The Regent Theatre - Arlington, MA - Arlington's Show Place of Entertainment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 21, 2003 Contact: Leland Stein
(781) 643-4488,
lstein@regenttheatre.com

ARLINGTON’S REGENT THEATRE TO PRESENT SEPTEMBER SERIES “ LEGENDS OF THE BLUES IN CONCERT” TO CELEBRATE YEAR OF THE BLUES
Honeyboy Edwards, Johnny Winter, Ronnie Earl, Hubert Sumlin, J. Geils, To Perform

On September 6, 19, and 27, 2003, the Regent Theatre in Arlington will present “Legends of the Blues In Concert”—a series of performances celebrating the U.S. Congress declared “Year of the Blues”. The series will kick-off on Saturday, September 6 at 8pm with a show featuring Delta Blues pioneer, Honeyboy Edwards, Massachusetts-based blues guitar virtuoso, Ronnie Earl, and Delmark recording artist, Frank Morey. An excerpt from the award-winning documentary Honeyboy will cap-off the evening. Texas blues guitar great, Johnny Winter and his band featuring James Montgomery, will perform Friday, September 19 at 8pm with special guest, Boston’s Jump City Band. The series will conclude on Saturday September 27 at 7:30 with the East Coast Guitar Summit featuring Howlin’ Wolf’s guitarist, Hubert Sumlin, Kid Bangham (x-Fabulous Thunderbirds), and J. Geils accompanied by an All-Star band including David Maxwell, Darrell Nulisch, Brian Templeton, Mudcat Ward, Per Hanson, and surprise guests.

Saturday, September 6 at 8pm $20 ($40 for VIP premium ticket with CD, and meet & greet)
David “Honeyboy” Edwards, born in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in 1915, began performing in the 1930s as a soloist and with Big Joe Williams, Robert Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Big Walter Horton, and the Memphis Jug Band. In 1942, the celebrated archivist and folklorist, Alan Lomax, recorded 15 Edwards songs and stories for the Library of Congress collection. In the late ‘40s Edwards brought a teenaged Little Walter to Chicago and together they played that city’s famous Maxwell Street Market. From the second half of the last century through today, Edwards has continued to record and perform throughout the world. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1996, and in 1997 published his autobiography, The World Don’t Owe Me Nothing.

For over two decades, Ronnie Earl has been at the forefront of blues guitar players and has won the Blues Foundation’s W.C. Handy Awards numerous times. His latest recording, I Feel Like Going On, has been nominated for a 2003 Boston Music Award for Best Blues Album.

Friday, September 19 at 8pm. Tickets $25 ($100 for VIP front row seating and meet & greet)
Johnny Winter became a blues-rock star in the late '60s and early '70s and gained recognition in the late ‘70s by producing two Grammy Award-winning records for Muddy Waters. Born in Beaumont, TX, Winter formed his first band at 14 with his brother Edgar, and spent his youth in recording studios cutting regional singles and in bars playing the blues. His discovery on a national level came via an article in Rolling Stone in 1968, which led to a management contract with New York club owner Steve Paul and a record deal with Columbia. His debut album reached the charts in 1969. Winter later formed a band with former members of The McCoys, including second guitarist Rick Derringer. 1971’s Johnny Winter And LIVE earned him a Gold Record while 1973’s Still Alive and Well was for many weeks a Billboard bestseller. His albums became more overtly blues-oriented in the late '70s, and in the '80s he recorded three albums for Alligator, one of the premiere independent blues labels. Winter has since recorded for MCA and Pointblank/Virgin.

James Montgomery has been one of the most sought-after, respected blues harmonica players and performers in the country since the early ‘70s when his career was launched after a multi-album deal with Capricorn Records. This year, his latest recording, Bring It On Home, received a W.C. Handy Award nomination, and James Montgomery & Friends were recently nominated for a Boston Music Award for Best Blues Act.

Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm Tickets: $30 ($25 with Boston Blues Festival button.)
The East Coast Guitar Summit, presented by Blues Trust Productions, is part of the annual Boston Blues Festival, proceeds from which benefit The Blues Trust. The festival (part of Boston Blues Week) concludes the following day, September 28, with the “Sunday Soul Spectacular” at the Hatch Shell on Boston’s Esplanade. More information is available at www.bluestrust.com.

To further celebrate the Year of the Blues, WGBH and the Regent Theatre are joining together to promote “Legends of The Blues In Concert” and the WGBH television and radio series, The Blues. The seven-part, weeklong television series The Blues anchors a multi-media project designed to help raise awareness of the blues and its contribution to American culture. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese and exclusively sponsored by Volkswagen of America, the series will air September 28 through October 4 from 9-11pm on WGBH 2. The companion 13-part radio series will air weekly on WGBH 89.7 beginning Saturday, October 11 at 10pm on Blues on WGBH. Included in the film series will also be footage of the award-winning documentary, Honeyboy, which the Regent will be previewing on September 6. (WGBH members are being offered a 10% discount for all three shows in the “Legends of The Blues In Concert” series.)

The historic Regent Theatre, Arlington’s Show Place of Entertainment since 1916, is currently presenting its second year of performances under new ownership. Located at 7 Medford St. (just off Mass. Ave.) in Arlington Center—a few miles from Cambridge and Boston—the theatre is MBTA and wheelchair accessible with plenty of free parking across the street. For tickets and more information call (781) 646-4TIX (4849)