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Motor City Josh & The Big 3 have a mission to bring the "Funky Blues You Can't Refuse!" to everyone: young, old, black, white, rich or poor all over the planet. No one has more fun on stage than Josh and it is very contagious to the crowd.
Josh started as a full time Blues musician back in 1991 with The Curtis Sumter Project. Then went on to form Motor City Josh & The Big 3 in 1994.
From 2000 to 2004 Josh was based in Atlanta and has a great following there.
Detroit Michigan native Motor City Josh is currently based out of Detroit. Josh performs around 300 shows a year which include most of the United States, England and Scotland, Josh has built a substantial following everywhere he goes.
This is Josh’s fourth year in a row performing at The Cowpie Blues Festival. If this is your first time seeing Josh then you are in for a treat, if you’ve seen him before then you know what to expect…a great performance and a rocking show. Please welcome Motorcity Josh and the Big 3 to the 2008 Cowpie Blues Festival! |
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ON JANUARY 12, 2008- MEM SHANNON AND THE MEMBERSHIP RECEIVED OFFBEAT MAGAZINE'S -"BEST BLUES BAND AWARD of 2007"
Mem is a former 15-year Bourbon Street cab driver who's since released 4 albums worldwide (2 on Rykodisc, 2 on Shanachie). Mem Shannon & The Membership are from New Orleans and while their music is rooted in the blues, it's soaked through with that Big Easy syncopated sound, oozing with funk. They've played the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 12 years. They've won or been nominated for a ton of "Best Of" awards for Louisiana music and national blues - including 2 W.C. Handy Award nominations ('96 and '02). Mem emerged onto the scene in 1996 with his first release, "A Cab Driver's Blues" on Hannibal/Rykodisc. The breakthrough buzz album led to national media coverage from folks like ABC World News, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, E! Entertainment Television, The New York Times, NPR and a much anticipated/celebrated performance at SXSW. Fast forward to Mem's last release, which included the song "S.U.V." The catchy rant against SUV's and their drivers became a mini-hit at blues radio, syndicated and specialty shows, and even a few Triple-A formats. It was named Song of the Year by Living Blues Magazine in 2002 and received a Handy nomination. The song was also added to NPR's great show "Car Talk" and “Car Talk’s” most recent CD music compilation. Mem has shared bills with John Scofield, Toots & The Maytals, Gov't Mule, Josh Kelley, Junior Brown, Kim Richey, Branford Marsalis, Paul Cebar & The Milwaukeeans, Buckwheat Zydeco, Walter Trout, Karl Denson, Taj Mahal, Galactic, Robert Cray and many more. They tour constantly and have played most of the premier blues and roots festivals (King Biscuit, Montreal Jazz Fest, Kansas City Jazz & Blues Fest, Monterey Bay Blues Fest, Kerrville Folk Festival...), while headlining clubs night after night across the US and into Canada, Europe and Australia. Though they were also presented in Hong Kong by the House of Blues and in Venezuela by the U.S. Embassy, and were part of an all-star tribute to Muddy Waters at The Kennedy Center for a televised special for PBS and NHK/Japan. This year they played the huge Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle featuring diverse bands like Nickleback, Nas, The Pixies and Koko Taylor. They also played the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, an event that included B.B. King, Gov't Mule and Greg Allman. Not bad for a former cab driver. Mem will be joining us at The 2008 Cowpie Blues Festival having recently completed a tour of Europe. Mem will light up the stage in the traditional Cowpie manner and we can’t wait! |
 | Please welcome The Jimmie Stagger Band back to the 2008 Cowpie Blues Festival. Jimmie is currently the hardest working blues musician in West Michigan and is always a pleasure to see perform. Hey, it just plain wouldn't be a Cowpie Festival if we didn't have Jimmie there! |
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Since March of 1993, the Chicago Rhythm and Blues Kings have been blasting out their own soul-steeped brand of R&B and blues on a nightly basis. But anyone who knows Windy City blues and R&B realizes that this band's collective history harks back a great deal further than that. Prior to '93, they were the celebrated Mellow Fellows, the high-energy, brass-leavened outfit that supplied skin-tight backing for giant-sized soul/blues singer Big Twist until his tragic 1990 death. For more than a decade, Big Twist & the Mellow Fellows reigned as one of the hottest attractions on the Midwest blues circuit.
Tenor sax man Terry Ogolini and trumpeter Don Tenuto comprise one of Chicago’s most dangerous horn sections; bassist Bob Halaj and guitarist David Mick, band members for 13 and 12 years, respectively continue to cook up sizzling rhythms, anchored by drummer Willie Hayes. Sax legend Gene "Daddy G" Barge, who played classic sax solos on hits by Chuck Willis ("C.C. Rider"), Gary (U.S.) Bonds ("Quarter To Three"), Jimmy Soul ("If You Wanna Be Happy"), Little Milton ("We're Gonna Make It") and Koko Taylor ("Wang Dang Doodle") sings and plays relentlessly as swinging instrumentals typically showcase the group's eternally sky-high level of musicianship. Necessity motivated the band's 1993 re-christening. "We couldn't think of a name for the band after “The Mellow Fellows” and we needed a name for a coming weekend gig, because when the band flipped over from the Mellow Fellows, we still had jobs. It had to be done that quick," says Terry. "We figured that when it comes down to it, the music is more important than any kind of name that you could come up with. And we figured once people started recognizing and seeing who we were, that the music would speak for itself. We've always let it do that anyway." |
 | The Alligators have been playing the kind of music that Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf would have loved for over 25 years now. That time and commitment alone ought to account for something. The attitude that they bring to the stage during every performance has everything to do with their love of the blues and their continued excitement of being a band. This longevity is a testament to their success and has helped this Detroit band develop into one of the tightest blues bands in the Midwest. The Cowpie Blues Festival is proud to have these guys kick off Saturday! |
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Last year Those Delta Rhythm Kings kicked off the Cowpie. Oh my, what an act to open the whole event! These guys (and gal) are one heck of a band. Jump Blues at it’s finest! After blowing (literally) the Cowpie audience away I was fortunate to listen to their show many times on tape during the production of our “We’ve Got A Live One Here” Cowpie 2007 Compilation CD. The more I listened to them, the more I realized just how good these folks are!
We asked them to come back for the 2008 Cowpie and put them into a Saturday afternoon slot because they are such a great band. These guys deserve to headline! You can put them in the same category as Room Full of Blues. Those Delta Rhythm Kings will get you dancing, last year we had a couple of folks visit the ER tent to get ice to cool down after dancing to their entire set! Please welcome back Those Delta Rhythm Kings to The 2008 Cowpie Blues Festival. |
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There are minor distinctions separating blues, gospel, country, and rock music, and there's a space between the turn of the last century and the turn of this one. Tarbox Ramblers just prefers not to notice. Led by Michael Tarbox, this Boston trio plays music that sounds like a stack of old 78s melted on top of a CD.
The Tarbox Ramblers play with abandon, and the effect can be hypnotic and very entrancing, but the barbed-wire texture of both the music and Tarbox's voice is designed to keep anyone from getting too comfortable. When Tarbox's band hits its groove, it's hard not to nod along. The Tarbox Ramblers have outgrown a tasteful reverence for roots, making grimy, thrilling noise. This Boston band acts like the last 40 years never happened, peeling away decades of other folks' clumsy blues and country-rock adaptations to reveal the crazed intensity at the music's core. We heard The Tarbox Ramblers at last year’s Wheatland Festival and spoke to them that night after their performance about playing the 2008 Cowpie. At times, if you close you eyes you’ll think you’ve walked into a Hound Dog Taylor show. I don’t really know how to describe these guys except for great! Real rocking blues and energy that is often too lacking in many performers. We are very excited to have The Tarbox Ramblers play the 2008 Cowpie! |
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Led by guitarist/vocalist Vincent Hayes, and packing one of the tightest rhythm sections in Michigan, The Vincent Hayes Project is a high-energy, experimental blues band on the rise. In addition to being veterans of the Michigan Blues Festival circuit, the band has become one of John Sinclair’s backing bands of “Blues Scholars” on his recent tours of Michigan in 2007. In both 2006 and 2007 they traveled to Memphis, TN as one of 130 semi-finalists in the world in the Annual International Blues Challenge on Beale Street, which is sponsored by The Blues Foundation. They have been invited to open for a growing list of national headliners such as The Steve Miller Band, Joe Bonamassa, and Frank Bang’s Secret Stash.
