Bobby "Blue" Bland

With Special Guest Opening Act Davina and the Vagabonds

Legendary vocalist Bobby “Blue” Bland has a resume that speaks for itself: countless singles on the R&B and pop charts, a near-constant touring schedule that dates from the late 1950s, and the friendship and admiration of multiple generations of the finest blues people in the country. Emerging from the same Memphis circle that gave us B.B. King, Roscoe Gordon and Johnny Ace, his signature blend of country and gospel influences changed the shape of Memphis blues. His early singles with Duke Records set the standard for all blues and soul singers to follow, and has established him as one of the grand patriarchs of the soul genre.

As a singer, Bland projects a grainy, down-to-earth quality, punctuated with guttural growls and snorts that would come to be known as the “chicken-bone sound.” Yet his voice was simultaneously smooth as velvet, allowing Bland to bring audiences under his hypnotic spell as he walked a fine line between passionate expression and exquisite self-control.

Bobby Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.

• Bobby sings some classics with old friend B.B. King

• his hit “Ain’t No Sunshine” from a recent tour

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