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Waukesha BluesFest Announces The James Hunter Six as Friday, August 9 Headliner

Waukesha Blues Fest, held August 9 and 10 at Naga-Waukee Park in Delafield announces headliner, The James Hunter Six as it's Friday headliner! Tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 1st.

 

Waukesha BluesFest Announces Friday, August 9 Headliner

The James Hunter Six

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Waukesha BluesFest, “An American Music and Art Festival, presented by the Waukesha Rotary Club, is in its seventh year and will be held Friday and Saturday, August 9 and 10, 2013 at Naga-Waukee Park in Delafield, 1/2 mile north of I-94 on STH 83.  Gates open at 12:30pm both days with the music running from 1pm until 10:30pm.

 

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THE JAMES HUNTER SIX will headline Waukesha BluesFest on Friday, August 9th, 2013 with a 9pm performance.  Supporting the release of his new album Minute By Minute, James Hunter is currently on a world tour which included an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno two weeks ago.  He will return to the United States later this summer for additional dates including his performance at Waukesha BluesFest.

 

James Hunter was born October 2, 1962 into a working–class family in Colchester, Essex.  “It wasn’t quite like growing up with the blues in Alabama, but in my part of England, anywhere south of Watford would be considered Alabama,” he notes.  Among James’ earliest musical influences was a collection of 78 r.p.m. records of Fifties rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm & blues given to him by his grandmother; and his older brother Perry Hunstman (James' real surname), “the one responsible for me learning how to play a G chord.”  James’ passion for the music of the Fifties and Sixties never waned as he toiled for seven years as a signal locking fitter in Colchester.

 

In the early Nineties, Van Morrison caught James’ act at a gig in Wales and subsequently hired him as a backup singer for several years of touring and recording.  James appeared on Morrison’s live album, A Night in San Francisco (1994), and on the studio set, Days Like This (1995).  About Hunter, Morrison said, "He's one of the best voices and best kept secrets in British R&B and soul."  But by 2003, James Hunter was 41 years old and without a record deal or a gig.  His dreams of a career in music were fading.  “I went through a particularly skint time,” he later told an interviewer. “I was forced to do laboring jobs through an agency. It was terrible. I discovered that busking was better.”

 

Through a chance encounter with an American vacationing in London, busking later led to management and a record deal, and in 2006, GO Records/Rounder released People Gonna Talk, the first James Hunter album ever issued in the US.  With its affectionate echoes of Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson, the disc became an airplay staple on some of the nation’s most influential radio stations.  The Los Angeles Times praised James Hunter’s “extraordinary soul voice”; Rolling Stone called his album “a treat not to miss.”  By the year’s end, People Gonna Talk was among the Top Ten “Best Albums of 2006” as cited by Mojo, USA Today and the WFUV listeners’ poll, to name a few.  It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album and James himself was nominated as Best New/Emerging Artist in the annual Americana Music Awards.

 

Hunter’s next album, The Hard Way (GO Records/Hear Music) earned even better accolades, with Rolling Stone calling it “unbelievably awesome” and the New York Times praising Hunter’s “tight, slithery groove” and “sweet growl.”  The album featured a guest appearance by avowed Hunter fan Allen Toussaint, and like its predecessor reached #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart.  Hunter toured extensively behind it, both as a headliner and supporting the likes of Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Willie Nelson, Van Morrison, Chris Isaak, Boz Scaggs and others.

 

The James Hunter Six will be supported by rising R&B star Nikki Hill as his opening act at 7:30pm on Friday, August 9, 2013.  North Carolina born and bred Hill draws on vintage female rhythm and blues influences such as LaVern Baker, Etta James and Ruth Brown, as well as some of her favorite male singers Otis Redding and Solomon Burke, without being stuck or pigeonholed strictly as a ‘retro’ artist.  Her tough vocal style fits with contemporary sensibilities yet evokes all the great blues shouters of previous decades. Additional acts will be announced for the 2013 edition of Waukesha BluesFest very soon!

 

In addition to the live music entertainment, Waukesha BluesFest features an exceptional selection of food from popular local restaurants, a full selection of beverages and an Art Show featuring regional and locally known artists.  Applications for artists interested in being considered for the Waukesha BluesFest Art Show are still being accepted, contact Lynn Gaffey at the Almont Gallery in Waukesha at 262-542-1522.

 

Advance tickets go on sale Wednesday May 1st.  Waukesha BluesFest fans can recognize significant savings by purchasing their tickets in advance.  Tickets will be available on-line at www.waukeshabluesfest.com.  Tickets will also be available by mail order and at a number of local area businesses.

 

Major sponsors of Waukesha BluesFest include the Waukesha law firm of Cramer, Multhauf & Hammes, LLP, Waukesha State Bank, Cooper Power Systems and the Waukesha Rotary Club with additional supporters soon to be announced.  Proceeds from the event will be distributed by the Waukesha Rotary Club Charitable Fund to local humanitarian charities and civic projects.

 

For additional information on the event visit www.waukeshabluesfest.com, email info@waukeshabluesfest.com, or call 1-800-366-1961.

 

 

About the Waukesha Rotary Club:

 

The Waukesha Rotary Club was formed in 1920.  Since then, the Club has initiated more than eight hundred members in its 91years.  The Waukesha Rotary Club is one of 33,000 Rotary Clubs in more than 200 countries and geographic areas, and its members total 88 of more than 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide.  Rotary Club members are volunteers who work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto “Service above Self.”  Past recipients of the Waukesha Rotary Club’s charitable giving include Angel’s Grace Hospice, Whiterock Elementary School, the Volunteer Center of Waukesha County, The Women’s Center, Inc., Salvation Army, Christmas Clearing Council, Safe Babies Healthy Families, Easter Seals, Haiti and many more.  For more information on the Waukesha Rotary Club, visit www.waukesharotary.org.

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