BANDS



"Rico, you are a real pro and one of my favorite people in the business."
- Elwood Blues aka Dan Aykroyd

This is a rough idea of some of the acts currently available. I have worked with some top notch acts and their agents from all over the country; Jim Belushi & The Sacred Hearts, Little Feat, Elvin Bishop, Jonny Lang, David Allan Coe, Hank Williams III, and more.

I can act as an agent and/or buyer for you and help you get anyone that you want. I will do all of the work for you to help ease the frustration of sorting through all of the material that you receive. If anything looks interesting, I can get you some music and check on dates and prices for you. I can pitch anyone and help you find anyone that you can think of. Any band, any style. Local, Regional, National & International.

I have tons of CD's here from bands, rock, blues, country, zydeco, folk, bluegrass, jam bands, celtic. They all want me to help pitch dates for them. It's hard to compile a complete list, especially when it changes so often.

Lamont Cranston Blues Band - Minneapolis, MN
This legendary Midwest band has played with every one from Muddy Waters to Bonnie Raitt to The Rolling Stones. Their 80's hit "Upper Mississippi Shakedown" still gets regular radio airplay all over the country. 2009 is their 40th anniversary. A rockin' party band that can't be beat. Dan Aykroyd says "No one infects venues with the party virus quite like Lamont Cranston".


The Jimmys - Madison, WI
This Wisconsin 7 piece powerhouse will rock the house every time. After 15 storied and successful years with the West Side Andy and Mel Ford Band, keyboard local luminary Jimmy Voegeli, pulled up the stakes to follow his own muse. Voegeli, with his troupe of sweltering house rockers, supply all audiences with an alloy of rousing proceedings ranging from the horn driven nuances of R&B, Americana and New Orleans flavor to the kind of to the kind of low-down, shake-it-out blues we all can use. Jimmy and the band are multi award winners at the WAMI's every year; "Keyboardist Of The Year" 2011 & 2015; "Big Band Of The Year" in 2012 & 2016; MAMA multiple winners of "Artist Of The Year", "Blues Performer", "Album Of The Year", "Keyboardist Of The Year", "Woodwind Of The Year" and "Brass Instrumentalists Of The Year". Their last 2 CD's were both nominated for Blues Blast Magazine's "Blues Album Of The Year". Their latest "Live From Transylvania" CD is also high on every list. The band was also voted one of the top 10 blues festival acts in 2014. Their 2015 CD "Hot Dish" even made it into the first round for a Grammy nomination. The band frequently travels to the Caribbean and Europe.

Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin' Altar Boys featuring Westside Andy - Milwaukee, WI
Named Wisconsin & Milwaukee's best blues band over and over, these guys are great. They consistently put on a high energy show from start to finish. They constantly tour the country and ultimately were invited on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise in 2016. They even got a standing ovation at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago where they have been on rotation for 18 years now. Among many other awards, they won the WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) award for Best Blues Band in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and again in 2015. Their 2010 CD "Shake Your Boogie" was in the top 20 on just about every blues chart in the country. Their 2015 CD "Live At the Big Bull" also topped the charts and won two awards for "Best Live CD" of the year from Blues Blast Magazine and the International Blues Scene. Rev Raven also had a cut on a blues compilation CD that got a Grammy nomination in 2009. Above all, you've gotta love the name.

Johnny Rawls - "Mississippi Bluesman" - Purvis, MS
Songwriter, Producer, Guitarist and Vocalist, Johnny does it all. He had a hand in just about every JSP Records release through the 90's. 1995 & 1996 Living Blues Award for Best New Soul/Blues Recording Of The Year. His 2008 CD "Red Cadillac" hit the Living Blues charts at #1 in Sept. '08, and his 2010 release "Ace Of Spades" won the Best Soul Blues album at the 2010 Blues Music Awards in Memphis. Johnny is nominated every year in at least one or two categories at the Blues Awards in Memphis, as was again in 2015 for "Soul Blues Album" and "Soul Blues Male Artist". Rawls tours Europe regularly, and was also on The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise in 2015. Johnny's live shows remind everyone of the Wilson Pickett/Otis Redding soul Stax Records years.

Gerome Durham - Milwaukee, WI
After growing up in Mississippi and North Carolina, Gerome made his way to Milwaukee in 1965. It was there that he met Johnny Rawls and started his music career. He toured with Johnny for years. With a CD single under his belt in 1993 and 3 CD's to follow, Gerome is on his way to becoming a household name in the business. Great vocals and a great R&B and blues show.

Alex Wilson Band - Milwaukee, WI
Alex is one of those new up and coming young blues artists. Everything from Beale Street blues to West Coast Swing to Texas grinding to Chicago grooves. Alex won the WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) award in '07 for best blues band/artist. Alex picked up the guitar at five years old and never put it down. Alex is a great singer/songwriter, guitar player and over all entertainer.

