Ronnie Earl is a four-time Blues Music Award winner as “Guitar Player of the Year,” and was the hit of the most-recent Blues Music Awards show in Memphis with his show-stopping live performance of the Junior Wells classic, “In the Wee Hours.”
Earl follows that up with the August 30 release of the latest Stony Plain Records album (on CD and vinyl formats) from the blues guitar master and his band, the Broadcasters, Beyond the Blue Door. Earl believes in the power of music to heal the mind and spirit, and that’s quickly evident in the 15 tracks on his new disc. Special guests on the album include David Bromberg, acoustic guitar and vocals; Kim Wilson, harmonica and vocals; and Greg Piccolo, tenor sax.
The core group of Broadcasters – Earl, guitar; Dave Limina, Hammond B3 and piano;
Diane Blue, vocals; Paul Kochanski, bass and Forrest Padgett, drums – return to present a solid follow-up to their critically acclaimed and beloved release, The Luckiest Man. They are also joined by Anthony Geraci, piano; Peter Ward, guitar; Mario Perrett, tenor sax; Scott Shetler, Baritone Sax, Larry Luisgnan, guitar; Michael Rush, bass and Scott MacDougal, guitar.
“This is a band album – a community of souls with some guests, new directions and some good old down home blues with Kim Wilson, David Bromberg and Greg Piccolo,” Ronnie says about the new disc.
Beyond the Blue Door confirms Earl’s status as one of the most soulful blues/soul/jazz guitarists working today. He’s also a DownBeat magazine winner for “Blues Album of the Year,” an Associate Professor of Guitar at Berklee College of Music and has taught at the National Guitar summer workshop in Connecticut.
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters will be performing live at The Bull Run in Shirley, MA on July 25; The Iridium in New York City August 16 and 17; and the Big Blues Bender in Las Vegas on September 6.
Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters
*Feature image Tom Hazeltine