What makes this group unique is its raw power coupled with subtle dynamics and versatility. The VHP is founded on the Blues, but still manages to find the blues within other musical genres, drawing inspiration from a wide array of backgrounds in funk, reggae, soul, jazz, gospel, rock, Motown, and American folk, as all of these genres essentially trace their lineage to the Blues. The goal is to make good music-whatever that may be. For those who have had their fill of raucous blues shuffles, the Vincent Hayes Project brings their own personal blend of blues; a culmination of Hayes’ eclectic tastes, expressively cranked out from fierce guitar licks. Combine that with a veteran bassist (Dave "The Butcher" Alves, who Hayes describes as "indispensable") and a guru of groove on drums (Donny Hugley) and you’ve got an explosive blues experience waiting to be lit.” Vincent played the very first Cowpie doing an acoustic set. We are very pleased to have him back at Cowpie after a six-year absence! |
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Blues, Soul & Rock 'n' Roll. Those three ingredients are the inspiration for Measure Chaos, as well as their direction. The band is heavily influenced by Chicago's classic blues, Detroit's R&B, and the Rock/Blues music explosion of the late sixties, and they have the pedigrees to prove it.
Al Jacquez, Mark Tomorsky, Mark Gougeon and Bill Gordon enjoyed impressive musical careers before being fused together as Measured Chaos. Their collective credits include work with; Savage Grace, Lightnin', Mitch Ryder, Guardian Angel, Mark Lindsay, Little Richard, Billy Preston, Jamie James, John Mellencamp, Johnny Powers, The Suspects, The Reflections, Frigid Pink, as well as work for commercials, film and television. Live shows by this Detroit based quartet are a powerful reminder that connecting with an audience is the most important part of any performance. It is “substance over style.” No histrionics. No explosions. No fake personas. Just honest, "from the footprint of their soul" performances, revealing a life spent working the blues to get to this point. Measured Chaos has been touring since 2003, delighting audiences from 8 to 80. From die-hard blues aficionados to kids raised on rap and rock, from clubs to theatres to festivals. Whatever the event, when Measured Chaos plays, it is anything but chaos. With countless miles logged and 2 CDs under their belts, MC is gaining on the dream. We are excited to have Measured Chaos play for us on Friday evening at The Cowpie! |
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"A lot of people tell me they don't like country music, but they like what I am doing," says Junior Brown. "I hear that line more than anything else," which is ironic because a couple of licks is all it takes to erase any doubts concerning Junior's stylistic allegiance. His music combines the soul of blues and country and the spirit of rock n' roll.
Following years as Austin's best-kept secret, then a few more as the town's one must-see act for visiting musicians and label heads, Junior Brown and his music have since found an audience far beyond the Lone Star border. Junior's first two albums (12 Shades of Brown and Guit With It) have helped establish him as a crowd favorite from Texas roadhouses to the hippest clubs of New York City and Europe. There's usually a wide-eyed look accompanying one who witnesses Junior's unique instrumental prowess for the first time... or the second, or third, for that matter. Junior invented his own guitar, one that combines the standard 6-string guitar and the steel guitar. He calls it the "guit-steel." In Junior's hands, the guit-steel is an amazing tool, a means to creating some of the hottest, most heartfelt playing heard in years (and in a town like Austin, that's saying something). His talents have led major magazines like Musician to herald Junior as a genius. Life magazine honored him as the only contemporary musician included in their "All Time Band," and Guitar Player magazine's 1994 "Best of..." listings made him their #1 lap steel player, #2 Guitarist. While Junior is not known as your typical “Blues” artist, take it from me that you won’t believe your eyes or ears! His show will feature a lot of blues, a lot of country, a lot of rock and a lot of folks that are watching with their mouth’s wide open wondering how he does what he does! We are thrilled to welcome Junior Brown to this years Cowpie Blues Festival! |
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Biscuit Miller grew up on the south side of Chicago, listening to gospel and soul music courtesy of his Grandmother. He got his name from bothering his Grandmother when she was trying to cook so one time she gave him a pan of freshly bakes biscuits and he ate the whole pan….she started calling him Biscuit and the name stuck. When he was about 11 he picked up the bass. He soon formed his first band called “Clever” and they moved to Minneapolis. He began playing and recording with Sonny Rogers and then with Mojo Buford of Muddy Water’s Band and Lady Blue from the Ike and Tina Turner Revue.
One night Lonnie Brooks was looking for a bass player and Biscuit got the call. Biscuit traveled to Chicago and began playing for Lonnie Brooks. That gig lasted 10 years! After that gig he began touring as Anthony Gomes bass player and played in Anthony’s band for 5 years playing 250 show a year and recording 5 CD’s with Anthony. Biscuit Miller has started to tour with his band The Mix, they play a “mix” of blues, funk and rock. Biscuit Miller and The Mix also feature an outstanding young guitarist named Jordan Lunardini from Kalamazoo, MI. We are very excited to have them kick off the 2008 Cowpie. |