“They are the embodiment of what The Blues is all about. Some the best blues I’ve ever heard.” Craig Martin, executive director, Pix Theatre
“I have been producing blues concerts and festivals all over the world for over 20 years and I have never seen an audience reaction like I just saw this past Saturday night. The Rusty Wright Band was my opening act and they came out of the gate with an incredible atomic energy that brought everyone to their feet. Within the first minute of their first song they had thousands of people up and dancing.” Steve Simon, St. John Blues Festival...
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“They are the embodiment of what The Blues is all about. Some the best blues I’ve ever heard.” Craig Martin, executive director, Pix Theatre
“I have been producing blues concerts and festivals all over the world for over 20 years and I have never seen an audience reaction like I just saw this past Saturday night. The Rusty Wright Band was my opening act and they came out of the gate with an incredible atomic energy that brought everyone to their feet. Within the first minute of their first song they had thousands of people up and dancing.” Steve Simon, St. John Blues Festival
“One of the BEST guitarist you’ll ever hear.” John Galvin – Molly Hatchet
“Dude! – Where the hell did YOU come from?” Ricky Medlocke – Lynyrd Skynyrd
For Rusty Wright, it’s “all about the moment,” commanding the stage to deliver the musical heat, the infectious grooves and penetratingly sincere songs that have earned the Michigan native an international audience and recognition as a Master Blues Artist in the International Blues Hall of Fame®.Formed in 2004, the band’s second public performance was opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd at an outdoor amphitheatre in pouring rain with lightning crashing nearby. The crowd of 4000+ rewarded them with a standing ovation and became the nucleus of the band’s ultra loyal Midwest following. In the years since, The Rusty Wright Band has expanded their audience to encompass three continents. Those who’ve seen Wright and his top-drawer band – wife and singer-guitarist Laurie Wright, drummer Dean Lopes and bassist Nic Nickerson – perform live will attest to the outfit’s razor-tight, explosive delivery of inventive blues songs. The band’s innovative sound is a hot rod fusing of Texas and Chicago-style blues, swinging boogie and Southern rock, with a twist of Motor City grit.
It’s that rare combination (along with Wright’s trademark, flowing white hair and eye-popping guitar leads) that commands immediate attention. Wright’s fearless approach to music has cultivated growing legions of loyal fans and has driven Wright since he first started exploring the wonder of music, from blues and country to early rock ’n’ roll to “the long-hair” stuff of the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Since 2006 Wright has released five albums on his Sadson Music label. His most recent release, “Wonder Man” [Sadson Music, 2015] reached #8 on the Billboard Blues Chart and #4 on the Billboard Heatseeker Chart; #3 on the Hit Tracks Top 100; Top 10 in Relix Magazine’s JamBands chart; #1 on the Blues 411 chart and appeared on numerous other national and international airplay charts. The disc was included in a number of year-end “best of” lists. “Wonder Man” was nominated for Album of the Year in the Vintage Guitar Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards alongside Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmore, and Sonny Landreth, and also received a nomination for the Blues 411 Jimi Award for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year. The song “Gonna Come a Day” was a top Blues Category finalist in the 2015 International Songwriting Competition.
A solo project “Playin’ My Respects” will be released in 2017, as will a new band album.
Originally from mid-Michigan, Rusty and Laurie Wright, along with their ever changing number of feline family members, now make their home in Florida.
INFLUENCES: Stevie Ray Vaughn, Freddy King, The Allman Brothers, Robin Trower.
THE RUSTY WRIGHT BAND – RUSTY WRIGHT, LAURIE LACROSS-WRIGHT, NIC NICKERSON, DEAN LOPES.
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