2023 PROGRAM

SUNDAY 3:00 PM ADORNI WATERFRONT CENTER Duke Robillard with Carl Sonny Leyland & the Boogie Woogie Boys Tribute to Big Joe Turner & Jimmy Witherspoon DUKE ROBILLARD

BLUES, JAZZ, SWING

Whether it's a song, a style, an idiom or an image, DUKE ROBILLARD will render it with mastery, power, nuance and an unerring grasp of its essence. Duke's resume is decorated with Grammy nominations, Handy Awards and Blues Music Awards, and other honors for his artistry, recordings and productions within the United States and internationally. Robillard is a true legend in the American blues and jump swing world. He formed the jump swing band Roomful of Blues in 1967 when he was 19. He led the band for over a decade, recording several albums and touring the country. By the time Duke left Roomful after a dozen years, he was firmly established in the upper echelon of contemporary blues guitarists. Duke went from Roomful to a stint with rockabilly revivalist Robert Gordon and then to the first iteration of the Legendary Blues Band, composed primarily of then-recent Muddy Waters sidemen. On his own since 1977, Duke continues to lead bands and record albums, all of which have been based on jump blues, swing, and blues music. The Duke Robillard Band debuted in 1981, re-emerging as The Pleasure Kings with their eponymous 1984 album on Rounder. It and its sequel, Too Hot To Handle , burnished Duke's songwriting portfolio; the 1987 jazz outing Swing (with saxophonist Scott Hamilton) underscored his versatility and remains a highlight. Continuing his solo career, Duke replaced

Jimmie Vaughan with The Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1990. He cut his own much-awaited straight blues album Duke's Blues in 1993 for Canadian imprint Stony Plain, leading to a continuing and prolific alliance, along with releases during the ensuing years on Point Blank/ Virgin and Shanachie, as well as instructional videos. His unsurpassed mastery of the guitar style of T-Bone Walker (later crystallized memorably in his 2004 release Blue Mood ) was deservedly heralded, but his breadth was also head-turning: from swing, standards and ballads to rockers, gutbucket Chicago blues and rockabilly. Duke has also launched his own labels with Jesse Finkelstein, Blue Duchess/Shining Stone. Duke has produced albums by Billy Boy Arnold, Joe Louis Walker, Jimmy Witherspoon and Jay McShann, Billy Price and Otis Clay, and Sunny Crownover, as well as recording two collaborations with Herb Ellis, and a pairing with his successor in Roomful - Ronnie Earl. Some of Robillard's studio credits include Bob Dylan's highly acclaimed 1997 Time Out Of Mind , Ruth Brown, Pinetop Perkins, Snooky Pryor, Al Copley, Todd Sharpville and Tony Z. RCMF is honored and humbled that Duke says this is his "favorite festival on the planet". He's one of our favorites on the planet, too!!! www.dukerobillard.com SPONSORED BY JACK & BARB MC COWN

FRIDAY 4:00 pm ADORNI WATERFRONT CENTER

SATURDAY 1:00 pm ADORNI WATERFRONT CENTER 5:30 pm SEQUOIA CENTER - Duke Swings with Marc Caparone's Back O'Town Allstars SUNDAY 3:00 pm ADORNI WATERFRONT CENTER

with Joe Beard, Wes Starr, & Randy Bermudes 7:00 pm EUREKA THEATER with Kid Ramos, Tommy Harkenrider & Mando Dorame

with Joel Paterson, Carl Sonny Leyland & Jonathan Doyle

with Carl Sonny Leyland & The Boogie Woogie Boys

www.rcmfest.org | redwood coast music festival

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