Ronnie Baker Brooks Announces Appearances To Support First New Album In Ten Years

RONNIE BAKER BROOKS ANNOUNCES CONFIRMED APPEARANCES 

PLANNED TO SUPPORT RELEASE OF TIMES HAVE CHANGED, 

HIS FIRST ALBUM IN TEN YEARS

Produced By Steve Jordan, Featuring Lonnie Brooks, “Big Head” Todd Mohr, Bobby “Blue” 

Bland, Steve Cropper, Angie Stone, Eddie Willis, Al Kapone, Felix Cavaliere, Lee Roy Parnell

Out On Provogue / Mascot Label Group January 20, 2017

Chicago, IL --- Ronnie Baker Brooks has announced planned initial appearances for 2017.  Following the Legendary R&B Cruise – At Sea in late-January, he will begin the run at SPACE in Evanston, IL on February 3.  Additional shows are confirmed in St. Paul, Des Moines, Milwaukee and Dubuque (detail below).  Today, the second instant gratification track has been provided to purchasers in front of the January 20^th release.  

Brooks, 49, was born in Chicago, and started playing guitar around age six. At 19, he joined his father, Lonnie Brooks who by then had influenced some of the most well-known bluesman of our history: Jimmy Reed, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Johnny Winter, and Junior Wells. For 12 years, the two would tour together, putting Ronnie out front with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Koko Taylor. 

Times Have Changed, Brooks’ first album in ten years, carries with it the weight of grown perspective and time spent perfecting old material. Brooks worked it with Steve Jordan, whose work runs from Keith Richards to Stevie Wonder, John Mayer and Eric Clapton. With that comes a lesson in rhythm and blues history. Brooks refers to the director as “a walking encyclopedia of music detail and equipment”, a professor through which Brooks could take that next developmental step. “Once we got the ball rolling, my confidence went higher and higher”, he says. “I’m a better musician for this experience.”

The experience Brooks is talking about is that which came together over the course of a few weeks at Royal Studios in Memphis, the home of Al Green, Syl Johnson and Bobby “Blue” Bland. Jordan and Brooks brought in a mint press of Memphis music royalty: Stax Records staple Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave), Archie Turner (Al Green, Syl Johnson, O.V. Wright), jazz saxophonist Lannie McMillan, and R&B icon Angie Stone. For several tracks, Brooks also enlisted brothers Teenie (guitar), Charles (organ) and Leroy Hodges (bass) of the legendary Hi Rhythm Section, which served as the house band for hit soul albums by artists like Al Green and Ann Peebles. “We used the same mics that Al Green used on his record”, says Brooks. “Matter of fact, we were using much of the same band! It kind of took that vibe.” The first track recorded was a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly hit Give Me Your Love. The second, Twine Time, the instrumental jam from Alvin Cash. 

Several tracks on Times Have Changed were recorded at the legendary Blackbird Studio in Nashville. “It had great hospitality, a great vibe, great tone, great equipment,” Brooks said. “And of course I got to get closer to some of the musicians who live there, Felix Cavaliere, Steve Cropper - they all live there, and it just created a great atmosphere. One of the key things for me was that we got Todd Mohr there, and he was willing to play rhythm guitar along with Lee Roy Parnell, so we got a nice little chemistry going with the three guitar parts together.”

‘Times’ also comes laden with original hits. Five of the eleven tracks were penned by Brooks. Raised on others’ music, he’s always considered the songwriting process to be as sacred. “It’s like having a baby”, he says. “You see it come to life. Once you play it live, it grows even more. That was the most fun part of it, for me: the creative side. Coming up with a song people can relate to, and you relate to, it just snowballs. It’s almost like therapy for me. Like the song Times Have Changed: I wrote that song years ago. I sent Steve my songs and he picked that one. It’s kind of timeless. Every day something’s changing. Now, when I play it live, you can see the effect of it. Initially, it was just an idea: just a riff. Now, this song has influence on people. We were just in Europe this year, after the bombing in Brussels. And we’re playing Brussels. I played that song; people were in tears. It helped them heal.”

