Selwyn Birchwood Band w/ R.J. Harman and Company – $10/13

8pm $10/13

Selwyn Birchwood Band (BLUES)

Selwyn Birchwood, Florida’s rising young blues fireball, is a guitar and lap-steel-playing bundle of pure energy. He delivers his original songs with a revival tent preacher’s fervor and a natural storyteller’s charisma made all the more impactful by his raw, unvarnished vocals. Birchwood plays high-octane blues – at once deeply rooted, funky and up-to-the-minute – with true passion and honest emotion. With his band feeding off his drive and exuberance, the striking 6’3” 29-year-old with his trademark Afro roams the stage (often barefoot), ripping out memorable guitar licks with ease. His ability to win over an audience – any audience – is proven night after night on the bandstand. With his warm, magnetic personality, Birchwood is as down-to-earth as his music is fun, thought-provoking and vital. His mission is to spread his music far and wide, to share his joy, to play his heart out, and to push the blues into the future. “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than playing the blues,” he says. “And I try to convey that with every song and with every performance.”

In 2013, Birchwood catapulted from local hero to shooting star. He won the world-renowned International Blues Challenge, beating out 125 other bands from the U.S. and abroad. He also took home the Albert King Guitarist Of The Year Award. It wasn’t long before Alligator Records president Bruce Iglauer offered Birchwood a contract. His debut album, Don’t Call No Ambulance, is a fully realized vision of contemporary blues. Birchwood’s original songs range from raucous romps to hill country stomps, from searing, serious slow blues to modern blues rock. Between his uninhibited sense of fun and adventure and his serious-as-a-heart-attack musicianship, Don’t Call No Ambulance is a window into the future of the blues. “All originals and no filler,” he says of the album. “It’s that genuineness of emotion in the songs that people can hear.”

Rolling Stone said “Birchwood is a powerhouse player and emotive performer whose work respects blues tradition but could not be more contemporary… Birchwood is a major player.” According to Iglauer, Birchwood is the real deal. “Selwyn Birchwood is a terrific young blues talent with a huge future. He writes smart, infectious, fresh songs and delivers them with a warm, conversational vocal style and a fun-loving attitude. He’s a killer guitarist, switching between a regular six-string and lap steel. Live, he’s a ball of energy, interacting with the audience like they were in his living room. Selwyn is destined to be one of the next stars in the blues world.”

www.selwynbirchwood.com

R.J. Harman and Company (BLUES/HARMONICA)

“The way Harman plays the harmonica is the way BB King plays his six stringed beauty with such soul and quickness into his face-melting jazz riffs that sounded like they were screeching out of a Gibson Les Paul, not a tiny harmonica.” FSU World of Music

RJ Harman and Company is a rockin’ blues band from Orlando Florida. If you’re craving Hip-shakin’, Toe-tappin’, blues jams, look no further. This harmonica driven band has toured all over the United States, played with many national touring acts and hold numerous titles from the International Blues Challange. This group thrives on their youthful energy, funky grooves, and dedication to their craft.

• 2012 Central Florida International Blues Challenge Winners!!
• 2012 People’s Choice Award Central Florida International Blues Challenge!!
• 2011 Central Florida International Blues Challenge Winners!!
• 2011 People’s Choice Award Central Florida International Blues Challenge!!
• Two time Florida harmonica champion

www.facebook.com/rjharmanmusic
www.reverbnation.com/rjharmancompany
Sonicbids.com/rjharmanmusic