The Northern Arizona Blues Alliance (NAZBA) “Blues is MY Business”
Friday, March 22, 2024, 7:00 PM
$20 general, $22 door, $25 priority seating in first 3 rows
Buy tickets online at ShowTix4U.com
The Northern Arizona Blues Alliance (NAZBA) and Cottonwood's Old TownCenter for the Arts (OTCA) are proud to announce its Blues is MY Business show featuring 2023 Blues Music Award Nominee and Delmark touring and recording artist, Johnny Burgin II (Best Traditional Blues Artist) and Big Daddy D and the Dynamites, with Betty Jo Vachon.
Johnny Burgin II had a fabulous year in ’23, earning a Blues Music Award (BMA) Nomination for Best Traditional Blues Artist and played 200 dates across the US, Mexico, Japan and Europe. He up in Mississippi and South Carolina, and attended the Universityof Chicago with the intention of becoming a writer. A friend took him out to a Chicago west side ghetto club to hear the blues singer Tail Dragger, and it was a conversion moment. Johnny gained a spot in the band Tail Dragger, and started gigging and recording with traditional blues veterans like Sam Lay, Billy Boy Arnold and Pinetop Perkins.
By the late 90s, Johnny was working regularly in Chicagoland blues clubs under his own name. His move to the Bay Area in 2016 led to a creative burst and his most notable recordings. In a few short years, Johnny cranked out the Cali/Chicago blues mashups Greetings from Greaseland, Neoprene Fedora, the Howlin’ Wolf tribute Howlin’ at Greaseland(nominated for Best Traditional Blues Recording) and Johnny Burgin Live,which featured blues legend Charlie Musselwhite and was nominated for a Blues Blast Best Live Recording Award for 2019.
Johnny has produced eleven CDs including Ramblin from Coast to Coast, street date 03.10.24on the Danish Straight Shooter label, and dozens more as a sideman. Furthermore, he has recorded with the veterans Johnny Sansone, PaulDeLay, Bob Corritore, and Jimmy Burns as well as up and comers Aki Kumar, Joel Astley, and Ben Levin. In recent years, he has been a resident instructor at the Pinetop Perkins Foundation and the Chicago Blues Guitar Workshopand has developed a loyal following on his YouTube channel for his weekly looks at the blues guitar greats.
Big Daddy D and Dynamites with Betty Jo Vachon, features 2022 Memphis IBC Runner Up Finalist, Darryl Porras on guitar and vocals. Big Daddy’s D's stylistic guitar work is a combination of old school and modern style blues whichis guaranteed to grab your attention. Big Daddy D and the Dynamites celebrates 25 years as a band this year, and has featured some of the best blues players in Arizona over the years. Betty Jo Vachon delivers Blues vocals to the audience with power and finesse like no other. She is hailed by fans as a “Passionate ... Powerful ... and Soulful vocalist that connects with people,” previously appearing in OTCA's 2023 presentation of Ladies Sing the Blues.
On keys, from Seattle, is 2022 Memphis IBC Finalist Runner Up Rick Mutter. On bass, from Flagstaff, is 2023 AZ Blues Hall of Fame Inductee Roger Smith. On drums is 2019 Heritage Blues Hall of Fame Inductee and 2017 Memphis IBC Semifinalist Dr. Bob Sellani. This powerhouse band has played extensively throughout Arizona at notable venues and festivals, including the Colorado River Blues Festival, Flagstaff Blues and Brews, Glendale Blues and Jazz Festival, the Phoenix Blues Society's Annual Blues Blast, the Inaugural and 2nd Annual Prescott Blues Festival, and the Arizona State Fair. The band has opened for the legendary Buddy Guy and touring artists Annika Chambers and backed Blues Music Award nominee Kat Riggins, and The Blues Foundation, Blues Hall of Famer, Lurrie Bell.
Johnny Burgin II
Big Daddy D
Betty Jo Vachon
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