The complete track listing features: “Show Me” (feat. Steve Cropper), “Doing Too Much” (feat. “Big Head” Todd Mohr, “Twine Time” (feat. Lonnie Brooks), “Times Have Changed” (feat. Al Kapone), “Long Story Short,” “Give Me Your Love (Love Song) (feat. Angie Stone), “Give The Baby Anything The Baby Wants” (feat. “Big Head” Todd Mohr & Eddie Willis), “Old Love” (feat. Bobby “Blue” Bland), “Come On Up” (feat. Felix Cavaliere & Lee Roy Parnell), “Wham Bam Thank You Sam,” “When I Was We.”

Brooks will stage the following appearances.  Additonal dates will be announced as they are confirmed:

1/21                                                                             Legenday R&B Cruise – At Sea

2.03     Evanston, IL                                                   SPACE

2/10     St. Paul, MN                                                   MN Music Cafe

2/11     Des Moines, IA                                               Blues Fest

2/24     Milwaukee, WI                                               Shank Hall

2/25     Dubuque, IA                                                   Mystique Casino

Mascot Label Group Announce Release Of Black Sites Debut: Monochrome for 2/17/17

MASCOT LABEL GROUP AND BLACK SITES ANNOUNCE RELEASE 

OF BAND’S DEBUT IN MONOCHROME ON FEBRUARY 17, 2017

Album Presents The Return of Mark Sugar Following Trials Dissolution

Chicago, IL --- Mascot Records has announced the global release of Black Sites debut In Monochrome, on February 17, 2017.  A lyric video for the lead track “Dead Languages” can be streamed here: 

In 2015, revered metal guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Mark Sugar had a creative breakthrough that led him to leave behind a modern metal legacy to bravely forge a new one. Now, one of underground metal’s most uncompromising visionaries returns with a new band and an invigorating heavy-with-melody aesthetic. Sugar offers, “I wanted to challenge myself with clean singing and by writing well-crafted songs. I went back to my influences, old school metal, prog rock, and hard rock—music built on classic songwriting.”

Sugar was formerly known as the mastermind behind the cult metal quartet Trials, a group that amicably folded in 2015, leaving behind three artistically bold and well-received albums that bridged the divide between thrash and melodic death metal.  His new band, Black Sites conjures burly proto metal riffs and vibey grooves, whiplash thrash, moody ambience, and the stately expanse of modern and classic prog. The Chicago-based hard rock quartet’s debut, In Monochrome (Mascot Records), thrills with unexpected twists and turns, and tuneful songcraft that never sacrifices heft for hooks. 

An aura of mystique surrounds Black Sites. The band is a super group of sorts, featuring some of Chicago’s finest players from the underground metal scene. The band features Mark Sugar on vocals/guitar, ex-Trials bandmate Ryan Bruchert on guitar, John Picillo on bass, from Without Waves and Immortal Bird, and Chris Avgerin on drums, from Nequient and Autonomy.  The four-piece band draws inspiration from a panoramic pedigree of classic and modern metal and hard rock influences including Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, 1970s Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Fates Warning, Motörhead, Queensrÿche, Voivod, Hammers Of Misfortune, and Dawnbringer.

The story goes that at the time of the Trials split, it was was seeing Avgerin during this transitional period that encouraged Sugar to follow his muse. He recalls, “Watching Chris play awesome John Bonham, Ginger Baker, and Bill Ward style drums in these bands that had a 1960s vibe really inspired me.” 

Sugar and Avgerin worked on the demos as a duo before heading to Gunpoint Recording Studios with recording engineer Quentin Poynter (The Skull). Bassist John Picillo joined the band halfway through the sessions, and guitarist Ryan Bruchert signed on after the recordings. 

