Kenny Wayne Shepherd

KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD BIO

On his newest release TEN DAYS OUT: Blues From The Backroads, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who ably walks the line between bandleader and accompanist, is joined by a stellar lineup of collaborators. His guests include some of the most renowned blues artists—B. B. King, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and Hubert Sumlin among them; some artists whose careers reach back to the earliest days of blues—Pinetop Perkins, Honeyboy Edwards; and some of the least known though most astonishing players—Cootie Stark and Etta Baker. Partial proceeds of this project are being donated to Music Maker Relief Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to helping impoverished blues artists.

With a career that began at age 16, Kenny Wayne Shepherd has enjoyed a storied decade in music’s big-leagues. His first three albums mixed blues and blues-rock; his 1995 debut Ledbetter Heights has sold over a million copies, making it a platinum record. Trouble Is…was released in 1998 selling over a million copies and Grammy-nominated. Live On followed a year later, and also got the Grammy nod. On his most recent record, 2004’s The Place You’re In, Shepherd took most of the album’s lead vocals for the first time. “I cut my teeth as a blues artist,” says Kenny Wayne Shepherd. “My first three records mixed my styles, and the last one, The Place You’re In, was a pretty heavy dose of rock and roll. So this became a perfect time to present a solid dose of the blues.”

Most musicians are either bandleaders or band members, and few have proven capable of being both the stars and the accompanists. Kenny Wayne Shepherd, however, has proven himself a true devotee to the music as both a star soloist and a star accompanist. “In my career, I’m out every night playing in front of big crowds,” he says. “It’s my show, everything is the way I want it to be. And I love that. But a project like this picks me up, takes me out of my so-called reality and puts me right back where I was when I was 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 years old, listening to the people who were my mentors and who inspired me to play music, looking up to them, being humbled.”

The years of intense study honed his musical instincts. “That’s basically what separates the men from the boys in music,” Shepherd continues. “Everyone of these guys has a different style. That’s where doing your homework is important. I studied as a young man every style of blues that exists: Mississippi Delta, Texas, Chicago, acoustic, dobro, electric—all of it. And without that kind of knowledge and experience, I don’t think I would have been capable of accompanying this diverse group of players.

“A project like this, with all these great people, it’s not about me—it’s about the music,” says Shepherd, “and about the people who inspired me to pick up an instrument and make music. You’ve got to listen to what they sing or write about, and you’ll hear the people behind the music, the players behind the blues. And that’s what the blues is about—the lives these people led, and that we are living today.”

Get your tickets now!

 

.: Home : Artists : General Info : Tickets : Winetasting : Archive : Contact Us :: © 2005-2007 Omega Events :.

web: linkingarts.com