Ruf’s Blues Caravan 2013: Tomorrow’s Guitar Heroes featuring
BART WALKER and JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR with CJ Wilder (bass) and Austin Curcuruto (drums)
June 25, 2013
Southgate House Revival, 111 E 6th St, Newport, KY
$12 adv, $15 dos, 7 pm doors, 8 pm show
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On the heels of their successful 5-week tour of Europe & Australia, the 9th Annual Blues Caravan presented by Ruf Records is ready to take on the US. In the latest edition of the Blues Caravan, rough-and-tumble guitarist from Nashville, TN BART WALKER will go head-to-head with dynamic British female singer and guitar player JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR whose every show is a display of raw and emotional power. Rest assured: When this duo of hard-nosed pros step into the ring, they won’t be pulling any punches.
Bart Walker, whose 2013 Ruf Records debut release “Waiting On Daylight” (March 12, 2013) has been well-received by critics, adds a down-home, earthy touch to the Caravan lineup. “southern friend blues/rock with a burning intensity”. (Blues Connections) At the 2012 International Blues Challenge, this Nashville-based guitar standout took home the coveted Best Guitarist honors. In recent years, he’s provided brilliant support to country-rocker Bo Bice while honing his skills as a writer of powerful songs full of southern flair. Former Stevie Ray Vaughan band member Reese Wynans was so impressed with Walker’s talents as a singer, songwriter and guitarist that he promptly decided to join his band. “When I saw Bart Walker, I saw something special, so I jumped at the chance,” says the legendary Double Trouble keyboardist.
Joanne Shaw Taylor, the only girl with a guitar on this year’s tour, is no stranger to the Blues Caravan: The 2009 tour was an important step in her budding career. Hailing from England, Taylor now resides in Texas and it was there that she perfected her brand of spirited, hard rocking blues on the recently released “Almost Always Never” (Ruf Records/September 2012). “I started playing little clubs in the UK when I was 14 or 15. But the sound of this album is a better representation of what I always wanted to be as an artist,” says Taylor, who recently played lead guitar for Annie Lennox at the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II. The album, her third for Ruf, has solidified her standing as the shooting star of modern blues.
But no band is complete without a kick-ass rhythm section. Bart Walker Band (and Bo Bice) drummer Austin Curcuruto will be joined in the engine room by bassist CJ Wilder. The musicians on the 9th Annual Blues Caravan take to the road in 2013 and will be bringing it to clubs and at festivals throughout the year. For more information including current tour dates, go to: www.bluescaravan.com