The 10-track album opens with the elegiac piano interlude “M Fisto Waltz,” which eventually lunges for the jugular with lacerating guitars. In Monochrome’s first official track, “Dead Languages,” unfurls the album’s manifesto of musical intent.  Packed within its 5:23 minutes the band traverse Sabbath-y grooves, agile progressive rock drums, Thin Lizzy-esque guitar harmonies, sinister guttural vocals, and soaring melodic vocals. 

Other album standouts include “Hunter/Gatherer,” “Burning Away The Day,” and “Locked Out – Shut Down.” “Hunter/Gatherer” opens with a darkly classical acoustic guitar figure and plaintive, clean vocals. It’s a storyteller song that uses dramatic dynamics to convey the narrative. Within the epic are slight nods to vintage Mercyful Fate, Trouble and Queensrÿche. “Burning Away The Day” is an instrumental tour de force with savage 1970s hard rock drums and fleet-fingered guitar solo playing that explodes with classical melodicism and proto-shred flash.  The relentless pummel of “Locked Out – Shut Down” evinces Sugar’s thrash roots. 

As anticipation builds for the band, and Black Sites releases its debut long player and plays its first shows ever, Sugar is reflective. After all, in the span of a year he’s gone from no band to a new band with an irresistible old school aesthetic. “I remember driving in my car listening to the final album and just feeling so relieved and excited to hear these songs come to life,” he says. “I learned a lot during this time. I learned how to keep an open mind and stay focused. I feel like this is the best thing I’ve ever done.”

The full track list features “M Fisto Waltz,” “Dead Languages,” “Monochrome,” “Burning Away The Day,” “Hunter Gatherer,” “Watching You Fall,” “Locked Out – Shut Down,” “In The Woods,” “The Tides.”

Quinn Sullivan Cruises Midnight Highway In The Studio And On The Road

QUINN SULLIVAN CRUISES ‘MIDNIGHT HIGHWAY’ IN

THE STUDIO AND ON THE ROAD

Provogue / Mascot Label Group Debut Hits Retail January 27, 2017

EPK:  https://youtu.be/08ujABkiLOA

Provogue / Mascot Label Group has announced the release of Quinn Sullivan’s Midnight Highway on January 27, 2017.  Sullivan has been a music professional for more than 75 percent of his life. He’s shared the stage with Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Los Lobos, The Roots, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi and Joe Bonamassa, and he opened for B.B. King, who later invited him to play his treasured “Lucille” guitar. He has performed on concert and festival dates throughout the United States – including at storied venues like Hollywood Bowl, RFK Stadium and Madison Square Garden – traveled overseas – performing at both the Montreux Jazz Festival and India’s Mahindra Blues Festival – and played several editions of the Experience Hendrix Tour, backed by Jimi’s original bassist Billy Cox.  He’s also appeared on national TV, with guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Oprah, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Conan and twice on The Ellen DeGeneres show.

  

Yes, Sullivan has packed some extraordinary experience into his decade-long career, and that’s even more remarkable when you consider that he’s only 17. His third studio album, Midnight Highway, was produced by multi GRAMMY® winner Tom Hambridge - who also does double duty as Quinn’s studio and road drummer - and will be released on January 27th in North America, and on March 24th in the rest of the world.  The album is yet another milestone in Quinn's extraordinary journey, which began with him jamming with the kids music combo Toe Jam Puppet Band at age three, appearing on Ellen when he was six, and being taken under the wing of blues legend Buddy Guy at age eight, whose protégé he remains to this day.

Quinn’s age and enduring relationship with Buddy Guy is certainly notable, but so too is his total dedication to his craft. “I wanted to see how far we could get musically on this album. I had a lot more creative input on this one and was more active in writing, so it’s something of a mixture.  I didn’t want to completely break away from the blues - that’ll always be my home ground - but I just wanted to stretch out. Mastering the vocals was important too and was the result of a lot of playing and touring, and studying with a vocal coach.  I’ll admit I hit an awkward stage with my voice when it was changing a few years ago, but I like the way things have worked out so far.”

