SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES MARK 35TH ANNIVERSARY WITH STELLAR NEW STUDIO ALBUM ‘LIVING TEAR TO TEAR’ (AUGUST 19 / SEVERN RECORDS)

LP FOLLOWS 2014 GRAMMY NOMINATION, TWO 2014 BLUES MUSIC AWARD WINS FOR FRONTMAN SUGAR RAY NORCIA

SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES MIDWEST TOUR KICKS OFF JULY 15

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones – the storied blues ensemble which has backed Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Joe Turner, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Walter Horton, Big Mama Thornton, and JB Hutto – marks its 35th anniversary and sixth album for Severn Records with the August 19 release ‘Living Tear To Tear.’ The hard-swinging band fully absorbed the lessons learned from those Chicago blues masters, making it one of New England’s most beloved blues institutions. The Boston Phoenix said of its frontman, "A fixture on the national blues scene[, Sugar Ray] Norcia's elegant, emotive voice is his calling card [alongside his] rich, melodic harmonica blowing."

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones have an incredible history, from early tours with Big Walter Horton; collaborations with Ronnie Earl; backing legendary artists in Cambridge and on tour; being invited for a residency at Chicago’s legendary south side juke joint Theresa’s, musical home of Junior Wells (though they had to decline due to other commitments); and earning five Blues Music Awards nominations for their last album ‘Evening’ including Band of the Year and Album of the Year.

‘Living Tear To Tear’ promises to be even bigger, coming on the heels of an eventful year that saw the blues world take notice of Sugar Ray & The Bluetones. Norcia was nominated for a GRAMMY and won two Blues Music Awards for his singing and harmonica on the album ‘Remembering Little Walter,’ his third nomination.

Tightly-knit after decades of performances together, Sugar Ray & The Bluetones feature four strong songwriters who penned ten of the album’s twelve tracks: Norcia, guitarist Monster Mike Welch, bassist Mudcat Ward, and pianist Anthony Geraci. ‘Living Tear To Tear’ delivers a breath-of-fresh-air set including the hard-driving roadhouse music of “Rat Trap,” the gritty, South Side-style “Things Could Be Worse,” the taste of Memphis on “Short Ribs,” the stinging slow blues of “Misery,” Louisiana swamp pop on “Our Story,” the expertly done Sonny Boy Williamson II cover “99,” and the tongue-in-cheek, jazzy “Hungry But Happy.”

Kim Wilson said, “Sugar Ray is the real deal.” Norcia fronted Roomful of Blues for the better part of the ’90s. Along with Ward and Geraci, he earned a GRAMMY nomination for ‘Superharps,’ which put his musicianship alongside that of Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Branch, and James Cotton. ‘Living Tear To Tear’ marks his 17th album as a leader. All Music Guide raved, “Aside from his stellar harp work, Norcia is an excellent singer, and at his best, brings a touch of country and jazz to the blues.” For The Boston Globe, Steve Morse wrote, “Sugar Ray’s voice combines the roadhouse grit of Muddy Waters with a lonesome desperation all his own. Sugar Ray gets so down and out that he makes your skin crawl. He has an ability to convey pain as few bluesmen of his generation can.”

Mudcat Ward has been heard on over fifty albums, including Hubert Sumlin’s  GRAMMY-nominated ‘About Them Shoes,’ which also featured Keith Richards and Levon Helm. He's contributed both acoustic and Fender bass in live performance with Jr. Wells, Buddy Guy, Memphis Slim, James Cotton, Lowell Fulson, Otis Rush, Big Mama Thornton, and many more.

The band’s junior member, Monster Mike Welch began his recording career as a blues guitarist at thirteen years of age and has seen the depth of feeling in his playing grow exponentially over the ensuing two decades as he’s played with individual members of the Bluetones. He has joined the likes of Junior Wells, Johnny Copeland, Joe Walsh, Susan Tedeschi, James Cotton, and Johnny Winter on stage and is featured prominently on last year’s ‘Independently Blue’ with Duke Robillard.

Anthony Geraci is one of the finest blues pianists working today, having graced performances with B.B. King, Otis Rush, and Chuck Berry, and played at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Drummer Neil Gouvin’s many credits include albums by Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters, John Hammond, Jr., and Luther Allison.

