Blues rock guitar greats Alastair Greene and Chris Antonik are teaming up for a series of Canadian co-headlining shows this fall beginning September 27 in Hamilton Ontario then hitting Toronto, Kingston, Kitchener, and Kincardine.
The Austin, Texas-based Top 10 Billboard-charting Greene and Toronto-based 3x-Maple Blues Award-nominated Antonik will be bringing audiences an explosive evening of unique and powerful modern blues rock, as part of a special limited series that will feature intense, guitar-soaked blues from both acts.
Greene affirms, “I was thrilled when Chris approached me with the idea of doing some shows together. Not only is he a fine and accomplished musician in the blues rock world, he’s also a stand up guy with an incredible work ethic and great sense of humor! I’m really looking forward to this run of shows, hearing Chris’ band live, and getting the opportunity to make some music with him onstage.”
Antonik adds, “I’ve long admired Alastair’s innovative approach to modern blues rock, in addition to his tremendous guitar playing and songwriting. With our schedules aligned, I jumped at the opportunity to team up for these shows, as we’re both like-minded artists grounded in traditional blues, while interested in new sounds for the future.”
ALASTAIR GREENE & CHRIS ANTONIK LIMITED RUN:
September 27 – The Casbah – Hamilton, Ontario
September 28 – 3030 Dundas – Toronto, Ontario
September 29 – RCHA Club – Kingston, Ontario
September 30 – The Edelweiss – Kitchener, Ontario
October 1 – The Bruce – Kincardine, Ontario
For tickets and tour information on this electrifying collaboration, go to alastairgreene.com and chrisantonik.com.
Fiery, masterful blues rocker Alastair Greene recently released Alive in the New World produced by Tab Benoit for Benoit’s Whiskey Bayou Records. The album finds the fast-rising bluesman performing ten songs as a power trio with multi-instrumentalist Benoit on drums and bassist Corey Duplechin during a six-night “Takeover” at the City Winery in Chicago. The sold-out crowds infuse the band with the kind of energy that produces timeless performances. Greene says, “Enjoy your front row seat to what I consider some of my finest live moments as a blues rock musician.”
Alastair Greene’s rock credentials include eight years of international touring on guitar and vocals with the Alan Parsons Project, and major dates with Starship featuring Mickey Thomas. As a blues player he is a longtime regular and host at the Memphis-based Blues Foundation events, performances and showcases, has been a featured performer at the Big Blues Bender and the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, and criss-crossed the globe touring with Sugaray Rayford’s band, which was nominated for a 2020 Blues Music Award with Greene. Most recently, Greene has been touring cross-country in support of Tab Benoit, and also with his own power trio, The Alastair Greene Band, and this past May Greene toured the UK supporting Walter Trout. Greene is a multi-charting Top 10 Billboard artist. The Alastair Greene Band, which has drawn comparisons to Gov’t Mule, ZZ Top and Cream, recently celebrated their 20th anniversary with a two-disc live album.
Since his nomination for Best New Artist at Canada’s Maple Blues Awards in 2011, following the release of his debut album, Toronto-based blues-rock guitarist, singer, and song writer, Chris Antonik, has been wowing live audiences with his incendiary blues-rock guitar playing, and delivering innovative and thoughtfully crafted songs that transcend limitations or expectations of genre. Antonik has assembled an impressive, forward-looking body of recorded work that pays deep respect to blues tradition, while forging ahead in exploring new sonic and artistic territory.
His sophomore album, Better for You, was hailed by critics as “the best Canadian blues-rock album of 2013,” “one of the finest releases from the Great White North in many a year,” and “a masterpiece,” with American Blues Scene calling it the “sound of someone taking the blues to a new place.” Chris has toured Canada, the US, and UK extensively, and has played many major blues festivals along the way, including a sold-out appearance at the 02 Academy in Sheffield, UK for the 2018 HRH Blues Festival, and a headline spot at the UK’s Upton Blues Festival in 2016. His guitar style has drawn comparisons to BB King, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, and Joe Bonamassa, with one reviewer even dubbing him “the Canadian Gary Clark Jr.”
Chris’ third studio album, Monarch (2017), further expands the blues’ thematic and musical boundaries into blues-rock, soul, and Americana – “an awe-inspiring mastery of the guitar, and a vocal range that will make your jaw drop to your toes.” Monarch was nominated for Recording of the Year (with Chris as Producer) at the 2018 Maple Blues Awards, with Chris also being nominated for Songwriter of the Year. has a transcendent understanding of modern electric blues.”
Not to be stopped by any pandemic, Chris developed a wealth of powerful and captivating material for his highly anticipated fourth album, Morningstar. Released in Summer 2022, Morningstar is Chris Antonik’s most ambitious and fully realized musical vision to date, building on nuanced songwriting, an amazing assemblage of musicians (including guest appearances by award-winning blues guitarists Jarekus Singleton and Paul Deslauriers, and Tedeschi-Trucks Band vocalist Mike Mattison), and of course Chris’ own sophisticated, mesmerizing guitar work complemented by stellar vocals. Morningstar is a cohesive collection of songs and musical experiences reminiscent of the albums of the 1970s, in the ways in which the elements fit together to generate a transcendent experience for the listener.