Quinn confides, “My major goal as an artist is to get into songwriting more,” and he’s well on his way with Midnight Highway, for which he had a hand in writing three of the stand-out tracks, “Eyes For You”, “Lifting Off” and “Going.”  One of the other songs that Quinn tackled is George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”  While Quinn will forever be rooted in the blues, he’s extremely passionate about The Beatles, so every effort was made to replicate the Harrison classic as faithfully as possible.  Producer Tom Hambridge remarked, “We really tried to make it sound like it was off the White Album, so we researched everything about the track, where the mic placement should be, how to get the organ to sound like the original. Quinn is such a huge Beatles fan so, of course, he really loved the process.”

The album was recorded primarily at Nashville’s prestigious Blackbird Studio with some of the greatest players in Nashville, including many of the same musicians who played on the Buddy Guy albums that Hambridge produced. These include bassists Michael Rhodes and Tom Macdonald, guitarist Rob McNelley, and keyboard player Reese Wynans, a veteran of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble.  Hambridge notes, “Quinn was anxious to make an album the way I make those Buddy Guy albums, and he did, in fact, tear it up.  Quinn felt the mojo and he ‘brought it’ in a big way.”

As a young child, Quinn was brought to numerous festivals and concerts by his music-loving parents.  He was the “kid with the guitar “ in the audience, who would strum along with what was happening on stage.  Through videos, Quinn became enamored with Buddy Guy, so his  Dad made arrangements for him to meet his idol when Guy came to his hometown.  Backstage before the show, he asked Buddy to autograph his guitar which, of course, he did — but on condition that the boy play it for him.  That led to Buddy calling Quinn onstage to join him during his set and an unlikely, though solid bond was then formed between the great Chicago bluesman and the eager youngster from Massachusetts.

Tom Hambridge calls Quinn “a sponge who soaks up everything that’s around him,” adding, “he’s listening all the time and he just so happens to be around great artists.  Every time he plays, it’s a little deeper. Buddy Guy is, of course, his mentor, so he channels Buddy’s over-the-top reckless abandon.” That’s completely understandable, as Buddy has, more than once, advised Quinn, “Just go out there and show them why you’re here… make them remember you.”

Off stage, Quinn is well aware of the unique opportunity he’s been afforded and is focused on music as an ongoing pursuit.  He contrasts his experience with many of his contemporaries’ - “They’re struggling to come up with what they’re going to do when they’re out of school, but I’ve decided this is what I’m going to be doing for the rest of my life."

The track listing is: “Something For Me,” “Tell Me I’m Not Dreaming,” “Midnight Highway,” “Crazy Into You,” “Eyes For You,” “Lifting Up,” “She Gets Me,” “Rocks,” “Going,” “Graveyard Stone,” “Big Sky,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Buffalo Nickel.”

Ronnie Baker Brooks Announces First New Album In Ten Years

RONNIE BAKER BROOKS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF 

TIMES HAVE CHANGED, HIS FIRST ALBUM IN TEN YEARS

Produced By Steve Jordan, Featuring Lonnie Brooks, “Big Head” Todd Mohr, Bobby “Blue” Bland, 

Steve Cropper, Angie Stone, Eddie Willis, Al Kapone, Felix Cavaliere, Lee Roy Parnell

Out On Provogue / Mascot Label Group January 20, 2017

Chicago, IL --- Brooks, 49, was born in Chicago, and started playing guitar around age six. At 19, he joined his father, Lonnie Brooks who by then had influenced some of the most well-known bluesman of our history: Jimmy Reed, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Johnny Winter, and Junior Wells. For 12 years, the two would tour together, putting Ronnie out front with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Koko Taylor. 

