Third Annual Johnny Burgin Blues Revue @ Skokie Theater, Skokie, IL

Third Annual Johnny Burgin Blues Revue ft Katherine Davis and Big Al Dorn

JOHNNY BURGIN
with Big Al Dorn and Katherine Davis

Sat, Oct 26 at 7:30 pm Tickets: $30

World traveler & blues road warrior, one of our all time fave blues guitar heroes “Rockin” Johnny Burgin is comin back home to Chicago area! As most of you know, Johnny got his real deal blues education in Chicago and his amazing music career started, blossomed and took off from here! Much anticipated gig October 26th at Skokie Theatre with a killer review – Johnny with the fantastic classic Chicago blues and jazz singer, Blues Singer Katherine Davis and young Milwaukee harp ace, Big Al Dorn

Third Annual Johnny Burgin Blues Revue ft Katherine Davis and Big Al Dorn

Check it out!

JOHNNY BURGIN

with Big Al Dorn and Katherine Davis

Sat, Oct 26 at 7:30 pm Tickets: $30

Skokie Theatre

7924 Lincoln Ave

Skokie, IL 60077

Although blues guitar slinger Johnny Burgin now hangs his hat in Memphis, his Chicago roots run deep. Johnny learned from the Chicago blues masters and left his own mark on the scene with a legendary seven-year Wicker Park club residency and several acclaimed Delmark recordings.

In addition to Johnny and his band, this year’s Revue features Chicago blues diva Katherine Davis and rising blues harmonica star, Big Al Dorn.

This year, the Blues Revue will be a benefit for Will’s Place, a nonprofit cafe located in downtown Skokie that creates meaningful employment and vocational training opportunities for adults with disabilities. For every ticket sold, a donation will be made to Will’s Place.

Get your tickets now

https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/11530100

https://gopher-halibut-ga77.squarespace.com/johnny-burgin

BIOGRAPHY

Johnny had a bang-up year in ’23, earning a BMA Nomination for Best Traditional Blues Artist and playing 200 dates across the US, Mexico, Japan and Europe.  But if you’d told him this would be his career when he was in High School,  he wouldn’t have belived you.  Johnny grew up in Misssissippi and South Carolina and went to University of Chicago with the intention of becoming a writer.  When a friend took him out to a West Side ghetto club to hear the blues singer Tail Dragger, it was a conversion moment.  The blues came to life for Johnny and he fell headfirst into the vibrant Chicago blues scene.  Choosing the blues clubs over the library, Johnny eagerly absorbed the lessons from the blues masters who practiced their craft nightly.  By persistence and practice, Johnny gained a spot in Tail Dragger, and started gigging and recording with  traditional blues veterans like Sam Lay, Billy Boy Arnold, and Pinetop Perkins.   By the late 90s, Johnny was working regularly in Chicagoland blues clubs under his own name.  Johnny started a Monday night residency at The Smoke Daddy in Wicker Park, featuring vocalist Jimmy Burns.  The band featured other future blues notables who were also at beginning of their careers, such as Kenny Smith on drums and Martin Lang on harp, and they created quite a buzz.  They packed the club every Monday with a younger, hip crowd, as well as blues veterans stopping by to sit in such as Dave Meyers, Jesse Fortune, Barkin’ Bill, etc.  Their success led to a record deal with Delmark and the first of several European tours.

The shangri-la of being “King of Division Street” eventually ran its course.  In the early aughts, Johnny dropped off the scene entirely to raise a daughter.   When the music eventually called Johnny back, his comeback was noted by The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Blues Guide, and the Dutch blues magazine BLOCK.  As noted blues producer Dick Shurman wrote, “Johnny’s skills, passion and committment were undiminished.”   His move to the Bay Area in 2016 led to a creative burst and his most notable recordings.  In a few short years, Johnny cranked out the Cali/Chicago blues mashups Greetings from Greaseland,  Neoprene Fedora, the Howlin’ Wolf tribute Howlin’ at Greaseland (nominated for a BMA for Best Traditional Blues Recording) and Johnny Burgin Live, which featured blues legend Charlie Musselwhite and was nominated for a Blues Blast Best Live Recording Award for 2019.   Johnny had always done road work, but during this time, he grew into the role of the constantly touring road warrior he’s known as today.

