Jose Ramirez will hold his album release party at The Palladium in sunny Saint Petersburg, Florida this Saturday, October 3 at 8pm. The venue will be selling 181 tickets per show and presenting in their 831-seat Hough Hall. Individuals and groups sitting together will be placed at a safe distance from other patrons. Shows will be 90 minutes with no intermission to avoid lines at the bathroom and the concession windows, and masks are required.
Ramirez, second place winner of the 2019 International Blues Challenge, is bringing three special guests for this show including guitar master Anson Funderburgh.
Here I Come and the music contained therein is as far from the traditional music of Latin America as a hawk from the moon. Here I Come is pure American blues, combined with Southern soul and R&B. Think Stevie Ray Vaughan meets Johnnie Taylor.
Anyone thinking this is an odd mix need only hear the debut track “Gasoline and Matches” featuring album producer Anson Funderburgh. Here I Come is full of Funderburgh influences — that cocktail of Chicago mixed with Texas blues for which he is so well known. However, that’s just the beginning. Ramirez blends in those magical soul and R&B ingredients to make his signature sound. Jose is quick to point out that he is a blues artist (complete with a tattoo of Robert Johnson). He is however, heavily influenced by classic R&B and soul music and integrates them, instead of the more commonly used rock ‘n roll, to enhance his original songs.
Ramirez is a triple threat: a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who is just as talented in any one of those categories as he is in the others.
All shows are $20 per ticket and start at 8pm. Tickets available at www.mypalladium.org or by calling the box office at 727-822-3590.