Times Have Changed, Brooks’ first album in ten years, carries with it the weight of grown perspective and time spent perfecting old material. Brooks worked it with Steve Jordan, whose work runs from Keith Richards to Stevie Wonder, John Mayer and Eric Clapton. With that comes a lesson in rhythm and blues history. Brooks refers to the director as “a walking encyclopedia of music detail and equipment”, a professor through which Brooks could take that next developmental step. “Once we got the ball rolling, my confidence went higher and higher”, he says. “I’m a better musician for this experience.”

The experience Brooks is talking about is that which came together over the course of a few weeks at Royal Studios in Memphis, the home of Al Green, Syl Johnson and Bobby “Blue” Bland. Jordan and Brooks brought in a mint press of Memphis music royalty: Stax Records staple Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave), Archie Turner (Al Green, Syl Johnson, O.V. Wright), jazz saxophonist Lannie McMillan, and R&B icon Angie Stone. For several tracks, Brooks also enlisted brothers Teenie (guitar), Charles (organ) and Leroy Hodges (bass) of the legendary Hi Rhythm Section, which served as the house band for hit soul albums by artists like Al Green and Ann Peebles. “We used the same mics that Al Green used on his record”, says Brooks. “Matter of fact, we were using much of the same band! It kind of took that vibe.” The first track recorded was a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly hit Give Me Your Love. The second, Twine Time, the instrumental jam from Alvin Cash. 

“To be honest with you, when Steve said ‘Man, we need an instrumental,’ the first person I thought of was Freddie King. Steve wanted something more appealing to all people, not just guitar players. He said ‘What about Twine Time?’’ I said, ‘Is he serious?’ Yeah, Twine Time. But that song was a key to this album. Man, that just lit the fire for this record. It became one of the funnest tracks we did.”

Several tracks on Times Have Changed were recorded at the legendary Blackbird Studio in Nashville. “It had great hospitality, a great vibe, great tone, great equipment,” Brooks said. “And of course I got to get closer to some of the musicians who live there, Felix Cavaliere, Steve Cropper - they all live there, and it just created a great atmosphere. One of the key things for me was that we got Todd Mohr there, and he was willing to play rhythm guitar along with Lee Roy Parnell, so we got a nice little chemistry going with the three guitar parts together.”

‘Times’ also comes laden with original hits. Five of the eleven tracks were penned by Brooks. Raised on others’ music, he’s always considered the songwriting process to be as sacred. “It’s like having a baby”, he says. “You see it come to life. Once you play it live, it grows even more. That was the most fun part of it, for me: the creative side. Coming up with a song people can relate to, and you relate to, it just snowballs. It’s almost like therapy for me. Like the song Times Have Changed: I wrote that song years ago. I sent Steve my songs and he picked that one. It’s kind of timeless. Every day something’s changing. Now, when I play it live, you can see the effect of it. Initially, it was just an idea: just a riff. Now, this song has influence on people. We were just in Europe this year, after the bombing in Brussels. And we’re playing Brussels. I played that song; people were in tears. It helped them heal.”

It’s on that title track that Brooks brandishes what may be his finest songwriting talent: the ability to humanize social issues and unite different voices into one cohesive thought. That’s no more evident than in the latter stages of the song, in which Brooks deploys his longtime friend, Memphis' Al Kapone, to drop 32 bars on what the future holds for our people.

“My whole intention, when I started with Golddigger (his 1998 debut album) and up through this one, was to be authentic enough for the older generation but have something that the younger generation could latch onto,” says Brooks. “I try to be that bridge. With Take Me Witcha (2001), I’ve got a rapper on that. On The Torch (2006) we went with Al Kapone. He’s a bridge. He’s a bridge from blues to hip-hop. With music, it all comes from the heart. It comes from the heart and from the soul. In blues, it doesn’t matter what you’re talking about, it relates.

“That was my intention on this record: to build that bridge.”

