Description

Knickerbocker All-Stars® w/ Brian Templeton

Friday, December 2

Show: 8p | Doors: 7p
Tickets: $20

The Knickerbocker All-Stars are a group of extremely talented blues musicians who have been in the business for decades. Members of the band have played with such notable performers as Freddie King, Robert Cray, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Roomful of Blues as well as their own bands.

Sunday nights at the Knickerbocker Café in Westerly, RI featured the Roomful of Blues in the 1970’s and early 80’s. It quickly became the hottest social event in the area. Duke Robillard, the legendary blues guitarist and leader of the Roomful, would invite many up and coming musicians on stage to get their licks in as well as featured artists, the list of which is too long to mention.

Every song on their CD was carefully selected to emulate the great blues front-men, backed by a full horn section with bluesy and boogie woogie piano. The band includes blues heroes Sugar Ray Norcia, Darcel Wilson, Ricky King Russell, Doug James, Matt McCabe, Doc Chanonhouse, Sax Gordon, Brad Hallen, Carl Querfurfh and Mark Teixeira.

If you play their songs loud enough and close your eyes you can envision the band blasting away while dancers on the floor twist, swing, jitterbug and slow dance real tight. All of this is what was and still is the hallmark of the Knickerbocker Café. The songs are characteristic of the ones played in the heyday of the Knick, first done by early Roomful influences Bobby Bland, Freddie King, Guitar Slim, Cleanhead Vinson, and many others, and this crew reanimates them with authority. The excitement is freshly minted, and there are new songs which could have been done by Louis Jordan and Albert King. What better place than this to celebrate a robust yet undervalued American musical genre? It may have started years ago, but its spirit is timeless, and it's found a home at the Knick.