Hot Tuna
4/21/16
Madison Theater, 730 Madison Ave, Covington, KY
18+, 7pm doors, 8pm show, Buy Tickets
Over a career spanning five decades, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers and Jefferson Airplane founding members Jack Casady (bass) and Jorma Kaukonen (guitar) have rocked audiences as “psychedelic blues institution” (Rolling Stone) Hot Tuna. The duo, who grew up and started performing together in the Washington, DC area, continue to tour and record. With Kaukonen’s inventive finger-picking guitar work and Casady’s full-driving bass lines, the duo delivers soulful Americana music bursting with creative energy. 2015 also marks the 50th Anniversary of their old band, legendary Bay Area psychedelic pioneers The Jefferson Airplane.
Hot Tuna, who never quit playing live, returned with their first new album in 20 years in 2011, the critically acclaimed Steady As She Goes (2011), a collection that proved that the two were still at the top of their game. Decades after Kaukonen and Casady first played Woodstock, they went into the late Levon Helm’s studio in upstate New York with famed producer Larry Campbell to record 12 new tracks with mandolin player Barry Mitterhoff and drummer Skoota Warner (Cyndi Lauper, Matisyahu, Santana). The band plugged in to deliver the electric Hot Tuna album that fans had been waiting for, joined by Larry Campbell (guitars, fiddle, organ, vocals) and Teresa Williams, whose powerful harmonies hearken back to Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick.