Sweetwater Blues n’ Brews Line-Up Announced

ROCK SPRINGS – On August 13 you can get your fill of great Blues and microbrews at the annual Sweetwater Blues n’ Brews Festival. Sweetwater Blues & Brews will take place in Bunning Park and admission is just $5. Proceeds benefit the Rock Springs Main Street/URA for ongoing downtown redevelopment projects.

This year’s entertainment line-up includes:

The Killpeckers
David Gerald Band
Andy T & Nick Nixon
Chris O’Leary
Jeff Jensen
Harlis Sweetwater Band

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David Gerald Band

David Gerald, the son of Rural Mississippi born and raised parents, grew up to the sounds of the blues and R&B music in his hometown, Detroit. He’s the youngest of 11 children, 6 of whom were born and partly raised in Mississippi. “Because segregation and racial discrimination were so bad in Mississippi at the time, my dad moved the family north to Detroit when he was 33, so we’d have a better chance at the American dream.

Gerald started playing guitar at the age of 15, influenced by Prince and 80’s rock guitarists. He rediscovered the blues and listened to the music of Albert King, ZZ Hill, B.B. King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to name just a few.

“I was lucky enough to have a neighbor who was a guitarist and gave me scrap guitars. I would piece them together and build ‘Frankenstein’ guitars,” says Gerald. “They were horrible to play and sounded bad, but I had to play music. It was and is my destiny. I finally scraped up enough money to buy an old amp and I was happy.”

Gerald performed in many local blues, R&B, and rock bands cutting his guitar and vocal chops live and in person. Finding it hard to keep a band together, Gerald learned to play guitar, bass, keys, and drums. Using two antiquated cassette recorders he would overdub each part individually until the song was complete. “The end result sounded horrible, and the songs would not end up in the same key they started in. But it got my songs recorded,” says Gerald. This was the beginning of his songwriting, most of which were pop and rock tunes during the 80’s. Around the age of 24, he began experimenting with computers to write and compose music, which he has done to this day.

Now in his 40’s, Gerald is playing nationally with his own band. Year round, he performs at clubs and festivals across the United States. Some notable appearances include: Riverdays Festival (formerly known as the International Freedom Festival) in Detroit, MI; Chrysler Arts, Beats and Eats in Royal Oak, MI. Springing The Blues Festival in Jacksonville, FL among many others.

Gerald’s blues have been receiving widespread radio play, along with recognition in the Blues and Rock communities. Recently Gerald was listed as #1 on the ReverbNation blues charts for Michigan Blues artists. His debut album “Hell and Back” reached #1 on Roots Music Report’s Blues Chart for Michigan based artists and remained in the top 20 for many weeks in a row.

.Andy T – Nick Nixon Band

The Andy T-Nick Nixon Band, fronted by guitarist Andy T and vocalist Nick Nixon, displays musicianship at its highest. As Blues Underground Network said, “Simply put, Andy T and James ‘Nick’ Nixon have quickly risen to the top of many people’s lists of Great Collaborations.”

Their new release on Blind Pig Records, Numbers Man, was produced by renowned Texas guitarist Anson Funderburgh, and features the great Kim Wilson’s harmonica on one of the tracks.

Guitarist “Andy T” Talamantez arrived in Nashville from Southern California in 2008 and teamed up with local blues and R&B legend vocalist/guitarist James “Nick” Nixon in 2011. After meeting Nick and watching him perform, Andy knew that they would make an unstoppable combination. As Ted Drozdowski of the Nashville Scene put it, “When Andy first heard Nick, he knew he’d found his foil for the group he envisioned — an outfit that could swing effortlessly between West Coast jump blues stompers, hardcore Chicago and Texas string-fests, and Louisiana swamp grooves.”

Andy T’s jazz-tinged guitar style is influenced by T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Magic Sam, and Albert Collins among others, yet it remains his own. He was born and raised in Southern California and was always interested in guitar. He worked for twenty-three years as a manufacturing engineer in the aerospace industry but during that entire time he never stopped performing in local bands. In 1997 he quit his day job to join and tour with Smokey Wilson’s band. That lasted for two years, after which he played in Guitar Shorty’s band for a period of five years. During that time he toured internationally and performed with a long list of major blues artists around the country, learning how to back up a vocalist with economy and perfection as he honed his own playing style.

