TOM GILLAM’S NEW CD, NEVER LOOK BACK, DUE SEPTEMBER 12

TOM GILLAM’S NEW CD,

NEVER LOOK BACK, DUE SEPTEMBER 12

LATEST RELEASE ON TREEHOUSE PRODUCTIONS, DISTRIBUTED NATIONALLY BY BURNSIDE DISTRIBUTION

PHILADELPHIA, PA – TreeHouse Productions announces a September 12 release date for Never Look Back, the new CD from singer/songwriter/guitarist Tom Gillam, with national distribution by Burnside Distribution Corporation. Gillam will get the celebration of the new album going early, with a CD release concert set for The Troc in Philadelphia on August 17 at 8:00 PM.

Never Look Back is Gillam’s strongest album yet, amply displaying his whiskey-soaked vocals, incendiary guitar work and striking lyrics in a musical trifecta blending the edgier side of alternative country and Americana with guitar rock for a real barn-burner sound. On the new CD, Gillam is backed by his long-time road band, Tractor Pull, creating a seamless, visceral music that’s the perfect follow-up to his last release, 2005’s Shake My Hand, which spent 14 weeks on the Americana Radio top ten, peaking at #4. That album also won him a “Best Emerging Artist” nomination from the Americana Music Association.

The 11 all-original songs on Never Look Back, most of which were written or co-written by Gillam, were recorded at TreeHouse Studios and produced by long-time friend Joe Carroll, who also is a multi-instrumentalist in Tractor Pull. They showcase a creative, insightful songwriter whose songs are both topical and personal, with a universal appeal that echoes the past but sounds fresh and exciting.

The recording of the new album was interrupted in March of 2006, when after several appearances at the SXSW Music Festival, Tom Gillam suffered three heart attacks in between flights from Austin to France. Two months later, he made an amazing comeback performance and finished the new album late last summer.


Born and raised in southern New Jersey, Tom spent his formative years playing in and around the New Jersey / Philadelphia area with a variety of mildly successful bands. In 1997, he teamed up with producer Joe Carroll to embark on his solo career. The result was Tom's 1998 release, First of All (Brickhouse Records). That was followed in 2001 by the critically acclaimed album, Dallas (Gotham Records). Tom then recruited the members of his touring band, Tractor Pull, and hit the road. He took time out from touring to record what would eventually become the Shake My Hand album, released in November 2004 on 95 North/Haydens Ferry Records.

Tom Gillam and Tractor Pull will support the release of Never Look Back with a national tour, including in-store appearances at retail outlets around the country. Radio promotion for the new CD is being handled by Al Moss Promotions.

For more information, visit http://www.tomgillam.com/ or his other site at www.myspace.com/tomgillamstractorpull

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STONY PLAIN RECORDS PRESENTS THE GIFT: A TRIBUTE TO IAN TYSON

STONY PLAIN RECORDS PRESENTS THE GIFT: A TRIBUTE TO IAN TYSON

ALL-STAR CAST SALUTES CANADIAN MUSICAL ICON WITH PERFORMANCES FROM JENNIFER WARNES, CHRIS HILLMAN, GORDON LIGHTFOOT, RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOTT, TOM RUSSELL, AMOS GARRETT AND MANY OTHERS ON OCTOBER 9 U.S. RELEASE

EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records announces an October 9 U.S. release date for The Gift: A Tribute To Ian Tyson, an all-star tribute featuring performances of the Canadian musical icon’s songs by such performers as Jennifer Warnes, Chris Hillman, Gordon Lightfoot, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Tom Russell and Amos Garrett, among others.

The album’s striking artwork features rarely-seen sketches from legendary western artist Charles M. Russell, a former cowboy and wrangler who documented the Old West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, capturing the spirit and the character of that time. The sketches were obtained with permission from the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana.

The Gift: A Tribute To Ian Tyson has been in the works for more than a year. Stony Plain Records’ president Holger Petersen and award-winning music journalist Peter North asked Tyson's friends, associates, admirers and one-time sidemen to contribute, and shepherded their songs through production. All of the songs were recorded expressly for this album, with the exception of Gordon Lightfoot’s track, “Red Velvet,” released on an earlier album of his, and Tom Russell’s cover of “Old Cheyenne,” recorded several years ago as a “promotion only” track. Just released in Canada, the album has already garnered rave reviews and strong sales in that country.
In addition to guitarist Amos Garrett, other former musicians who have worked with Tyson over the years, such as David Rea, Stewart MacDougall, Cindy Church, Buddy Cage and Jeff Bradshaw, all contributed tracks to the new album. Other participants include Blue Rodeo, Corb Lund, The Good Brothers and The McDades.
In a world-wide career that spans almost half a century, Ian Tyson was a pioneering folk singer whose initial impact came as one-half of the duo Ian and Sylvia, one of the most popular acts of the early ‘60s folk music movement, who recorded a number of albums (most notably with Vanguard Records). At the end of that decade, he helped launch the country-rock explosion with the landmark band Great Speckled Bird and its self-titled album, released in 1970. Tyson followed that by being at the vanguard of the “cowboy music” revival on the strength of his seminal 1986 album, Cowboyography. His achievements thus far have earned him a place in the Juno Hall of Fame (the Canadian equivalent of the GRAMMY), and he has been a recipient of the Order of Canada.Dotted with classic pieces and sprinkled with timeless hits, Tyson’s brilliantly crafted catalogue contains the finest examples of songs that have stitched stunning melodies and gripping grooves with deep emotions and finely etched imagery. Not only has he been on the receiving end of considerable acclaim and commercial success during his long run, other artists have consistently gone to and drawn from Tyson’s deep well. Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Nanci Griffith, Suzy Bogguss, Bobby Bare, Tony Rice, Judy Collins, David Bromberg, and Jerry Jeff Walker are just a few of the artists who have covered his songs. Neil Young continues to express his belief that “Four Strong Winds” is one of the greatest contemporary folk songs ever written. Tyson, who marks his 75th birthday next year, continues to run the Tyson Ranch in the foothills of the Rockies south of Calgary, and tours in Canada and the U.S., playing some 75 concerts a year.

“A tribute to Ian, who is certainly not ready to call it a day on the ranch, has definitely been in order for some time now,” says co-executive producer Peter North, who is also the music director for the CKUA Radio Network in Edmonton, Alberta. “Tyson’s songs cross a musical landscape that includes the folk revival of the ‘60s, the birth of country rock, hardcore honky-tonk music and his own chosen place as a spokesperson for cowboy culture.”
Stony Plain is distributed by Koch Entertainment. For more, visit http://www.iantyson.com/
The Gift: A Tribute To Ian Tyson Track Listing:
1. Four Strong Winds Blue Rodeo
2. MC Horses Corb Lund
3. Blue Mountains of Mexico Jennifer Warnes
4. What Does She See Chris Hillman
5. Red Velvet Gordon Lightfoot
6. The Gift David Rea
7. Range Delivery Cindy Church
8. Smuggler’s Cove The McDades
9. Some Kind Of Fool Amos Garrett
10. Old Cheyenne Tom Russell
11. Someday Soon The Circus In Flames with Buddy Cage
12. Will James Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
13. You’re Not Alone Anymore Stewart MacDougall
14. Summer Wages The Good Brothers
15. Moondancer Jeff Bradshaw
16. Bonus Track: Interview with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott & Buddy Cage

BLUE BELLA RECORDS SETS FOUR NEW CDS FOR RELEASE OCT. 9

BLUE BELLA RECORDS SETS FOUR NEW CDS FOR RELEASE OCT. 9

DOUBLE NICK MOSS CD AND SINGLE ALBUMS FROM GERRY HUNDT, BULL LUPKIN AND KILBORN ALLEY BLUES BAND COMPLETE PACKAGE

CHICAGO, IL – Blue Bella Records, “Delivering Classic Chicago Blues in a Whole New Package,” announces the release of four new albums on October 9: a special double-CD from multi-Blues Award nominees Nick Moss & the Flip Tops – Play It ‘Til Tomorrow; the solo debut CD from Flip Tops band member Gerry Hundt – Since Way Back; and new CDs from singer/harmonica player Bill Lupkin – Hard Pill To Swallow, and The Kilborn Alley Blues Band – Tear Chicago Down. All CDs will be distributed nationally by Burnside Distribution.

