Playing Saturday at Ribfest 2012

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SHERI’S BIO

As the lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Sheri has the unique ability to take the audience on a musical journey that spans genres and generations.  A passionate, intoxicatingly soulful voice combined with rock star looks makes this native New Yorker the real deal!   Sheri’s quick wit, wicked sense of humor & electric energy makes the consumate entertainer and gives her the ability to connect with her audience both on and off the stage.

Playing Friday at Ribfest 2012

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COME BACK ALICE’S BIO

Structured largely from improvisational influences, the band found their unique sound by allowing each member to artistically express their individual style. “Everyone said you couldn’t combine modern stylings with funky drums and, of all things, fiddle and still end up with an audience friendly genre”, says lead guitar and vocalist Tony Tyler. “…but it’s that unexpected combination that makes people quickly take notice and groove along with Come Back Alice.”The Come Back Alice line-up includes:

Playing Friday at Ribfest 2012

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JONNY’S BIO

Jonny Lang started playing the guitar at the age of twelve, after his father took him to see the Bad Medicine Blues Band, one of the few blues bands in Fargo, North Dakota. Lang soon started taking guitar lessons from Ted Larsen, the Bad Medicine Blues Band’s guitar player. Several months after Lang began, he joined the Bad Medicine Blues Band, which was then renamed Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang.

The band moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and independently released the album Smokin’ when Lang was fourteen. Lang was signed to A&M Records in 1996. He released the critically acclaimed multi-platinum Lie to Me on January 28, 1997. The next album, Wander this World was released on October 20, 1998 and earned a Grammy nomination. This was followed by the more soulful Long Time Coming on October 14, 2003. Lang also made a cover of Edgar Winter’s “Dying to Live”. Lang’s album, the gospel influenced Turn Around, released in 2006 won him his first Grammy Award.

In more than ten years on the road, Lang has toured with the Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Aerosmith, B.B. King, Blues Traveler, Jeff Beck and Sting. In 1999, he was invited to play for a White House audience including President and Mrs. Clinton. Lang also makes a cameo appearance in the film Blues Brothers 2000 as a janitor. In 2004, Eric Clapton asked Lang to play a the Crossroads Guitar Festival to raise money for the Crossroads Centre Antigua.

Playing Friday at Ribfest 2012

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BUDDY’S BIO

Eric Clapton once described him as the best guitar player alive. In fact, it’s been through the support of his many famous and respected admirers that blues master Buddy Guy has come to the attention of rock audiences, from touring with the Rolling Stones in 1970 to soliciting guest appearances from Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Mark Knopfler for Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues, the Grammy-winning 1991 album that both reestablished his stature in the music community and marked his greatest commercial success to date.

Guy began playing his instrument as a teenager, inspired by such Southern blues greats as Lightnin’ Slim and Guitar Slim. The young guitarist left Baton Rouge in 1957 to test his chops in Chicago, the urban capital of the electric blues. Guy was on the verge of starving when a merciful stranger led him to the 708 Club and persuaded that evening’s performer, Otis Rush, to allow him to sit in. Guy’s impromptu performance earned him a steady gig at the club, and he was soon playing regularly at other local venues. His fierce, visceral style caught the ear of venerable composer/bassist Willie Dixon, who helped Guy land a contract with the noted blues label Chess Records. Though Guy was originally signed by Leonard Chess as a singer, he became a house guitarist for the company, playing on records by such legendary artists as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf in addition to making radiant recordings on his own. (Waters was an early Guy supporter, having caught his show at the 708 Club).

Since Guy’s arrangement with Chess prevented him from getting credit for his work with artists on other labels, he eventually switched to Vanguard. Some of his most memorable work on Vanguard was done in collaboration with the great harmonica player Junior Wells [see entry], who Guy first met in a Chicago club and with whom he maintained a close association until Wells’ death of cancer in early 1998. (The duo’s last concert, recorded in 1993, was released as Last Time Around —Live at Legends). Some of Guy’s most acclaimed solo albums have been recorded live, including the Alligator release Stone Crazy!, one of his personal favorites, which captures a 1978 performance in France.

Although many of Guy’s fans insist that he is best appreciated in concert, his recordings through the ’90s have proved critical and popular favorites. Among them are three star-studded Grammy-winning albums: 1991′s Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues, 1993′s Feels Like Rain (featuring Bonnie Raitt, Paul Rodgers, John Mayall, and Travis Tritt), and 1994′s Slippin’ In (with the Double Trouble rhythm section, pianist Johnnie Johnson, and guitarist David Grissom). Heavy Love (1998) features Jonny Lang and Steve Cropper. In 1993 Guy received Billboard‘s Century Award. He tours constantly, appearing at blues clubs and festivals around the world. Guy owns a Chicago club called Buddy Guy’s Legends, where he can be found both performing and enjoying the playing of other acts when he’s in town.

Playing Saturday at Ribfest 2012

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CONNOR CHRISTIAN’S BIO

Equal parts modern troubadours, back road poets and outlaw rockers, Connor Christian & Southern Gothic create gritty, soulful songs of experience, revealing solace in hardship, hope in destitution, and a dustbowl sensibility. Their powerful music draws on influences ranging from Ryan Adams, G. Love, and Counting Crows to The Band and Tumbleweed Connection-era Elton John, and makes a heartfelt statement found at the crossroads of Roots Rock, Americana and Country Music.

Connor left home at the age of 14 and forged a path of personal and musical discovery that took him to Indonesia, South Korea, France, Belgium, Singapore, and beyond. It was in these places that Connor cultivated his deeply felt views on American life and found strength in the perspective he could deliver through song. “I try to be realistic,” says Connor. “But we live in a time where it is crucial to pay attention to what’s going on around us. If I can get people to stop and think about it for a minute, well that’s a pretty good start.”

