Événement

Stefan George - Atherton Summer Season 2013

Acclaimed blues musician Stefan George returns to HPR's Atherton Performing Arts Studio on Saturday, July 27th at 7:30 p.m. This will be the acclaimed bluesman's ninth appearance in the Atherton. In addition to his solo acoustic work, he has an electric trio, The Conrads, a duo of guitar and hammered dulcimer, Arm & Hammer, and a folk band, Songtower, but he'll be playing blues in the Atherton. With his heart and fingers connected to the acoustic blues of the Mississippi delta, Stefan has taken the music he loves and created a great styling of his own. His songwriting, slide guitar prowess and "smoke 'n whiskey" voice have won him fans and awards.

Stefan says "I'll present a brief review of the history of early Country Blues featuring Delta style (Robert Johnson) and Piedmont style (Brownie Magee) guitar picking, with anecdotes about the blues culture and musicians. Then I'll proceed to more contemporary songs and originals that embody the influence of those earlier techniques and styles. This concert will be a combination of a musical presentation and a master class about techniques and influences. I'll even be talking about the very real influence of Hawaiian music on the Blues".

Stefan began playing guitar at age eleven. Inspired by legends like Doc Watson, Mississippi John Hurt, and Brownie McGhee, he eventually studied with John Jackson, Steve James, and Del Ray. He made his stage debut at thirteen performing at Green Haven State Prison in upstate New York. At nineteen he hitchhiked around Europe playing cafes and pubs and had a house band gig in Turkey in a Vegas style night club backing a sword dancer. He left NY in the early 70s and played in San Francisco before settling in Tucson, Arizona. He founded a dance crazed World Beat, R&B band, "Brain Damage Orchestra" with partner Lavinia White in 1983, that broke club attendance records around the Southwest for ten years.

He then began dedicating himself to honing his acoustic guitar, songwriting, and slide guitar playing skills in earnest. Since then he's been a finalist in the Telluride Troubadour, the Kerrville New Folk, the Music City, and the Just Plain Folks songwriting competitions. He's won TAMMIE Awards (Tucson Area Music Awards) for Solo Artist, Acoustic Guitar, songwriter and Acoustic Ensemble and
has been inducted into The Tucson Musicians Hall of Fame and The Arizona Blues Hall of Fame.

He's opened for and/or performed with a plethora of music greats such as James Cotton, Mose Allison, Dave Van Ronk, Pete Seeger, Guy Davis, Norman Blake, Taj Mahal, Junior Lockwood, Honey Boy Edwards, Rory Block, Leftover Salmon, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Louden Wainwright III, Little Feat, Elvin Bishop, and many others. Recent performance highlights include a solo tour of Germany, two tours with his blues trio "The Conrads" in Germany as well, featured artist on the internationally syndicated radio show "Beale Street Caravan," the SXSW music conference in Austin, Texas, host and performer at The Kerrville Folk Festival's "Blues Project," The Telluride Blues and Brews Festival, The Mammoth Lakes Bluesapalooza in California, The Silver City Blues Fest in New Mexico, The Lawton International Festival in Oklahoma, The Leverkusen Jazz Fest and The Verdener Blues Tage in Germany, and many, many other great club and festival shows in eight countries and two continents.

Stefan is a prolific and committed recording and songwriting artist with more than ten CDs of original blues and folk music to his credit in the last twelve years.