Renowned blues harmonica player Phil Wiggins brings his amazing House Party show to The Mainstay. Admission is $22 online or $26 by phone reservation/at the door. Information and advance ticket sales are available at the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org and reservations can also be made by calling 410-639-9133.
Washington, D.C. native Phil Wiggins, a Takoma Park, Maryland, resident, blues musician, teacher and artistic director, a two time winner of the prestigious WC Handy Blues Foundation awards, is only the third harmonica player to receive the lifetime honor of an NEA National Heritage Fellowship. Today he is the only living player of the instrument to hold the prestigious honor of being a “Master of Traditional Arts.” Often referred to by its unofficial designation as “Living Cultural Treasure” award, the fellowship honors and preserves the diverse cultural heritage in the United States.
Phil Wiggins is a versatile traditional harmonica player, continuing the Piedmont blues tradition, a gentle and melodic blues style of the mid-Atlantic region. He plays the diatonic ten-hole harmonica in the country blues style, cupping both hands around the instrument and playing acoustically. His sound is not shaped by the gear, the microphone or amplifier when performing on stage, instead by his complex syncopated patterns, breath-control and rhythm, stylistic virtuosity and fiery solo runs.
Phil and partner John Cephas performed together for 32 years as internationally renowned stars of the country blues, and a staple on blues radio, ever present on the concert and festival. Cephas & Wiggins played Carnegie Hall, Royal Prince Albert Hall in London and the Sydney Opera House, as well as small venues worldwide, touring every continent except Antarctica. They recorded more than a dozen critically acclaimed albums, including on Flying Fish and Alligator Records. They even performed at the White House with B.B. King. Phil Wiggins has have been featured in major music magazines, including on the cover of Living Blues, and the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and many more.
Since the 2009 death of John Cephas, Phil has performed with numerous musicians including Nat Reese, Corey Harris, Australian guitarist Dom Turner, Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons, Sherman Holmes, the Rev. John Wilkins, Jerron Paxton, and longtime friends Eleanor Ellis and Rick Franklin. He fronts the acoustic swing/roots/blues ensemble, the Chesapeake Sheiks, and is actively engaged in reuniting the Piedmont blues with its origins of African American buck and tap dancing.
The House Party is an acoustic blues ensemble that reunites the dance tradition with the Piedmont and other country blues styles. Phil Wiggins is joined by the D.C. based Piedmont picker and longtime friend, guitar player Rick Franklin and Marcus Moore, a fiery jazz violinist steeped in the black string band tradition. They joined forces with urban dancer, Junious Lee Brickhouse, who understands the African American cultural reconnection of the act of dance with the dance music that is the blues.
The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street. It is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit dedicated to the arts, serving Rock Hall, MD and the surrounding region and is committed to presenting local, regional and national level talent, at a reasonable price, in an almost perfect acoustic setting. Information and advance ticket sales are available on the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.
Upcoming Mainstay performances include:
April 1 Joe Holt welcomes Clark Bjorke and Johnson Fortenbaugh
April 6 Banda Magda
April 8 Joe welcomes Steve Giordano
April 14 The Hedgelawn Series presents Taylor Hillary Boykins
April 15 Joe Holt Welcomes Sue Matthews
April 20 Mainstay Scholarship Winner: The Zack Lambert Quartet
April 22 Joe Holt Welcomes Lester Barrett
April 27 The Mainstay Folk Series: Lula Wiles
April 29 Joe Holt Welcomes Paul Midiri
May 4 Keyed Up: Dick Durham and Stef Scaggiarri
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