Photo: Lee Ann Flynn
Find ticket information HERE.
Johnny Burgin Blues Revue w/ Mary Lane, Marie Martens,
Randy McAllister & Peter Nande
Plus, a Tribute to the late bluesman Tail Dragger.
October 21, Saturday
Skokie Theater, 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie
Phone: 847-677-7761
Show: 7:30 p.m. Doors: 7 p.m. General Admission - $25, all ages
(includes a Tail Dragger CD)
Proceeds will benefit the Niles Township Food Pantry Foundation
Once known as Rockin' Johnny on the Chicago Blues scene, guitarist Burgin is now an international blues ambassador, who brings his Chicago blues style with him to countries around the world, and performs with blues players of all ethnicities
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Burgin's Blues Revue will feature Chicago’s Mary Lane, a feisty 88-year-old authentic blues singer who “is finally getting the attention that she deserves,” says Chicago Blues Guide. Also performing are Randy McAllister, a Texas blues artist; Peter Nande, a blues harmonica player from Denmark; and Swedish slide guitar queen Marie Martens. They'll all be backed by Johnny's longtime road rhythm section of Stephen Dougherty, drums, and Marie Martens on bass.
This show will include a Tail Dragger Memorial show; there is a free Tail Dragger CD included with ticket purchase, courtesy of Delmark Records. This show is a benefit for the Niles Township Food Pantry Foundation.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Johnny Burgin
Johnny Burgin performs over two hundred shows a year regularly, internationally and coast to coast. Johnny grew up in Starkville, Mississippi and went to University of Chicago at 18, but ended up attending "blues university." Since the early '90s Johnny has toured and recorded with blues legends such as Pinetop Perkins, Sam Lay, Tail Dragger and Billy Boy Arnold, and has released ten of his own CDs. Johnny was nominated for a Blues Music Award for Best Traditional Blues CD of 2017 for Howlin' at Greaseland, a Howlin' Wolf tribute. In 2023, Burgin was honored to be nominated for a Blues Music Award for Best Traditional Blues Artist.
In addition to his own shows, he has found the time to share his experience with a younger generation of blues players. He was the guitar instructor at the Chicago Blues Network and at The Pinetop Perkins Workshop Experience in Clarksdale Mississippi, which counts among its alumni Grammy winner Kingfish Ingram and BMA nominee pianist Ben Levin.
Johnny also has collaborated and championed international blues players on his latest release No Border Blues Japan, the first American compilation of the underground Japanese blues scene.
After years of playing in Chicago, Burgin struck out to the West Coast and points beyond in 2016. Rick Kogan of The Chicago Tribune stated, “there are few more passionate practitioners of this style."
"Johnny's ego-free dedication to the music is refreshing. In a world where everyone wants to be a superstar, Johnny shines brightly." - Bill Wilson of Reflections in Blue
Mary Lane
Nearly 88 years old, Mary Lane still performs regularly with her own band, The No Static Blues Band. Mary was part of The Great Migration, coming to Chicago from Clarendon, AR, where she honed her singing skills in the juke joints with blues legends such as Howlin' Wolf, Junior Parker, James Cotton and Robert Nighthawk. She has performed all over Chicago since 1957, and is the first recipient of the Women In Blues Lifetime Achievement Award from the City of Chicago.
Marie Martens
Marie Martens is a veteran of her native Stockholm blues scene. She came to the States in '06 and self-released her debut Travelled in 2019. Blues fans love her tone control— there's not a wasted note when she puts down the bass and lets loose on the slide guitar. Midwest Record stated, "she's forging her own path, way cool stuff!"
Peter Nande
Danish harp player Peter Nande has worked with many great American blues artists, and formed a particularly strong personal mentorship with the late, brilliant-but-mercurial harp player James Harmon. Peter has carried on James’ spirit in his own songwriting and playing style. His California Sessions CD was nominated for a Danish Grammy Award in 2007 for ‘Blues Album of the Year’.
Randy McAllister
Roustabout, maverick, spiritual, gritty, wild, soulful…these are some of the words used to describe Randy McAllister. This sixth generation Texan learned drums from his father and learned harp from Earring George Mayweather while stationed near Boston during his time in the US Air Force.
His many releases on JSP, Severn and other labels showcase "great songs about life's struggles, victories, and defeats," says Elmore magazine.
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