Joanne Shaw Taylor
with JD Simo
Thursday, October 7, 2021 at 8:00 PM at Bull Run
Joanne Shaw Taylor
Six albums in, Joanne Shaw Taylor has nothing to prove, but plenty to say. Reckless Heart, the follow-up to 2016’s Top 20 hit, Wild, finds the British blues musician in glorious form and a mischievous mood, one minute bearing her claws with catty lyrics, the next deliriously in love. In several senses, it’s an album of firsts - the first made in Joanne’s adopted home town of Detroit, the first produced by her close friend Al Sutton (Greta Van Fleet, Kid Rock), the first largely recorded live and the first to feature an unplugged solo performance and, by chance, a passing train. But it’s also an album that pulls the past in to the present. The good-time grooves of vintage British blues-rock are given a modern makeover, while Joanne’s most powerful, yet intimate vocals to date take their cue from the gritty soul greats (Aretha, Tina, Mavis Staples) she was raised on.
Guitarist Joe Bonamassa has described Joanne Shaw Taylor as a "superstar in waiting” in the blues/rock world. Her fiery guitar chops, powerful voice and a natural gift for songwriting has helped propel an impressive touring career, with sellouts across the UK and Europe and an ever growing worldwide fanbase. In 2002, while only 16, she was tapped by The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart for his supergroup D.U.P., and artists such as Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi of Tedeschi Trucks Band and blues legend John Mayall have marveled at her talents.
Watch for extensive US touring throughout 2020 featuring cuts from her May 2019 album release on Sony Music/Silvertone, Reckless Heart, which was recently nominated in the Best Blues Rock Album category for the 2020 Blues Music Awards in Memphis on May 7.
JD Simo
Upon the release of his latest album in March 2019, Guitar World raved that JD Simo took “another step toward establishing himself as a contemporary blues rock giant”. Simo melds classic electric blues, the power of heralded British trios like Cream and the expansive sonic explorations of jazz and even The Grateful Dead into a vintage vibe that blurs the lines between genre and generations. His remarkable talent has earned Simo opportunities to share the big stage with many notable headliners including Big Head Todd, Tommy Emmaunel, Blackberry Smoke and Phil Lesh & Friends. NPR said “This Nashville blues trio sounds as if it comes to us straight from 1968.” And Rolling Stone lauded, “J.D. Simo spins soulful psychedelic blues rock with an improvisational bent reminiscent of the Grateful Dead and Stevie Ray Vaughan”.
New album coming in June of 2020 produced by Eddie Spears (Brandi Carlisle, Star Is Born soundtrack, Lake Street Dive, Judah & the Lion and Anderson East among others).