Fresh from receiving four Blues Music Award nominations and an electrifying live performance at the Blues Foundation’s premiere event in Memphis this past May, Nick Moss & the Flip Tops follow up their 2006 CD, Live at Chan’s, with an amazing two-CD set of Chicago blues showcasing not only the band’s incredible talents as performers and songwriters, but also their tremendous versatility. In addition to Nick Moss on guitar, harmonica and vocals, the group includes Willie Oshawny on keyboards (who also switches over to bass on four tracks and second guitar on another), Gerry Hundt on harp and vocals (who also plays bass, rhythm guitar and mandolin on the album) and Bob Carter on drums.

While staying true to the classic Chicago post-war blues sound, Nick and the band also create new grooves that advance the style to new heights with their creativity and energy.
“That’s how I’ve always been,” says Nick Moss in the album’s liner notes. “All along, I’ve been trying to do my records that way. I live in Chicago and I was taught by the guys that played Chicago blues,” he adds, referring to the time he spent wood-shedding with the likes of Jimmy Rogers, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Jimmy Dawkins and others.

Adding to that authenticity on Play It ‘Til Tomorrow is the addition of special guest Eddie Taylor, Jr., son of the legendary Eddie Taylor, whose guitar work was a major component of all the great recordings from the incomparable Jimmy Reed. Eddie Taylor, Jr. plays second guitar on five cuts of the new album, and also inadvertently gave the CD its title when he continued playing after “Late Night Saint” had ended and voiced the opinion that he could “play that mother f*#ker ’til tomorrow!” (As captured on the “hidden track” at the end of Program One.)

The first disc of the double CD set features the band at their most rollicking Chicago blues sound, with some killer originals wrapped around three cover songs: Floyd Jones’ “Rising Wind,” Luther “Snake” Johnson’s “Woman Don’t Lie” and Lefty Dizz’s “Bad Avenue.” The revelation for many people in this package will be the second disc, which mostly unveils an “unplugged” side of the band that creates a completely different level of blues previously unheard from this band. On that CD, Barrelhouse Chuck guests on piano for one song, and Gerry Hundt demonstrates the prowess on mandolin he further explores on his own album.

Since Way Back is Gerry Hundt’s exploration and salute to the blues mandolin, as exemplified by his three main influences on the instrument: Johnny Young, Yank Rachell and Carl Martin. Even though he only took up the mandolin a few years since his debut CD, Hundt demonstrates an innate feel for the instrument and how it’s best used in the blues idiom. “I feel that there’s a lot of room for expansion of its Chicago blues vocabulary,” says Hundt. “When I play, I really feel like I’m reaching into an untapped vein, and it really grabs me - and the audience too, I think.”

Since Way Back features 11 originals that sit nicely alongside his covers of songs by Otis Spann (“Burning Fire”) and Jimmy Rogers (“You’re the One”).Besides Hundt on electric and acoustic mandolin and vocals, the players are Kilborn Alley’s Josh Stimmel on electric guitar, Bill Lupkin on harmonica and band mates Nick Moss on bass and acoustic guitar, Willie Oshawny on piano and Bob Carter on drums. Barrelhouse Chuck guests on piano on the CD bonus track.

Harp master Bill Lupkin returns for his second Blue Bella album after getting rave reviews for his first label release, Where I Come From (2006). “This guy is one savvy harp player, and you better know that he's got the chops that only experience and faith can give you,” said BluesSource.com in its review. “What a CD! This is true talent. If you love harp players, you're gonna get off on this CD. Raw, energetic and faithful to the max, Lupkin pulls it all off with the strength of a winner.”

On Hard Pill To Swallow, Lupkin continues on the blues path set by his last album with another dose of tasty blues harp, soulful singing and 14 original songs that display his blues pedigree like a badge of courage. And Bill is a true blues veteran, slugging it out in the bars and clubs on Chicago’s west, north and south sides back in the day with true geniuses such as Howlin’ Wolf, The Aces (Little Walter’s band) with Johnny Young, Jimmy Rogers, Willie Dixon, Sunnyland Slim and Eddie Taylor. A later trip to California saw him in a band backing the likes of T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton, Lowell Fulson and Roy Milton.