CCSG’s latest release, New Hometown (Part 2), is also their most personal. This eight song set of new material never strays far from the well-worn experiences of love, loss, music and, of course, drinking. Connor paints a picture of a wanderer’s life and a uniquely American experience – a rock n’ roll band with deep roots in the southern way of living and its musical tradition. Pianos, fiddles and guitars, mingle seamlessly with rich two, three, and four part harmonies along with a thundering rhythm section to create the kind of raw, heartfelt music that only CCSG can provide.

Employing the many talents of producer John Briglevich (Goo Goo Dolls, Edwin McCain) and guest appearances by Joey Huffman (Hank Williams Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd), Mark Van Allen (the Internationals, Blueground Undergrass) and other special guests, New Hometown (Part 2) sparkles and sizzles, and takes the listener on an emotional ride not soon to be forgotten.

Playing Saturday at Ribfest 2012

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GREGG’S BIO

Gregg Rolie is responsible for co-founding two phenomenally popular, multi-platinum many times over super groups that indeed are, SANTANA and JOURNEY. In 1998, the world class keyboardist-vocalist-producer was inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall Of Fame as part of the original Santana band. In addition to launching- along with Carlos Santana – the now legendary act, Rolie also co-produced their first four groundbreaking albums.

What’s more, his singing talents will forever be immortalized by his unforgettable lead vocals on classic Santana greatest hits including “Black Magic Woman” “Evil Ways” and the Tito Puente composition “Oye Como Va”.

Thirty-five years after Gregg and Carlos fortuitously met in San Francisco, the year 2001 marked the release of Rolie’s third solo album ROOTS, featuring the lead track “Give It To Me”. The first-ever release on Bay Area-based Tower Records’ new proprietary label 33rd Street, and Rolie’s first CD following a several year personal hiatus.ROOTS finds Gregg revisiting the incredible brew of sounds he helped conjure up in the late ‘60’s.

Recalling those heady days, he remembers “It was an amazing time. We created something that no one could fathom…it was about the rhythms and solos more than the songs. It wasn’t Latin music, rock music, the blues—not any of the above. It was a combination of all of them”. Rolie calls ROOTS’ twelve original selections “Latin rock plus…the instrumentation is Latin percussion, with organ, guitar, horns, and lots of great solo work and songwriting”, adding that “I really wanted to go all the way back to my Santana roots”.

Playing Saturday at Ribfest 2012

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HEART’S BIO

Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson first showed the world that women can rock when their band, Heart, stormed the charts in the ‘70’s with hits like “Crazy on You,” “Magic Man,” “Barracuda,” “Straight On,” and so many more.  Not only did the Wilson sisters lead the band, they wrote the songs and played the instruments too, making them the first women in rock to do so.  Heart continued topping the charts through the ‘80’s and ‘90’s with huge hits like “These Dreams,” “Alone,” “What About Love,” “If Looks Could Kill,” “Never,” and a string of other hits that showcased the sisters’ enormous talents as musicians and singers.

Nearly 35 years after their first big hit, Ann and Nancy Wilson were back in the Billboard Top 10 in 2010 with Heart’s “Red Velvet Car” album, and a Top 5 DVD (“Night at Sky Church”).

As individuals, the sisters have also achieved significant success.  Ann sang on songs that were both chart successes and motion picture themes, like “Almost Paradise” from Footloose, “Best Man in the World” from Goldenchild, and “Surrender to Me” from Tequila Sunrise, while Nancy composed and performed the scores to a half dozen motion pictures including the award winning “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous.”

Although they got their start in Seattle and have become global phenomenons, Ann and Nancy owe much of their success to Hollywood which is where they lived when they recorded the songs at the landmark Capitol Records building that earned them their first string of #1 singles, and where they filmed all of their hugely successful videos.

Along the way, music by Ann and Nancy Wilson and their band Heart has sold more than 35 million albums, sold out arenas worldwide, and found its way into the soundtrack of American life through radio, motion pictures, television, and associations with branded sponsors.  Today, songs made famous by Heart are heard in every aspect of contemporary culture.

Playing Sunday at Ribfest 2012

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MATT’S BIO

Matt Stillwell’s move to Nashville was the ultimate eye-opener.

“I watched friends do showcases and hope someone would show up,” he says. “I watched them being promised record or publishing deals that might or might not happen. So I made the decision that what I needed to do was to eliminate the ‘no’s, and the way to do that was to go build a following.”

A man with a work ethic as big as his talent, Matt did just that, and in this age of American Idol and viral videos, he has built his following the old-fashioned way–one city, one club, one crowd at a time. Now, with the release of his new CD, Shine Deluxe, fans nationwide can experience the magic that Matt brings to bear every time he steps in front of a microphone.

Shine Deluxe showcases the qualities that have brought him to the threshold of national attention–the songwriter’s knack for finding the truth in any situation, the vocal chops to do justice to the joy and passion in each song, and the ability to take an audience on a roller-coaster of emotion and leave them better for the ride.

Matt is best known as a performer with a rowdy sense of fun, and that side of him is in full flower on the new CD. Its gem is “Shine,” an anthem to the joys of the Mason jar and the moonshine produced in places like Matt’s beloved western North Carolina. It’s a song in a league with some of modern country’s best sing-along anthems, and it is the perfect focal point. There is also “Whiskey Well,” about the process of turning heartache into a party, “Sweet Sun Angel,” is a feel-good summertime anthem that evokes images of carefree days in the sun with the one you love. and “Dirt Road Dancing,” celebrating the outlook that says the music should be loud, the drinks cold and the men and women single and rowdy.