The complete track listing features: “Show Me” (feat. Steve Cropper), “Doing Too Much” (feat. “Big Head” Todd Mohr, “Twine Time” (feat. Lonnie Brooks), “Times Have Changed” (feat. Al Kapone), “Long Story Short,” “Give Me Your Love (Love Song) (feat. Angie Stone), “Give The Baby Anything The Baby Wants” (feat. “Big Head” Todd Mohr & Eddie Willis), “Old Love” (feat. Bobby “Blue” Bland), “Come On Up” (feat. Felix Cavaliere & Lee Roy Parnell), “Wham Bam Thank You Sam,” “When I Was We.”

Provogue Records artist: No Sinner - Old Habits Die Hard - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Old Habits Die Hard, from No Sinner and it's a solid rocker. Opening with All Woman, Colleen Rennison, lead vocalist takes the reins and never looks back. With a lot of attitude, modern day female Jim Morrison, Rennison, backed by guitarists, Eric Campbell, Adam Sabla and Scott Smith, Matt Camirand on bass and exceptional drumming by Ian Browne sets the pace. On Leadfoot, a driving track with roots in English metal and blues, this track is heavy footed with Browne stomping it and interesting guitar riffs floating. Very cool. Tryin' has a lighter, more pop kind of feel. Rennison's vocals are clear and this track has all of the characteristics of a radio hit. Saturday Night is a hard rocker with plenty of kick drum and rock and roll guitar riffs. Shifting gears a few times, this track melds the Ramones with Joan Jett. Bluesy ballad, Hollow, really gives Rennison a wide open road to show off her vocal strength. Rich tones and a solid melody enriched by Campbell on guitar and piano shows that this lady can do whatever she wants at a drop of a hat. Very nice. Get It Up is another track that should have solid radio appeal with nicely blended vocal harmonies, a strong melody and a kicking kick drum. There is an enchanting richness to Rennison's vocals on Friend Of Mine, and Campbell.s guitar riffs add just the right texture to the track making it one of my favorites. Unusual track, Fading Away, has a real interesting blend of sounds and concepts with driving drum work and jittery guitar riffs. Blending this with more pop style vocal lines gives this track a pop edge and a rock undertone. Very nice. quiet and light, Lines On The Highway, sits alone among the rest of the tracks as a direct pop track with a simple melody and unadorned vocals. One More Time kicks in the door with it's direct frontal attack by Campbell and Browne. Backing off to a more experimental segue, there is echo and environmental sounds concluding in a strong bolero rock. Interesting. Wrapping the release is Mandy Lyn with slide guitar, kick drum and a more southern rock approach. This track is packed with attitude and with it's rugged vocals and instrumentation, a super closer for a solid rockin release.



  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

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Provogue Records artist: The Apocalypse Blues Review - New Release Review

I just received the newest self titled release from The Apocalypse Blues Review and they have style. Opening with Evil Is As Evil Does, Ray "Rafer" Cerbone on lead vocal has a great rock voice backed by Tony "Big Tone" Rombola on guitar, Shannon "Apocalypse" Larkin on drums and Brian "Bassgod" Carpenter on bass. Junkie Hell is a smoking blues rocker with a solid bass lead and scorching guitar riffs. Devil Plays Strat has a great bass undertone which sets up nicely with Rafer's Morrison like vocal phrasing, excellent drum work from Larkin and rowdy guitar work from Rombola. Possibly my favorite track on the release. With a cool driving bass line, Whiskey In My Coffee has a strong sense of I Been Down So Long with nicely peppered guitar riffs. With traces of Trower's ethereal guitar work and a bit of more contemporary rock, The Tower is a cool track with strong rock roots. Crossed Over seems to be based on Robert Johnson's Outside Woman Blues with a modern rock grooves. Rombola really digs on this track fanning the flames. Very cool. Blues Are Fallln' From The Sky opens as a shuffle track but slows to a really nice blues grind featuring some of Rombola's most soulful riffs. Excellent! With a Big Brother like drum riff, Work In Progress, develops into a cool rocker with solid work by the entire group. Really great drum work by Larkin pushes The Devil In Me, giving Rafer and Rombola a hot platform to work their magic. Very nice. Opening with acoustic guitar work by Cerbone, Blue Cross develops into a cool rocker with a firm bottom and crisp guitar work by Rombola. Larkin takes an opportunity to throw out some interesting percussion riffs to close this track. Wrapping the release is The Door's When The Music's Over. Rafer actually sounds quite similar to Morrison and the band's delivery is solid and respectful.



