BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Paradise City Music//paradisecitymusic//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Roomful of Blues DTSTART:20261130T000000Z DTEND:20261130T030000Z DTSTAMP:20260818T205112Z UID:event-75@paradisecitymusic DESCRIPTION:Roomful of Blues\, the world-renowned\, horn-powered\, housero cking blues band\, has been delighting audiences for over 55 years. Blues Music Magazine calls them “the best little big band in the blues.” On record and on stage\, Roomful of Blues—led by master guitarist Chris Vac hon for the past 25 years—continues to deliver its bone-shaking mix of o riginal songs and carefully chosen covers ranging from jump\, swing and pr oto rock ‘n’ roll to funky\, contemporary blues. Their impeccable musi cianship and larger-than-life vocals have earned Roomful of Blues five GRA MMY Award nominations and a slew of other accolades\, including seven Blue s Music Awards. Twice\, the prestigious DownBeat International Critics’ Poll has selected them as Best Blues Band. And now\, even after 18 previou s releases and thousands of live shows\, Roomful of Blues continues to evo lve. Roomful of Blues\, according to DownBeat magazine\, “are in a class by themselves.” With their masterful combination of jumping\, horn-heav y\, hard-edged blues and R&\;amp\;B\, it’s no wonder why the great Co unt Basie called them “the hottest blues band I’ve ever heard.” With a non-stop performance schedule for over 55 years\, Roomful of Blues has earned critical\, popular and radio success and a legion of fans around th e globe. Roomful of Blues guitarist and bandleader Chris Vachon first join ed in 1990 and has been leading the band since 1998. Guitar Player says Va chon’s guitar playing “burns with explosive solos and a delightfully g reasy sense of rhythm.” The band has maintained its signature sound thro ugh great musicianship and a stellar horn section— featuring tenor and a lto saxophonist Rich Lataille\, who first joined the band in 1970. Lataill e’s masterful playing can evoke either the fat-toned\, honking sax of th e glory days of early rock or the cool elegance of big band swing jazz.Alo ng with Vachon and Lataille\, Roomful of Blues now includes new lead vocal ist D.D. Bastos\, new keyboardist Jeff Ceasrine\, baritone and tenor saxop honist Craig Thomas\, trumpeter Christopher Pratt\, bassist Lou Bocciarell i and drummer Mike Coffey. The band has never sounded fresher or stronger\ , with Bastos bringing her sweet and soulful vocals and adding another bri ght new dimension to Roomful of Blues’ jazzy\, jump-blues musical roots. Their winning combination of jump\, swing\, blues\, R&\;amp\;B and sou l remains their calling card\, as does their ability to fill the dance flo or.The long and winding road which leads to the Roomful of Blues of today can be followed all the way back to 1967 when a group of southern Rhode Is land teenagers with a shared passion for the blues formed a straight-ahead Chicago-style electric blues band to explore the music of their heroes. T hey added a horn section (including Rich Lataille) in 1970 and released th eir self-titled debut album in 1977 on Island Records (reissued on Hyena R ecords)\, which brought them to the attention of fans and critics from coa st to coast.Recording for Rounder Records’ Bullseye Blues and Varrick la bels between 1980 and 2001\, the band cut nine albums that won them intern ational fame and major rock radio airplay. They’ve gigged with stars ran ging from bluesmen B.B. King\, Otis Rush and Stevie Ray Vaughan to rockers Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana. The band has performed in cities from co ast to coast\, and traveled abroad to 22 countries including Lebanon\, Pol and\, Spain\, Italy\, France\, Portugal\, Switzerland\, Turkey and Russia. Since Roomful joined the Alligator Records family in 2003\, their populari ty has continued to increase. Their first Alligator CD was the Grammy-nomi nated That’s Right! in 2003\, followed by Standing Room Only in 2005\, R aisin’ A Ruckus in 2008\, Hook\, Line &\;amp\; Sinker in 2010\, 45 Li ve in 2013 and In A Roomful Of Blues in 2020. All five albums received mas sive amounts of critical and popular praise and kept old and new fans lini ng up to see them perform. The New Yorker says the band brings “thundero usperformances that get feet stomping and hands clapping.” “We always keep things fresh and we keep the excitement level high\,” says Vachon. “Playing this music is an immense amount of fun for us. And it’s just as much fun for our audience.”\nTickets: https://ironhorse.org/shows\nFu ll listing: https://paradisecitymusic.org/show/75 LOCATION:Iron Horse Music Hall\, 18 Center St.\, Northampton\, MA URL:https://paradisecitymusic.org/show/75 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR