Blues Caravan 2011
The name says it all. “Girls with Guitars” – the 2011 Ruf Records Blues Caravan Tour – presents three of the scene’s hottest young female guitar slingers on a single stage.
Over the past six years, the Blues Caravan has toured successfully in the UK, USA and throughout continental Europe. This unique triple bill revue has helped introduce bright new stars such as Ana Popovic and Joanne Shaw Taylor to an international audience. Following in their footsteps on the 2011 tour is a trio of dynamic, up-and-coming blues talents: Dani Wilde, Cassie Taylor and Samantha Fish.
At the tender age of 21, Samantha Fish is already a hot property on the live music scene in and around her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. She discovered the blues almost by accident as a teenager, but it has since become her singular mission in life. Her high-heeled, rock-edged performances have won her a loyal local following and carried her to venues like Rosa’s Lounge in Chicago, where she opened eyes during the 2010 Chicago Blues Festival. 2011 seems destined to be her breakout year.
Proud to call herself the “Daughter of a Bluesman,” multi-instrumentalist Cassie Taylor has appeared on eight critically-acclaimed albums by her father, Otis Taylor, and accompanied him on tours all over the world. She was also a featured vocalist on Gary Moore’s 2008 release Bad For You Baby. Still just in her early 20s, Cassie has been hailed for her commanding stage presence and “heavenly” voice (Boston Globe). Her music ranges from heart-wrenching ballads to hard-driving blues. Like her father, Taylor doesn’t shy from topical subject matter, nor shrink from breaching musical boundaries.
Hailing from Brighton, England, Dani Wilde sings the blues with the old-school fervor of Aretha Franklin, but also takes a cue from contemporaries like Duffy and Joss Stone. The singer/songwriter/guitarist has just released her second album, Shine, a collaboration with renowned producer Mike Vernon (Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac). She has shared stages with luminaries like Robben Ford, Candye Kane and Koko Taylor. Says Paul Jones of BBC Radio 2: “Dani Wilde’s voice is astounding, with a unique raw passion and energy. She sings with more conviction and passion than old legends from the Mississippi Delta.”
This trio of young, passionate performers is backed by a top-flight band of road-tested professionals for more than two hours of live blues excellence.
As a foretaste for their upcomining shows around the world, the three guitarists recorded a common album in November 2010 in Berlin at the Studio Erde, which will be released to the blast-off to their tour.
None other than Mike Zito produced the album. Multiple Blues Award Winner in Memphis 2010. On the album are ten own songs, like the earthshaking Get Back (“a real Killer” – Daniel Böhm, ROCKS Magazine 01/2011) or the laid-back Wait A Minute, and two covers of two really great songs. Bitch from the Rolling Stones and Jet Airliner, well-known by the Steve Miller Band.