Backing Lupkin’s harmonica and vocals on Hard Pill To Swallow are Nick Moss on guitar, Gerry Hundt on guitar and mandolin, Tim Wire on keyboards, brother Steve Lupkin on bass and Mark Fornek on drums.

Following in the footsteps of such trailblazers as The Muddy Waters Band and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Kilborn Alley Blues Band continues the tradition with another searing set of music on their new CD, the aptly titled Tear Chicago Down.
A true ensemble blues band consisting of Andrew Duncanson on vocals and guitar, Josh Stimmel on guitar, Joe Asselin on harmonica, Chris Breen on bass and Ed O’Hara on drums. While each of these musicians is strong in their own right, it is when they play together as a band that Kilborn Alley creates a sound greater than the sum of its parts, largely because of the feel they bring to this music.

The band’s first Blue Bella release, last year’s Put It In The Alley, garnered them a Blues Music Award nomination for Best New Artist Debut, marking them as a group to watch. On Tear Chicago Down, The Kilborn Alley Blues Band smokes through a dozen original songs joined by a few guests, including Nick Moss on guitar, Gerry Hundt on organ, and Champaign, Illinois’ notable R&B singer Abraham Johnson (who’s often part of the live Kilborn Alley lineup) on the title track’s vocals.

With these four new October 9 releases on Blue Bella Records, the future of the blues is in great hands.

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NEW LIVE CHIP TAYLOR/CARRIE RODRIGUEZ CD SET FOR OCTOBER 2

NEW LIVE CHIP TAYLOR/CARRIE RODRIGUEZ CD SET FOR OCTOBER 2

RECORDED IN GERMANY IN 2005, CD FEATURES BILL FRISELL AND GREG LEISZ, WITH SPECIAL GUEST BUDDY MILLER


NEW YORK, NY – Train Wreck Records announces an October 2nd release date for Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez Live from the Ruhr Triennale – October 2005, a very special live recording of the Americana music duo the Austin Chronicle called “the queen of hearts with a Texas accent and the jack of diamonds with the King Midas touch.” On the new live album, Taylor and Rodriguez, whose music Rolling Stone dubbed “by turns cosmic, whimsical and tender,” are backed by a band that includes guitar genius Bill Frisell, master instrumentalist Greg Leisz and special guest Buddy Miller. Train Wreck Records is distributed in the U.S. by RED Distribution.

The special circumstances that came about to create this magical recording occurred in October 2005 when Ruhr Triennale Festival curator Bill Frisell invited Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez to perform on their “Century of Song Series,” which celebrates the history of popular song as it came into prominence in the 20th century. In addition to their own songs, participating artists were asked to also feature their favorite songs from other songwriters of the past century.

The result is an album that includes not only a batch of songs Chip and Carrie recorded together, such as “Let’s Leave this Town,” “Laredo” and “Red Dog Tracks” (off their three studio albums), but also a number of Chip Taylor-penned classics regularly performed at their live shows (“Wild Thing,” “Angel of the Morning,” “The Real Thing”), and energized performances of such classics as “Today I Started Loving You Again,” “Long Black Veil,” “Big River” and “Maybellene.”

“My entire music career has been guided by physical sensations,” says Chip Taylor in the album’s liner notes. “That ‘chill factor’ was never more in evidence than at the Ruhr Triennale, in the Ruhr District part of Germany, on the evenings of October 11th and 13th of October, 2005. Surrounded by the magnetic sounds of Bill Frisell and the boys, Carrie and I rocked and floated in musical places we had never been.”

Accompanied Bill Frisell on electric guitar and loops, Greg Leisz on steel guitar and mandolin, David Piltch on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums and percussion, Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez reached creative musical heights those nights that permeate every track on the new live CD, imbuing new sparks not only into Taylor’s seminal compositions, but staples such as “Maybellene,” where the ensemble of guitars, fiddle, pedal steel and mandolin turn the Chuck Berry classic into a Western Swing hoedown. For the album’s closer, they’re joined by another superstar guitarist, Buddy Miller, for a rowdy rendition of Taylor’s seminal crowd-pleaser, “Wild Thing,” which the band proceeds to turn inside out, upside down and every which way but loose.

Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez Live from the Ruhr Triennale – October 2005 was produced by Lee Townsend and Chip Taylor and recorded with an ambience that brings the listening audience right into the mix of the songs with the performers on stage.

For more information on this CD and the other Train Wreck releases, please visit www.trainwreckrecords.com

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LUCKY TOMBLIN BAND IS “RED HOT FROM BLUE ROCK”

LUCKY TOMBLIN BAND IS “RED HOT FROM BLUE ROCK”

NEW CD DUE SEPTEMBER 12 INCLUDES SPECIAL BONUS DVD

CD RELEASE SHOW AT THE BROKEN SPOKE IN AUSTIN

AUSTIN, TX – Texas World Records announces a September 12 release for Red Hot From Blue Rock, the latest album from the Lucky Tomblin Band, which is distributed nationally by Burnside Distribution. In addition to the 13-song disc, the package includes a special bonus 35-minute DVD of the making of the album, which includes interviews with the band, as well as performances in the studio of seven songs from the CD.

The Lucky Tomblin Band will celebrate Red Hot From Blue Rock with a special CD release party show on September 12 at Austin’s legendary dancehall, The Broken Spoke.

The Lucky Tomblin band is a true all-star group consisting of some of the best players in roots music today: Lucky Tomblin (lead vocals), Redd Volkaert (lead guitar and lead vocals), Earl Poole Ball (piano and lead vocals), John X. Reed (lead guitar and lead vocals), Sarah Brown (bass and lead vocals), Bobby Arnold (rhythm guitar and lead vocals) and Jon Hahn on drums.

Produced by Casper Rawls (who also contributes some guitar work), Red Hot from Blue Rock is an apt description for this sizzling collection of songs delivered by Austin’s purveyors of homegrown Texas honky-tonk music. With two previous albums of critically-acclaimed roadhouse music under its collective belt, The Lucky Tomblin Band returns with yet another dance floor mix of both originals and well-chosen covers by such classic writers as Hank Williams (“Howlin’ at the Moon”), Jerry Lee Lewis (“End of the Road”), Moon Mullican (“Sundown Blues”), Mel Tillis (“Honky Tonk Song”), Buddy Knox (“Party Doll”), Tommy Duncan (“Time Changes Everything”) and Billy “The Kid” Emerson (“Red Hot”), among others. Of the originals, two were written by Sarah Brown (one co-written with Rosie Flores), and one was co-written by Earl Poole Ball and country Cajun Jo-el Sonnier.

The new album takes its title from the studio in the Wimberley, Texas, “hill country” just outside Austin where the tracks were recorded, Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studios, whose ambience and beautiful natural surroundings are perfectly captured in the accompanying DVD. The album was recorded and engineered by Keith Gary.

Bandleader Lucky Tomblin takes the lead vocals for four songs on Red Hot from Blue Rock, and also showcases the lead singing strengths of the rest of the group’s members throughout the rest of the tracks, with Redd Volkaert, Earl Poole Ball, John X. Reed and Sarah Brown each singing on two songs and Bobby Arnold making his singing debut on the Floyd Tillman classic, “I’ll Keep On Loving You.”

The Lucky Tomblin Band’s two previous CDs, the self-tiled debut in 2003 and In A Honky-Tonk Mood (2006), showcased a killer band in its true element: Texas roadhouse honky-tonk music perfect for listening and dancing. “If the Lucky Tomblin Band doesn't put you in a honky-tonk mood, there's either something wrong with you, or you're not really listening,” said one reviewer about the band’s sound. “This is classic honky-tonk as it was meant to be played,” said another. Perhaps yet a third reviewer may have had the best description yet of this music when he wrote: “Tomblin and crew deliver what a good time Luckenbach honky-tonk Saturday night must have felt like back when the earth was cooling. A real party on a platter for anyone with homegrown tastes.”
For more information, visit www.luckytomblinband.com or the band’s other site at www.myspace.com/luckytomblinband

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DELBERT MCCLINTON AND FRIENDS ARE “ROCKING THE BOAT”

DELBERT MCCLINTON AND FRIENDS ARE “ROCKING THE BOAT”

NEW FILM DOCUMENTARY CAPTURES ESSENCE OF GRAMMY-AWARD WINNING PERFORMER ON HIS “SANDY BEACHES” CRUISE

AUGUST 1ST SCREENING SET AT WOODS HOLE FILM FESTIVAL

KEAAU, HI – Every year since 1995, three-time Grammy-winner Delbert McClinton, known for his special brand of Texas roadhouse roots-rock, gathers together a bunch of his favorite musical friends and - along with 1,200 fans - boards a ship for a week-long voyage of non-stop music and fun in the Caribbean dubbed the “Sandy Beaches Cruise.” Now, filmmaker Jay Curlee has captured the essence of a showman’s life, what makes McClinton’s music so special, and why this cruise has been a perennial sellout in his new concert film and music documentary, Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation and Journey.

Rocking the Boat: a Musical Conversation and Journey has been selected by the 16th Annual Woods Hole Film Festival on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It will screen at 7 p.m., August 1st at the Redfield Auditorium of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The festival is an eight-day showcase of independent film, featuring daily screenings, workshops, panel discussions and special events. For more information on the festival, visit www.woodsholefilmfestival.com. Jay Curlee will attend the screening, which will be the east coast premiere of the film. Curlee will also be on-hand for a Q&A session and panels at the festival. Rocking the Boat was the opening night feature of the 37th Annual USA Film Festival, and was also shown at the 27th Breckenridge Festival of Film.

Music performances were culled from over 150 hours of footage shot in high-definition aboard the 2006 Sand Beaches Cruise. In addition to a number of high-energy performances by McClinton, the film also includes (mostly original) standout songs from Rodney Crowell, Marcia Ball, Stephen Bruton, Wayne Toups, Jimmy Hall, Al Anderson, Tommy Castro, Paul Thorn, and Teresa James. The result is a shipboard musical gumbo of rock, blues, country, funk, zydeco and rhythm & blues. The film’s excellent sound was recorded and mixed by Chet Himes, a Grammy-nominated Austin engineer, who is currently re-mastering the library of the critically acclaimed music series “Austin City Limits” for release on DVD.

In addition to the music, the film includes interviews with McClinton and friends with stories about the joys – and rigors – of the road. Also included are vintage photos and video of McClinton during his over 40 years in music. Another Texas music icon, Kinky Friedman, makes a special appearance, giving his unique spin on Texas musicians and the culture itself.

Though long admired for his exceptional body of recorded work as well as his legendary live shows, Delbert McClinton really started appearing on the American mainstream radar in the late 1970s. He was one of the inspirations for the Blues Brothers, who covered his “B-Movie Boxcar Blues” on their first album. In 1980, he had a Top 40 hit with “Givin’ It Up for Your Love,” and later that decade wrote and sang “Weatherman,” the opening theme for the hit movie, “Groundhog Day.”

McClinton received his first Grammy in 1991 for a duet he sang with Bonnie Raitt, “Good Man, Good Woman,” which won the award as Best Rock Vocal. He has since won Grammy Awards for two of his own albums, Nothing Personal, released in 2001, and Cost of Living, released in 2005.

Rocking the Boat: a Musical Conversation and Journey is a production of JC Communications and is director Jay Curlee’s first feature. He has made more than 2,000 commercials and 200 programs while living his entire professional life in Hawaii. Executive producers of the film are Susan James and Arthur James. Rocking the Boat was produced by Yuri Biersach, Wendy Goldstein, Page Hite, Jim Friscia, W.T. Little, Lewis Stephens, and Gary Turlington. Director of photography is Ken Libby and film editor is Keoni Alvarez.

For more information or to purchase a pre-release limited edition DVD of the film, visit www.rockingtheboatmovie.com

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OMAR KENT DYKES AND JIMMIE VAUGHAN ARE RIDING ON THE JIMMY REED HIGHWAY

NEW RUF RECORDS CD DUE AUGUST 21

SPECIAL GUESTS ALONG FOR THE RIDE INCLUDE KIM WILSON, LOU ANN BARTON, DELBERT MCCLINTON AND JAMES COTTON

AUSTIN, TX – Ruf Records announces the August 21 release of one of the most exciting and anticipated musical collaborations of the year, On the Jimmy Reed Highway, an all-star, Texas-sized salute to the blues master from two of the Lone Star State’s most prized musicians, singer/guitarist Omar Kent Dykes and guitarist Jimmie Vaughan. Joining Dykes and Vaughan for the ride is a celebrated list of musical guests, including Kim Wilson, Lou Ann Barton, Delbert McClinton and James Cotton.

