Samuel James brings his ferocious, masterful, original country blues to the Mainstay in Rock Hall, Maryland on Saturday June 27 at 8:00 p.m. The concert is part of the MainstayBlues series of blues concerts. Admission is $20. For information and reservations call 410-639-9133. Information is also available at the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.
A deeply soulful singer, virtuoso instrumentalist and captivating storyteller, Samuel James is a blues based singer-songwriter known his dazzling innovative guitar playing, his solid fingerstyle guitar, his down-to-earth song-stories that speak volumes, and his intimate arrangements that, according to the music website popmatters.com, “suck you in so far you forget just how hard you are listening.” He has been described as a mixture of Charlie Patton, Preston Reed, Bill Withers, Tom Waits and Townes Van Zandt.
Another website, thecountryblues.com describes him as “wildly individualistic, a powerhouse of intensity, a man that packs ferocity in his virtuosity in what is unabashedly deep roots” and says his approach to the blues is “vibrant, modern and cool.”
His audiences get in the groove, stamping their feet, wondering how he’s getting all those sounds out of one guitar and then falling silent remembering old disappointments, heartbreaks and falling in love again.
Born in Biddeford, Maine and still based in New England, he says he was “born the last in a long line of performers including dancers, story tellers, choir singers, porch-stomping guitar thumpers, and a session-jazz pianist dating back to the 1890s.”
James has a critically acclaimed trilogy of albums, “Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy” (2008), “For Rosa, Maeve and Noreen” (2009) and “For the Dark Road Ahead” (2012) all on Toronto’s Northern Blues label. They have gained him praise not only for carrying on great traditions, but for being an innovator as well.
His touring schedule over the past 10 years has taken him from Maine to California as well as to Canada and all over Europe earning standing ovations everywhere he goes.
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. It is committed to presenting local, regional and national level talent, at a reasonable price, in an almost perfect acoustic setting. Wine, beer, sodas and snacks are available at the bar.
The Mainstay is supported by ticket sales, fundraising including donations from friends and audience members and an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.
For information and reservations call the Mainstay at 410-639-9133. More information is also available at the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.
Upcoming Mainstay performances include:
July 11 Tim Sparks, free outdoor concert
July 12 Matt Palmer, classical guitar
July 18 Big Joe Maher and the Dynaflows
July 25 Philadelphia Jug Band , free outdoor concert
August 1 Dan Paisley and Southern Grass
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