  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

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Walter Trout - Alive In Amsterdam - Performance of "I'm Back"

Walter Trout announces new release, ‘ALIVE in Amsterdam’, recorded live in Amsterdam

on the blues legend’s comeback tour & released June 17th on Mascot/Provogue.

Battle Scars World Tour to hit the US and Europe this year.

To be released June 17th on Mascot/Provogue, ‘ALIVE in Amsterdam’ is the sound of a man announcing his resurrection after a period on the ropes. As Trout’s army of international fans are painfully aware, recent times have taken the bandleader to the brink, following a bleak diagnosis of life-threatening liver failure and hepatitis C in 2013. Trout’s rebirth began with a successful transplant in May 2014, and gathered pace with 2015’s ‘Battle Scars’: the acclaimed studio album that channeled his near-death experience into raw autobiographical songs.

Walter Trout has never sounded so alive. The date is November 28th, 2015. The location is Amsterdam’s opulent Royal Theatre Carré. And the occasion is a live performance of the blues-rock legend at full-throttle. “We were rocking,” remembers Trout of the comeback concert captured on ‘ALIVE in Amsterdam.’ “If people are expecting a laid-back show, that’s not what they’ll get. This is potent stuff…”        

Yet for this lifelong road-warrior, a return to the stage was always the ultimate goal. And last summer, as Trout headed out on a comeback tour that blew the roof off venues from the Royal Albert Hall to Buddy Guy’s Legends club in Chicago, every fan in the house saw that the man wasn’t just back, he was better than ever. “That whole tour was kinda triumphant for me,” Trout reflects. “Just to be back, after what I went through. But also to be playing with a renewed energy and commitment.

With songs pulled from every era of his five-decade career, the ‘ALIVE in Amsterdam’ set is potent stuff indeed, from the stinging Luther Allison cover “I’m Back,” to the plaintive B.B. King tribute “Say Goodbye To The Blues,” which builds from neck-tingling guitar swells to a stunning virtuoso climax. ‘Battle Scars’ is well-represented by the harmony-bolstered rocker “Almost Gone” and the raucous “Tomorrow Seems So Far Away,” while Trout is joined by his son Jon for “Rock Me Baby,” and even finds time for a fistful of fan favorites, including “The Love That We Once Knew” and “Marie’s Mood.” “You can hear that a guy yells out for ‘Marie’s Mood,’” he laughs. “I actually hadn’t planned on doing that one…” 

Urgent, impassioned and electrifying, it’s a live album to treasure, and the perfect appetite-whetter as Trout heads out on tour this year, stopping off at some of the most prestigious venues and festivals in the US and Europe.  Walter shows you magic in the studio, of course. But it’s on the stage where he truly comes alive. “I get into the energy and the moment and the excitement of it all,” he says. “I think I’m a very different guitarist live…”

ALIVE In Amsterdam	Track List	Extra Information
	01. Marie's Introduction 02. Play The Guitar 03. Help Me 04. I'm Back 05. Say Goodbye To The Blues 06. Almost Gone 07. Omaha 08. Tomorrow Seems So Far Away 09. Playin' Hideaway 10. Haunted By The Night 11. Fly Away 12. Please Take Me Home 13. Rock Me Baby 14. Marie's Mood 15. Serve Me Right To Suffer 16. The Love That We Once Knew	Release Date June 17, 2016 Available formats 3LP+Mp3, CD and Digital. Walter Trout Online www.waltertrout.com www.facebook.com/waltertroutband www.twitter.com/waltertrout www.youtube.com/mascotlabelgroup