In addition to a number of festival and special performances throughout the summer to promote the new CD, the core band – Dykes, Vaughan, Wilson and Barton – along with some special guests, will tape a segment of the critically-acclaimed television series, “Austin City Limits,” on August 22. Other shows already booked include the Notodden Blues Festival in Norway on August 4; Blues on the Green in Austin on August 8; Antone’s in Austin on August 24; House of Blues in Dallas on August 26; and the Long Beach Blues Festival in Long Beach, California on September 2.

Known for such classic blues staples as “Big Boss Man,” “Baby What You Want Me to Do” and “Bright Lights, Big City,” among many others, Jimmy Reed continues to be a huge influence on blues and roots music fans over 30 years since his death. He certainly was to a young Omar Kent Dykes growing up in McComb, Mississippi and Jimmie Vaughan in Dallas, Texas.

“‘Baby What You Want Me to Do’ and ‘Big Boss Man’ were allover Top 40 radio,” remembers Dykes. And when Omar played his first guitar, the initial chords he played came from a Reed song. “Jimmy Reed was huge in Dallas,” adds Jimmie Vaughan. “I learned how to play him by listening to the radio.”

Mississippi born and raised Omar Kent Dykes grew up on Jimmy Reed’s music and has honed that influence and others into a three-decade-long career as leader of one of the hottest blues bands anywhere, Omar and the Howlers.

Jimmie Vaughan is a Texas icon, a world-renown guitarist and founder of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the great roots band that led the vanguard of the blues explosion in the 1980s and helped put Austin on the musical map.

On the Jimmy Reed Highway began as an Omar Kent Dykes album, but once Jimmie Vaughan came into the studio “the songs took on their own life,” remembers Omar. “I figured Jimmie would come in and play a couple of solos, but he got so excited about it he stayed for the rest.”

That fever spread to anyone within earshot of the project, drawing a star-studded list of guests, eager to join in on the fun. They included another Austin legend, singer Lou Ann Barton, whose soulful vocals are featured throughout the new album, and who often tours with Vaughan. Not far behind was another original member of the T-Birds, harmonica master Kim Wilson, who reunites with his former band mate Vaughan on three songs. This marks the first time since Vaughan left the Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1990 that he and Wilson have recorded together on disc. Three-time GRAMMY winner Delbert McClinton also guests on harp and joins Dykes on lead vocals for another Reed chestnut, “Hush Hush.” And another blues great, James Cotton, lends his distinctive harp sound to the sexy, pleading lyrics of “Caress Me Baby.”

Backing these stars On the Jimmy Reed Highway is an all-star crew, including guitarists Derek O’Brien and Gary Clark, Jr., harmonica player Gary Primich, bassists Ronnie James and Barry Bihm, and drummers Wes Starr, George Rains, Jay Moeller and Omar’s son, Jake Dykes.

Ten great Jimmy Reed songs are book-ended by two original songs that fit like a glove with the others: the opening track, “Jimmy Reed Highway,” and the closing, “You Made Me Laugh,” both written by Dykes and Steve Callif.

“Jimmy Reed’s music is sexy and smooth, and no one’s in a hurry. It’s flat-out cool,” says Jimmie Vaughan. Or as Omar Kent Dykes proudly states in his trademark growl on the first song: “The big boss man is still the man today!”

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On the Jimmy Reed Highway Song List

1. Jimmy Reed Highway 2. Baby What You Want Me To Do/ Bright Lights Big City
3. Big Boss Man
4. Good Lover 5. Caress Me Baby
6. Aw Shucks, Hush Your Mouth
7. You Upset My Mind
8. I'll Change My Style
9. Bad Boy
10. Baby, What's Wrong11. Hush Hush
12. You Made Me Laugh