The velvet-voiced Nixon, whose singing recalls Jimmy Witherspoon and Billy Eckstine, was born and raised in Nashville, where got his first taste of singing through the gospel tunes he learned every Sunday in church. In high school, he sang opera. The choir director, a famous opera singer, “found out I had this voice and he had me singing opera. It was kind of put on me and I really didn’t like that style of music,” Nixon says. “But I did it and the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was to un-do that opera-style singing when I started in with rock-n-roll and the blues. But I did learn a lot of voice control (singing opera) that I still use now. The clarity of opera is something that I still use, too, but I just put in more gravel, a little more dirt with it when I’m singing the blues.”

Nixon quickly went on to become an important part of the musical mix in Nashville and something of an institution in the Music City. In the early 60’s he was the lead singer for the popular group King James and The Sceptres – one of Music City’s first integrated bands. They would play co-bills with the likes of Lazy Lester, Rufus Thomas, and Cootie Stark, to name a few. Nick was also a long-time member of The New Imperials, a soul group with a forty-five year history, performing with many of the top blues and R&B artists in the world.

Nixon was part of the thriving Jefferson Street blues scene of the 60’s, and is a key figure in the reviving Nashville blues scene today. He’s performed regularly at civic functions and even sung before thousands at the Riverfront Park, accompanied by the Nashville Symphony.

In the 70’s Nixon fronted a pair of successful local groups – Past, Present & Future, which recorded for Chess Records, followed by NTS Limited, which included Billy Cox.

Nick produced an album for gospel legends the Fairfield Four in 1989. That same year he began the release of a number of albums under his given name, James Nixon. His first three releases were gospel recordings – Don’t Wait Too Late, a cassette-only release, Me, Myself and the Lord in 1997, which was named “Best Gospel Album of the Year” by Behind the Scenes, a radio trade publication. This was followed by the release of Stand Up in 1999.

In 2002 Nick began his career as a blues recording artist with the release of No End To The Blues on the Black Magic label. He followed that with Back Down South in 2005 and Heavy Load and Live In Europe in 2010. In 2011 Nixon appeared in director Mario Van Peebles’ film Redemption Road. His performance of “Rising Son Blues” is on the film’s soundtrack.

But maybe even more important than all that, Nixon has always been involved in helping to perpetuate the blues, as a guitar teacher and mentor to many of the city’s aspiring young players through Nashville’s Parks and Recreation Department. This behind-the-scenes effort even earned Nixon a Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) award from the Blues Foundation in 2000.

Despite such a varied and successful career in the music business, Nixon is still remembered by many as a friend and sometime stage mate of the late, great Jimi Hendrix. Nick befriended Hendrix and his pal (and later to be Band of Gypsies member) Billy Cox when they arrived in Nashville in the early ’60s. Says Nixon, “I met Billy and Jimi around the same time, in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. When they got out of the army, they moved to Nashville and got ‘em a little room there. You’d see Jimi just out walking the streets with his guitar…he just loved that thing. All Jimi wanted to do was just woodshed and play that guitar.”

To this day Nick often writes and performs with his good friend, Cox. Says Nixon, “Billy’s a good person to be around and really, Jimi was, too.” In fact, Nixon recorded a single (“Over 50 Blues”) in 1995 with Cox and his friend Scotty Moore, Elvis’ guitarist.

The Andy T-Nick Nixon Band has released two critically acclaimed albums on the Delta Groove label, both of which were produced by Anson Funderburgh.

Their debut CD, Drink Drank Drunk, was released in 2013. Music Row said, “Nixon’s deep-blues vocal delivery and Andy’s stinging guitar chops are fabulous together throughout their CD…They will rock your world.” Elmore magazine added, “These veterans may be new names to you but not for long.” The album found its way onto almost everyone’s “Best of 2013” list and was nominated for a Blues Blast Music Award for best “New Artist Debut Release.”