	TOUR DATES 2016
1-apr	Dosey Doe	Houston, TX	20-jul	The Robin	Wolverhampton, UK
2-apr	Scoot Inn	Austin, TX	22-jul	The Live Rooms	Chester, UK
4-apr	The Kessler	Dallas, TX	23-jul	The Apex	Bury St. Edmunds, UK
7-apr	Mojo Kitchen	Jacksonville, FL	24-jul	Ramblin' Man Fair	Kent, UK
8-apr	The Funky Biscuit	Boca Raton, FL	27-jul	Vallemaggia Magic Blues	Switzerland
9-apr	Terra Fermata	Stuart, FL	29-jul	Burg Herzberg Festival	Breitenbach, Germany
10-apr	Tampa Bay Blues Festival	St. Petersburg, FL	30-jul	Bastion Open Air	Torgau, Germany
13-apr	B.B. King Blues Club & Grill	New York, NY	3-aug	Smukkeste Festival	Denmark
14-apr	Daryl's House	Pawling, NY	5-aug	Notodden Blues Festival	Norway
15-apr	Narrows Center for the Arts	Fall River, MA	13-aug	Cincy Blues Fest	Cincinnati, OH
16-apr	Infinity Music Hall	Norfolk, CT	20-aug	Seneca Casino	Niagara Falls, NY
19-apr	Smith's Olde Bar	Atlanta, GA	27-aug	Playing With Fire	Omaha, NE
20-apr	Music City Roots	Nashville, TN	14-Oct	Musikkens Hus	Aalborg, Denmark
22-apr	Jazz and Heritage Festival	New Orleans, LA	15-Oct	Alsion	Soenderborg, Denmark
25-apr	Howard Theatre	Washington, DC	17-Oct	Rock City	Nottingham, UK
26-apr	River City Ale Works	Wheeling, WV	18-Oct	Manchester Academy 2	Manchester, UK
27-apr	Woodlands Tavern	Columbus, OH	19-Oct	Sage Gateshead	Gateshead, UK
29-apr	Beale Street Music Fest	Memphis, TN	21-Oct	The Lemon Tree	Aberdeen, UK
30-apr	Old Rock House	St. Louis, MO	22-Oct	The Queens Hall	Edinburgh, UK
2-May	City Winery	Chicago, IL	23-Oct	Picturedrome	Holmfirth, UK
4-May	Shank Hall	Milwaukee, WI	25-Oct	The Brook	Southampton, UK
5-May	Famous Dave's Blues Club	Minneapolis, MN	26-Oct	Phoenix	Exeter, UK
6-May	The Surf Ballroom	Clear Lake, IA	27-Oct	Tramshed	Cardiff, UK
7-May	Knuckleheads Saloon	Kansas City, MO	28-Oct	Kammgarn Bluesfestival	Kaiserslautern, Germany
22-May	Doheny Blues Festival	Dana Point, CA
30-jun	Skanevik Blues Festival	Norway	30-Oct	Stadsschouwburg	Bruges, Belgium
2-jul	Gastrobluesfestival	Hungary	2-nov	De Oosterpoort	Groningen, The Netherlands
9-jul	Bospop	The Netherlands	3-nov	Poppodium 013	Tilburg, The Netherlands
10-jul	North Sea Jazz Festical	The Netherlands	5-nov	Jazztage	Leverkusen, Germany
15-jul	Olomouc	Czech Republic	8-nov	Z7 Konzertfabrik	Pratteln, Switzerland
16-jul	Hirsch	Germany	9-nov	Gaswerk Eventbar	Seewen, Switzerland
17-jul	Blues Peer	Belgium	10-nov	Mühle Hunziken	Rubigen, Switzerland
19-jul	St. Albans Arena	St. Albans, UK	12-nov	Kulturhaus Stadtgarten	Neuruppin, Germany