Johnny’s produced eleven CDs as a leader to his credit (including “Ramblin’ from Coast to Coast, street date 03.10.24 on the Danish Straight Shooter label), and dozens more as a sideman.  He’s recorded with veterans like Johnny Sansone,  Paul DeLay, Bob Corritore, and Jimmy Burns as well as up and comers like Aki Kumar, Joel Astley, and Ben Levin.  Johnny’s developed from a young guitar slinger and local blues hero to a matured bluesman, fully fledged singer and the confident and engaging bandleader.  In recent years, he has been a resident instructor at the Pinetop Perkins Foundation and the Chicago Blues Guitar Workshop and has developed a loyal following on YouTube channel for his weekly looks at the blues guitar greats.   Johnny’s recordings have evolved from being very Chicago-centric, to a fusion of West Coast and Chicago styles, and finally,to a more inclusive, international approach.  His latest CD, No Border Blues Japan, is the first American compilation of the underground Japanese blues scene.

“His guitar style is raw and rude and real– on the vocal side, a nice original style– he’s damn good!”                        –Elvin Bishop

An adventurous musician who’s never shy about taking chances.  
–Marty Gunther, Blues Blast 

This veteran blues musician has been on a roll of late turning out one exceptional album after another.
–David Mac, Blues Junction

The well-traveled and prolific Chicago bluesman.. brings something different each time he issues a solo album.
–Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine 

Johnny’s ego-free dedication to the music is refreshing.  In a world where everyone wants to be a superstar, Johnny shines brightly.  He is truly an old-school bluesman.
–Bill Wilson, Reflections in Blue

Johnny Burgin & Special Guests – No Border Blues
Delmark DE 863
Compact Disc

The 1970’s Japanese tours of Chicago blues legends Otis Rush, Jimmy Dawkins, Eddie Taylor, and others created a small but intense Japanese blues scene that bursts over with talent three generations and over forty years later. Delmark Records was there at the beginning of the Japanese love affair with hard-hitting Chicago blues, releasing Otis Rush’s So Many Roads (Delmark 643) recorded live in Japan in 1975. Many of the attendees at that show were so inspired that they went on to become Japan’s first generation of blues musicians, and to serve as inspiration to the younger artists featured on the recording we’re proud to present today. No Border Blues is the first-ever American compilation of some of the brightest flames of the small but fervent underground blues scenes of Osaka, Tokyo, and Kyoto. It’s an unprecedented showcase of young and committed traditional blues artists that by and large never expected to be heard outside Japan (or even outside of their neighborhood “live house”), but very much deserve to be.

Johnny Burgin’s (formerly Rockin’ Johnny’s) tagline of “The Worldwide West Side Guitar Man” encapsulates his focus on traditional Chicago “West Side” style so well documented by Delmark records, as well as his rigorous international touring schedule. He’s certainly no stranger to inter-cultural blues endeavors, having collaborated with blues artists in 15 countries in recent years. He’s toured Japan four times since 1996 and he drew on his long relationships with Japanese artists both in Japan as well as in Chicago to produce this recording. Johnny sings a few songs and contributes guitar throughout, but he very much puts the spotlight on the remarkable and inspiring playing of his Japanese peers.

https://embed.music.apple.com/us/album/no-border-blues/1508623838

Johnny Burgin – Live
Delmark DE 858 (2019)

My thing has always been live music. Going to shows, booking shows, playing shows. Playing with the best musicians I could. More than anything, I loved the feeling of getting in the van and going. Even better, once I got there, I love the feeling of knockin’ em dead.