The following year the band released their second CD, Livin’ It Up, which was nominated for a Blues Music Award as “Best Traditional Blues Album,” as well as a Blues Blast Music Award in the same category.

Elmore magazine said, “This band swings oh so soulfully! Traditional blues lovers listen up – your blues is here as fresh as ever. Nick has one of those unmistakably killer blues voices, capable of growling and crooning within the same song. But, for the most part their sound is very smooth, anchored by the clean, T-Bone Walker guitar style of Andy T.”

Living Blues stated, “It all adds up to a blues-rich yet stylistically diverse set, infused with joy and enriched by impeccable musicality—from beginning to end.”

Even though he’s now in his 70s, Nixon’s voice still has all the power and energy of a man half his age and it’s crystal clear that this man was born to sing the blues. Combined with Andy T’s bold, vibrant tones and equally rooted guitar style, it makes for a uniquely satisfying brand of soulful blues.

The blues has a history of great partnerships, and Numbers Man offers proof positive that Andy T and Nick Nixon belong in that select group.

The Chris O’Leary Band

Chris’s musical background includes duties as lead singer and front man for rock and roll hall of famer and Grammy award winner Levon Helm’s band The Barnburners. During the 6 years that Chris and Levon played together they toured across the US and Canada lighting up stages everywhere they went.

Chris has appeared on stage with: Legendary Rolling Stones sideman Bobby Keys, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmy Vivino, Jeff Healy, Dan Akroyd, Albert Lee, Dave Edmunds, Dave Maxwell and the great James Cotton to name just a few. Chris has also recorded with Bill Perry and Hubert Sumlin among others.

Other band members include Chris Vitarello, Matt Raymond, Chris (Fez) DiFrancesco, Andy Stahl and Jason Devlin

Jeff Jensen

Sometimes all it takes is a tiny spark to ignite a raging inferno. For Jeff Jensen, the spark occurred in 2011. Feeling the need for a fresh start, he loaded up his car to head back to his boyhood home in California. Just as that journey was to begin, a deep and unexpected calling starting boiling inside, Jensen changed directions and headed to Memphis. There was no job waiting for him; no plan, no family, no band, just a lone friend with a temporary place for him to stay. But our intrepid guitar player felt it was the right move, the only move. In less than thirty hours after arriving, he met Brandon Santini and was offered the opportunity to be his guitarist. Soon after, Jeff became music director for the Brandon Santini Band.

The inferno has been building ever since. After two years, almost 500 shows and three recordings with Santini, Jensen re-formed his band with long-time friend and musical collaborator Bill Ruffino (bass). Then they recruited Memphis native Robinson Bridgeforth as drummer. They hit the road and never looked back.

Most people are in for a shock the first time they experience a Jeff Jensen Band performance. It starts with the trio mixing an eccentric blend of soul, rock, and American roots music with a deep blues influence. Suddenly Jensen feels the spirit, transforming into a whirling dervish of sight & sound as he bounds across the stage, barely able to contain himself as he wrenches stark, biting six-string explosions from his guitar. His passion is there for all to see, a rare occurrence in these times of buttoned-down music-making. At first, the sheer emotional force he creates can be a bit overwhelming. Then you realize that all art is an expression of the soul, of the power of the life-giving force that created the universe. And Jeff feels it is his responsibility to make the effort to communicate his passion with each member of the audience every night. After all, music is art, and art is the physical form of emotion.

In 2015, Jensen released the vibrant Morose Elephant album that captures the flavor of the band’s creative force. Combining seven originals with covers of songs from Memphis Minnie and Amos Milburn plus a traditional gospel hymn, Jensen articulates the depth of his musical vision with help from a number of friends including Victor Wainwright, Reba Russell, and Annie Harris. The disc received even more critical acclaim as the band’s previous release, Road Worn and Ragged (2013), both produced by Jensen. This led to two consecutive Blues Blast Music Award nominations in the Sean Costello Rising Star category (2014/2015).

The band continues to tour the US, Canada and many European countries relentlessly, as the inferno shows no signs of burning out. Whenever there is a break in the schedule, Jensen switches roles, acting as the producer with other artists including Mick Kolassa, John Parker and co-producing Santini’s This Time Another Year, nominated for a Blues Music Award in the Contemporary Blues Album category (2014).

Brent Harlis Sweetwater Band

“Music has always been a huge part of my life. From the time I was 5 years old my mother was playin’ great music in the house. Cats like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley…she sang and played a little bit of guitar too.

When I was 7 my mother sat down with me and showed me an album she had. It was Chuck Berry’s Golden Decade Vol. 1. and When I opened that double record set and saw the photo of him on the inside, man, that did it.

Iconic photo. Chuck lookin’ down at his guitar, flooded in stage lights, sweat drippin off him…THAT, is Rock N’ Roll, and THAT’S what I wanna do! I wanted to be THAT guy!”

From Huntington Beach California, Harlis Sweetwater, as a singer /guitarist/ songwriter and frontman, has shared the stage with everyone from Jimmie Vaughan, ZZ Top, Los Lobos Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Everlast, and Brian Setzer to R&B/Blues legends Etta James, James Cotton, and Wilson Pickett to name a few.

He has been called “the best singer in any genre” by music critic Robert Kinsler of the OC Register, While SugarBuzz Magazine had this to say: “From the heart, Harlis Sweetwater,you know instantly the real deal is upon you. This man knows the blues.” Recently CBS online named Harlis one of Orange County’s best singer songwriters

Harlis first arrived on the scene with his band Barrelhouse O.C. and the group came into its own in the early 1990s. A favorite of L.A. and Orange County CA music critics, the band possessed a deep passion for the music of Otis Redding. It was the groups mission to bring Soul music to the masses behind the orange curtain. With a 3 piece horn section, piano, 2 guitars, bass and drums, and Harlis’s broad and gravely vocals at the helm, the band was like an explosive soul revue.

The band quickly became known for their highly entertaining shows and authentic southern soul sound. After 3 albums and an EP they began feeling like they had run their course and called it quits in 2001. After the break up, Harlis experimented with other styles and genres, but he longed to get back to the music that inspired him.

Formed in 2012 to get back to the Blues, Soul and Americana music he loves, The band is now a national touring act, that headlines venues and festivals across the U.S. with Harlis continually enlisting the help of seasoned musicians to “keep the train movin'” bring the music and live show on the road. The chemistry of the bands players makes for high energy performances that both entertain and mesmerize, and often times the party on stage rivals the one in the audience, making the Harlis Sweetwater Band one of the more fun and entertaining bands to see live.

The band released “Lights Goin’ Down” in Oct. 2012, to rave reviews. Gary Schwind of the Examiner.com stated “This Album Is Brilliant.” and Incognito Magazine wrote in its review of the album “If you want some music you can feel and not just hear, check out this band.” The album was featured in iTunes Blues “New and Noteworthy” section, as well as making on iTunes top 200 best selling blues albums with songs from the album charting on the top 100 Blues songs in U.S., Sweden, New Zealand and Ireland

The groups second album “Put It In Dirt” released May 2014, debuted on iTunes Top 200 Best Selling Blues albums at #106 and reached #30 and continues to receive rave reviews from all over the world.

Brews:

Brewers committed to attending the event so far this year include:

Snake River Brewing (Jackson, WY)
Wind River Brewing (Pinedale, WY)
Vernal Brewing (Vernal, UT)
Shades of Pale (Salt Lake City, UT)
Bohemian Brewing (Salt Lake City, UT)
Uinta Brewing (Salt Lake City, UT)
Payette Brewing (Garden City, ID)
Goose Island Brewing (Chicago, IL)
Shock Top Brewing (Fort Collins, CO)
10 Barrel Brewing (Bend, OR)
Black Tooth Brewing (Sheridan, WY)

Commemorative Sweetwater Blues & Brews pint glasses will be available for purchase at the event for $20 each and include 3 free beers. Additional beer tickets are available for $5 each or 5 for $20.

Sweetwater Blues n’ Brews is produced by the Rock Springs Main Street/URA with support from YAP (Young and Professional) and the Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism Board. This event is brought to you by Rocky Mountain Bank along with these sponsors: