful…. Todd’s too modest to say this, but I think he’s got the best chance of any harmonica player I’ve seen to cross over and become the public sound and image of what pure-D American blues harmonica is about: unamped, very little tongue-blocking, just straight-up, stand-at-the-mic-and-blow-hell-out-of-it stuff. Sweet, strong, soulful, and clear…
He’s definitely modern, in technical terms–all those overdraws and overblows, some of them bent and/or held and vibratoed–but his tonality is straight down the middle of the blues/gospel/country road. Most listeners won’t hear “modern.” They’ll just hear “great!” Todd should be center stage at the Grand Ol’ Opry, he should be the first-call studio guy in Nashville and L.A., he should be all over movie and TV soundtracks. He’s really got it. One reason among many that he’s got it is that he makes huge use of the upper octave blues scale…”:
8-9pm:
Paul Messinger & Band
Paul Messinger is a poet, songwriter, vocalist, and instrumentalist, originally from New York, now based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is known as one of the early proponents of the Howard Levy (The Flecktones) approach to playing diatonic harmonica, and writes nuanced, character-driven songs in varied styles, explaining, “Different stories require different musical styles to tell them.”
His abiding passions are history and people, and his artistic lens is focused on telling the stories of the people(s) in the world around us.
9-10pm:
Joe Filisko & Eric Noden (guitar and harmonica)
“Two marvelous musicians who have captured not only the sounds but the emotional spirit of some of the richest bloodlines of American music.” — Kim Field, author of Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers
“Joe Filisko and Eric Noden make a thoroughly convincing case that this music is the real deal and their spirited performances make it sound both fresh and contemporary.” –Dirty Linen
“Eric and Joe are possessed by the spirits of Howlin Wolf, Sonny Terry, Robert Johnson, Johnny Woods, Sonny Boy Williamson, Gwen Foster and transported listeners back to the 1920′s Delta.. We love Eric and Joe. Please send them back. —–Mickey Raphael, harmonica player for Willie Nelson
…and other special guests
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