It’s been nearly 20 years since my last live CD. That one, More Real Folk Blues Live, was Chicago in every way, back when living in Chicago was like Christmas for me every day. It was the result of seeing and playing with great blues artists all the time– artists like Eddie C. Campbell, Tail Dragger, Sam Lay, Eddie Taylor Jr., Jimmy Dawkins, Eddie Shaw, Little Arthur Duncan, Jimmy Burns, Big Smokey Smothers, L.V. Banks, Eddy Clearwater– and many others. It was a recording borne of a long, self-imposed apprenticeship– the kind musicians like me came to Chicago from all over the world to get. Although that apprenticeship ended some time ago, I have begun another journey that’s taken me from coast to coast in the US and all around the world, across Europe, to Russia, Japan and beyond.

Live recordings often just repeat well-worn songs played by well-oiled machines. This live session is the exact opposite. It offers twelve brand-new originals done by artists who don’t play together regularly, performed for a packed house of enthusiastic fans of course! We had just one night to nail it– which made this recording a crazy, but thrilling, high wire act! The many miles and musical clairvoyance I’ve enjoyed with my road band of bassist Chris Matheos and drummer Steve Dougherty gave me the confidence for this do-or-die session. I drew from the great Bay Area blues talent pool that lured me to the West Coast back in 2016. I count all my special guests as friends and knew their contributions would carry me through. Blues legend Charlie Musselwhite’s driving boogie-woogie harp on “California Blues” is an absolute highlight. The end result is a raw, fresh, and original all-star set of blues, shot through with live energy.

Chicago Blues sax legend Eddie Shaw once said, “It takes 20 years to make a bluesman.” Here I am, ready to play my blues for you.

–Johnny Burgin

https://www.bluessingerkatherinedavis.com

BIO: Katherine Davis

                            Blues Vocalist, Songwriter,

                    Producer & Music Recording Artist,

                  Band Leader, Playwright and Actress

“Over the course of her illustrious career, Katherine Davis has been hailed as a singer of several overlapping musical genres and as an actress as well.” —Author Bill Dahl | Featured Interview in Blues Blast Magazine 

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Katherine Davis has been performing blues music in the Chicagoland area since the ‘70s; recognized as a Chicago treasure, and ambassador for the sounds of the Chicago Blues, Miss Davis has performed around the world and yet —she is most proud of her work with students over the past 20+ years —as a teaching artist, through her “Blues for Youth Project” (formerly “Blues in the Schools”). Thanks to the numerous grants & awards received by the City of Chicago DCASE and IAP, Miss Davis’ students have been given the ability to learn about the History of the Blues, while discovering and refining their talents, to make the most of the opportunity to perform —at the Chicago Blues Festival, for the past 25 years :: CREDITS: City of Chicago, Cultural Affairs and Special Events – DCASE 

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Katherine’s command of various musical styles, coupled with her unique musical approach, was nurtured early on as a young teen, and further expanded by studying opera at the Sherwood Conservatory of Music, under the direction of Maria D’Albert.

Music lovers of Blues, Jazz or Gospel can find Katherine appearing with piano accompaniment at a nightclub, fronting a large band, singing at private affairs, Hosting Jam Sessions, Showcasing Youth & Local Musicians at community centers or fundraising events —to being featured at festivals or international touring events. Katherine’s intensity is not only felt by the audience —they are drawn to engage with her. 

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Whether she’s portraying Bessie Smith or Ma Rainey in a theatrical production; phrasing like Billie Holiday, scatting like Ella, growling like Howlin’ Wolf or singing sweet as Dinah Washington on stage —Katherine is beloved by fans & fellow musicians in Turkey, Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Canada, Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania, and Japan.  

“One of Wisconsin’s Premier harmonica and guitar players” – Robert Jr. Whitall- Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine

Press

https://youtube.com/watch?v=68Zys5cRz4s%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26wmode%3Dopaque%26autoplay%3D0

Monday October 21st, 2024
Orson’s Saloon
6 – 8 PM
3558 E Barnard Ave, Cudahy, WI 53110
w/ The Grille Kings Trio
Featuring Johnny Burgin




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“He’s an amalgamation of different styles. To tell you the truth, “Big” Al is truly one of the GREATEST young players I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing” – Billy Branch.

“One of the GREATEST harmonica and guitar players of his generation” – Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys. 

• “Big” Al Dorn – Blues at it’s finest

http://www.bigaldorn.com/