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones Summer Tour Dates:

July 12 – Ottawa, Canada – Ottawa Blues Festival
July 13 – Toronto, Canada – Waterfront Festival
July 15 - St Louis, MO - BB's Jazz Blues & Soups
July 16 - Okoboji, Iowa - Pearson Lakes Art Center
July 17 - Decatur, IL - Summer Blues in Central Park
July 18 - Chicago, IL - Buddy Guy’s Legends
July 19 – Pittsburgh, PA Thunderbird Cafe
July 26 - Boston, MA - Save The Harbor Boston Boat Cruise
July 30 - Westerly, RI - Blues On The Beach
August 9 – Gloucester, MA - Gloucester Blues Festival, Fort Stage Park
August 24 – Marshfield, MA – Marshfield Fair

HOT ON HEELS OF NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL SET & OPENING SLOT FOR JASON ISBELL, GRITTY, FAST-RISING SONGWRITER JOE FLETCHER TO MAKE AMERICANA FEST DEBUT SEPT. 20

'YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN' ALBUM COMING THIS FALL

"RAW BEAUTY" – BOSTON PHOENIX

Fast-rising Americana songwriter Joe Fletcher will make his Americana Festival debut in Nashville, TN on September 20, following his Newport Folk Festival set July 27. His new album 'You've Got The Wrong Man' will be released this fall.

Fletcher, whose sound swirls blues, outlaw country, and gritty Americana influences, made his Newport debut last year. He has also opened for Jason Isbell, Deer Tick, The Low Anthem, John Doe, and Lucero and recorded with John McCauley (Deer Tick). Vanity Fair recently ran a Q&A with Fletcher and McCauley.

Earlier this year, he was featured in GQ and Refinery 29's 2013 SXSW fashion spreads. The Boston Phoenix called his 2011 album 'White Lighter' "raw beauty," continuing, "The listener can't help but be swept up in each of the 12 tracks. Lyrically, Fletcher bleeds George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash with first-hand accounts of barstool outlaws and the family man blues, while his acoustic skills invite comparisons to Townes Van Zandt."

DigBoston has praised his "raucous live shows."

No Depression says, "His signature brand of dark and lyrically driven honky tonk is interspersed with a softer side that would make Hagg or Jones proud."

WHO: Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons, with Johnny Fritz, Caitlin Rose, Bottle Rockets, and Luella & The Sun

WHAT: Americana Music Festival at Mercy Lounge

WHEN: 8pm, Friday, Sept. 20, 2013

WHERE: Mercy Lounge, 1 Cannery Row, Nashville, TN

TICKETS: TBA

HOT ON HEELS OF NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL SET & OPENING SLOT FOR JASON ISBELL, FAST-RISING AMERICANA SONGWRITER JOE FLETCHER TO MAKE MERCURY LOUNGE DEBUT JULY 30

"RAW BEAUTY" – BOSTON PHOENIX

Fast-rising Americana songwriter Joe Fletcher will make his Mercury Lounge debut in NYC on July 30, immediately following his Newport Folk Festival set July 27 and an opening slot in Boston for Jason Isbell July 29.

Fletcher, whose sound swirls deep blues, outlaw country, and Americana influences, made his Newport debut last year. He has also opened for Deer Tick, The Low Anthem, John Doe, Murder By Death, and Lucero and recorded with John McCauley (Deer Tick). Earlier this year, he was featured as an icon of GQ's SXSW Street Style 2013 spread.

The Boston Phoenix called his 2011 album 'White Lighter' "raw beauty," continuing, "The listener can't help but be swept up in each of the 12 tracks. Lyrically, Fletcher bleeds George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash with first-hand accounts of barstool outlaws and the family man blues, while his acoustic skills invite comparisons to Townes Van Zandt."

DigBoston has called him "the most famous man in Rhode Island," praising his "raucous live shows."

No Depression says, "His signature brand of dark and lyrically driven honky tonk is interspersed with a softer side that would make Hagg or Jones proud."

Click here for Fletcher's amazing Daytrotter session.

Click here for Fletcher's music videos.

Click here for press photos of Fletcher (scroll down for high res photos).

Later in the year, he will perform at the Americana Fest and Muddy Roots Festival with exact slots to be announced.

WHO: Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons, with Bobby Bare Jr., Joshua Black Wilkins, Christopher Paul Stelling

WHAT: Mercury Lounge debut

WHEN: Tuesday, July 30, 2013

WHERE: Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston St. (between Ludlow & Essex), NYC

TICKETS: $10 in advance, $12 day of show via Mercury Lounge box office

NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL ADDS FAST-RISING KINGSLEY FLOOD AS ROLLING STONE PREMIERES MP3

THE BOSTON GLOBE: " BLISTERING… ROWDY AND PROPULSIVE… KINGSLEY FLOOD IS READY FOR THE NATIONAL STAGE."

Called "the future of American music" by Esquire, Kingsley Flood are emerging on the national stage in 2013. They've been added to the lineup at Newport Folk Festival and Rolling Stone premiered the song "Down" from 'Battles,' which was released February 5.

From throbbing, fuzzed-filled psychedelic, garage rock to lo-fi folk, Kingsley Flood has been compared to Lucero, Deer Tick, The Clash, Wilco, and Okkervil River. Listen here.

The two-time winners at both the Boston Music Awards and the Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll have upcoming shows in the northeast.

"[KF] crackles with the Spaghetti Western swagger of new-school blues-rock acts such as the certifiably massive Black Keys to recent breakthroughs like Alabama Shakes and up-and-comers such as L.A.'s Vintage Trouble, all rusty mic'd vocals gift-wrapped in barbed wire." - MTV Buzzworthy

"Great live show." – NPR.org

"It’s not too early to declare an album as my favorite of the year right? Kingsley Flood is it." – HearYa

"Kingsley Flood play salt-of-the-earth type of music that doesn't strive for authenticity -- it claims it." - Spinner

"Finger-picked guitar slams into the garage stomp." – Boston Phoenix

ONE MAN'S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN'S DEPRESSION-ERA RESONATOR GUITAR

COUNTRY BLUES MASTER PAUL RISHELL'S 'TALKING GUITAR' RELIES ON VINTAGE RESONATORS, ACOUSTICS

For his new country blues album 'Talking Guitar,' Paul Rishell relied on a 1928 National Triolian resonator, a 1931 National Style O resonator, a circa 1956 Martin 00018, as well as several newer acoustics and resonators. He first acquired the Style O in the mid-1970s.

Rishell recalls, "I had it when I started playing solo gigs in '75. The guy who sold it to me told me that he found it somewhere down South in a garbage can upside down. He said the neck had rotted away, and he had replaced it and refinished the body. The body is in almost perfect shape."

Rishell added a Piezo pickup to his 1928 National. "If you boost the bass, it sounds great going through my Trace Acoustic Amp. I just got an old Peavey Reno 400 and the National sounds really big through that."

Paul Rishell – the W.C. Handy Award-winning blues master singer and guitarist who played with and learned from Son House, Johnny Shines, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, and Buddy Guy, and Junior Wells – has come full circle in creating his new album 'Talking Guitar' (May 8 / Mojo Rodeo Records) returning to the music which inspired him to play the blues in the first place when he began honing his craft over 45 years ago. It is his first solo album since 1993 and his first all-acoustic outing.

Rishell has reached what Boston Phoenix writer Ted Drozdowski called "a place deep as resonant as Robert Johnson’s crossroads, where authenticity, soul, and a sense of purpose and commitment ring out in every note he sings and plays." Billboard Magazine says, "Rishell is a master of country/blues styles, particularly slide played on a National steel guitar."

LELAND SUNDRIES CELEBRATES 'THE FOUNDRY EP' WITH UNION HALL EP RELEASE SHOW OPENING FOR DEAD FINGERS

My indie-folk band Leland Sundries celebrates our sophomore release 'The Foundry EP' with a date at Union Hall on February 24. Recorded in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in a former Creamery, the new EP includes a song inspired by a 2006 Greenpoint waterfront fire as well as North Brooklyn's waterfront history.

I played a mélange of banjo, resonator guitar, harmonica, harmonium and the EP ranges from a tale of a veteran's memories reminiscent of Nick Cave to a New Orleans ragtime replete with a horn section. Hit reply if you'd like a CD or press-only download.

WHO: Leland Sundries, on a bill with Dead Fingers and lou-is

WHAT: Release show for 'The Foundry EP'

WHERE: Union Hall, 702 Union Street, Brooklyn, (718) 638-4400

WHEN: 8pm, February 24, 2012

TICKETS: $8 adv / $10 dos

Leland Sundries has opened for Todd Snider and Chuck Prophet. Also on the bill is Dead Fingers, featuring Taylor Hollingsworth (Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band) and Kate Taylor (Maria Taylor).

"Leland Sundries, a band from New York led by Nick Loss-Eaton, is dedicated to storytelling in a way that recalls Woody Guthrie and his Folkways brethren. [Their] scrappy Americana will get you longing for empty two-lane highways and kudzu-encased back porches." – New York Times

"Promising Brooklyn outfit Leland Sundries, which variously means singer-songwriter Nick Loss-Eaton solo or with accompaniment, swathes sparse folk and edgy Americana around Loss-Eaton’s barrel-chested, sounds-like-Lou-Reed vocals" - Boston Globe

"Leland Sundries singer/picker Nick Loss-Eaton’s the-Band-meets-Lou-Reed approach mates gnawing electric guitar and old-time acoustic six-string, banjo, and harmonica melodies with dry-witted, drawling, modern-day ennui." – Boston Phoenix

"Leland Sundries craft spare, laid-back acoustic folk that calls to mind Lou Reed and Woody Guthrie. The harmonica is wandering, the guitars thoughtful, but it’s frontman Nick Loss-Eaton’s casual voice and vivid lyrics that really get me." - San Diego City Beat

AFTER MEETING SON HOUSE, PAUL RISHELL DREAMS COUNTRY BLUES ORIGINAL

NEW ALBUM 'TALKING GUITAR' OUT MAY 8 ON MOJO RODEO

One of the most intriguing songs from blues master Paul Rishell's new album 'Talking Guitar' came to him in a dream following his experience of meeting and playing with Son House.

Of the driving song "Louise," Rishell says, "I woke up in the middle of the night and in my head was a bass part. I got up and learned it in the dark and went back to sleep. Then I woke up in the morning with a melody in my head." A scholar of country blues, he also adapted one of the chords in the song from Bo Carter's "Bumble Bee." The result is a highlight of 'Talking Guitar,' standing alongside works by Lead Belly, Skip James, Charley Patton, and Blind Lemon Jefferson.

GRAMMY Winner David Holt, who frequently accompanies Doc Watson, recorded the song with Sam Bush (Alison Krauss, John Prine, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris) on mandolin on his 'Let it Slide' album in 2005.

'Talking Guitar' comes out May 8 on Mojo Rodeo.

A WC Handy Award winner, Rishell has reached what Boston Phoenix writer Ted Drozdowski called "a place deep and resonant as Robert Johnson’s crossroads, where authenticity, soul, and a sense of purpose and commitment ring out in every note he sings and plays." Downbeat said, "He makes the masters like Son House and Robert Johnson speak to us across time."

BLUES MASTER PAUL RISHELL TO RELEASE 'TALKING GUITAR' APRIL 17, FEATURING INTERPRETATIONS OF PRE-WAR SONGS BY LEAD BELLY, SKIP JAMES, BLIND LEMON JEFF

FIRST SOLO ALBUM SINCE 1993 FOR W.C. HANDY AWARD WINNER, WHO PLAYED WITH SON HOUSE, HOWLIN' WOLF, AND JOHN LEE HOOKER

"He makes the masters like Son House and Robert Johnson speak to us across time."

- Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat

Paul Rishell – the W.C. Handy Award-winning blues master singer and guitarist who played with and learned from Son House, Johnny Shines, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, and Buddy Guy, and Junior Wells – has come full circle in creating his new album 'Talking Guitar' (May 8 / Mojo Rodeo Records) returning to the music which inspired him to play the blues in the first place when he began honing his craft over 45 years ago. It is his first solo album since 1993 and his first all-acoustic outing.

'Talking Guitar' sports interpretations of songs from the repertoires of Blues Hall of Famers Lead Belly, Skip James, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, and others in addition to two Rishell originals. His musical partner of the past 18 years Annie Raines guests on harmonica for three songs including "Big Road Blues" and the rousing original "I'm Gonna Jump and Shout."

Rishell has reached what Boston Phoenix writer Ted Drozdowski called "a place deep and resonant as Robert Johnson’s crossroads, where authenticity, soul, and a sense of purpose and commitment ring out in every note he sings and plays." Billboard Magazine says, "Rishell is a master of country/blues styles, particularly slide played on a National steel guitar."

Here's video of Rishell teaching and playing "Down the Dirt Road Blues" and talking about Charley Patton from his instructional DVD by the same name on True Fire (performance starts at 1:23):

He is also a blues historian and educator, who is currently a Visiting Artist at Berklee College of Music. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Rishell has long lived in Cambridge, MA.

A Rishell guitar pupil, Susan Tedeschi recorded an "unplugged" version of Paul’s "Blues on a Holiday" with Paul on guitar. With Raines, he has opened for Ray Charles, Asleep at the Wheel, Susan Tedeschi, Leon Russell, Dr. John, and John Sebastian. They were also featured members of the J Band, led by John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful.

The duo has played on A Prairie Home Companion and PBS’s Arthur and Rishell has performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. They have performed and recorded with Tedeschi, Sebastian, Hubert Sumlin, and Pinetop Perkins.

Paul Rishell – Talking Guitar

1. Fannin' Street (Leadbelly)

2. Special Rider Blues (Skip James)

3. M & O Blues (Willie Brown)

4. Down the Dirt Road Blues (Charley Patton)

5. Big Road Blues (Tommy Johnson).feat. Annie Raines, harmonica

6. I'm Gonna Jump and Shout (Paul Rishell).feat. Annie Raines, harmonica

7. Police Dog Blues (Blind Blake)

8. One Dime Blues (Blind Lemon Jefferson)

9. Weeping Willow Blues (Blind Boy Fuller)

10. Screamin' and Cryin' Blues (Blind Boy Fuller)

11. Tired of Being Mistreated (Clifford Gibson)

12. Louise (Paul Rishell)

13. Michigan Water Blues (Clarence Williams, adapted & arranged by Paul Rishell).feat. Annie Raines, harmonica

http://www.paulandannie.com

http://www.reverbnation.com/paulrishellannieraines

http://nicklosseaton.blogspot.com

For more information on Paul Rishell, please contact Nick Loss-Eaton at nick.losseaton@gmail.com or 718.541.1130.