Deb Callahan Band - Philadelphia, PA
Compared at times to Bonnie Raitt and Susan Tedeschi, Philadelphia's Deb Callahan is a gifted singer/songwriter who compiles different elements of Americana into a sound that hovers somewhere between the coffee house and the roadhouse. Callahan's voice is matchless in the ring of sultry blue-eyed blues singers.

Lisa Wenger Band - Minneapolis, MN
What can you say about Lisa Wenger? She's a beautiful, talented and passionate performer. A fixture on the Twin Cities blues scene for nearly a decade now, Lisa has proven to be a crowd pleaser. They can run the gamut from tried and true blues classics to reworked Rockabilly rave-ups to soul and New Orleans R&B.

Dee Miller Band - Minneapolis, MN
Dee started singing in 1976 with The Fabulous Minnesota Barking Ducks with Mick McCormick as her mentor. She sang with the Ducks until 1978, when she left the stage to get married and start a family. Once the kids were a little older, in 1990, she jumped back in with a full head of steam. With her gutsy vocals, she worked the Twin Cities for years with many blues and R&B bands, including Ron Easton, Foster Willey, Liz Cummings, and more. In 2004, she formed the Dee Miller Band. The band will rock the house at any venue.

Becky Barksdale - California
From Janis Joplin's hometown of Port Arthur, Texas, this lady is high on the list of female artists that will carry on the blues torch of the 21st century. Becky blends the flavors of electric blues and rock to create an intense, brooding, powerfully sensual style. She played guitar for Canned Heat and even Michael Jackson himself, on his 1993 Dangerous World Tour. Her singing and guitar work will blow you away.

Sherwin Linton & The Cotton Kings - Minneapolis, MN
This Minnesota country legend has been making local, regional and national history for over 40 years. Sherwin has won numerous awards and is an inductee in multiple Music Hall Of Fames; SD, MN and the National Traditional Country Music HOF. His tribute to Johnny Cash Show impressed Cash himself so much, that he gave Sherwin his blessing. Since Cash's death, Sherwin's shows are gaining popularity more then ever.

Scottie Miller Band - Minneapolis, MN
New Orleans Boogie Woogie piano soul. Scottie exhibits strong Minneapolis-New Orleans funk flavors, reflective soulful ballads, slow blues, and R&B cuts that wander back and forth somewhere between Ray Charles, John Hiatt, and Dr. John.

Ross William Perry - Minneapolis, MN
Ross is one of those great young blues/rock acts out there today working his way up. Perry, a gifted singer/songwriter/guitarist, has been doing his homework since the tender age of four and it shows. Focused on a lifetime of playing music, Ross has been a rising star on the Midwest Blues scene since 1998. Blending his Blues, Rock and Jazz influences, Ross has created a sound that is distinctively his own and never fails to impress.

Jack Knife & The Sharps - BEST rockabilly on the planet.
Led by guitarist/vocalist Ric Hollister, the JKATS (as they are known to their fans) started as a two-piece act in 1980 before emerging into a rockabilly trio in 1982. The band has been booked pretty much weekly year-round ever since. They have opened for hundreds of recording stars and have entertained the U.S. troops on three different tours to Iraq, Kuwait, Germany, Bosnia and Kosovo. They have also appeared with Garrison Keillor over ten times on A Prairie Home Companion. The JKATS have won five music awards and appeared on the Grammy-Award winning Garrison Keillor Prairie Home Companion 25-year Anniversary album, so the JKATS have a song on a Grammy Award winning album ! The recent addition of gutsy vocalist Erin McCawley has also added a whole new dimension.

Nigel Mack & The Blues Attack - Vancouver, Canada (currently Chicago, IL)
After relocating to Chicago in 2003, Nigel is tearing up the US just as he did all over Canada. Nigel is a triple threat; he plays harp, guitar and sings. His mix of Chicago, Delta & Funk blues has been wowing audiences across North America.

Inside Straight Band - Minneapolis, MN
One of Minneapolis' hardest working bands. Their driving style of Chicago blues has been making the audiences tap their toes and kick up their heels for years.

Soulmates - Minneapolis, MN
Their hard edge mix of rock and blues lay down a solid driving show that will amaze the crowd. The Soulmates have been making 'em smile for years. With Johnny O. on guitar and Wilbur Cole on keys and vocals, they can't do no wrong.

MORE hot Minneapolis bands:
The Swamp Kings - Zydeco, Cajun, Swamp blues.
The Resonators - Chicago, Delta blues.
Johnny O & Fillet O Soul - Rock/blues with an edge.
Funkwire - Classic cover rock, country.
A Hard Days Night - A great Beatles tribute band.
Echo's Of Elvis featuring Eddie Hughes - Great Elvis tribute show/full live band.

ACOUSTIC SOLO/DUO/TRIO -
Joe & Vicki Price - Iowa
Iowa's top delta blues slide guitar duo. They rip it up and remind people more of a full band sound then an acoustic act.
....plus many, many local great Minneapolis acts. Many more bigger acts, etc.




email: Rico1@aol.com


Back to Homepage