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Andy Irvine Blues Collective News:

Over Labor Day weekend I had the pleasure of playing with the great Bobby Walker from Dallas TX. He and “The Boogie Doctor” Dr.Paul Schneider along with funky funky drummer Jimmy Yozel, traveled to Grand County for a series of very exciting shows. Including four shows in Grand Lake. Bobby has been performing for 16 years each and every Labor Day weekend in Grand Lake. He is a favorite in Grand County, and for good reason, his singing, excellent guitar playing and charismatic stage presence make the crowds go wild. With several self produced albums to his credit and an extensive career of performing on the road, this is a man who has paid his dues. Bobby’s song selection covers a wide range of styles. He often pulls from an amazing repertoire of roots rock&roll, Memphis soul, Texas boogie, and Detroit Funk. Blues is only one of the many styles you can expect to here when catching him live. It was a great pleasure for me to join him for the second year in Grand Lake. Every time I have had the pleasure of performing with Bobby I’ve learned a great deal. I think of Bobby as musical historian. His knowledge of rock&roll and blues/soul history is amazing. We were joined By LA based keyboard wizard AJ Robb for one show. AJ’s playing and knowledge of music is mind blowing.

In addition we played three shows as ”The Andy Irvine Blues Collective” featuring the always-amazing Jon Pleasant on keyboards and vocals, along with my lovely wife Kay Irvine on vocals. All the shows were excellent and the highlight was our performance at The Crooked Creek Saloon in Fraser Colorado. We closed out The Fraser Valley Funk Fest with a spectacular concert. The show was super funky from down beat. We opened with “Gonna Have a Funky Good Time” from that point on we took it higher and higher. Jimmy Yozel was driving the funky bus from the drum throne. A small but lively audience was getting down and loving it. I enlisted my pal Yaniv Salzberg to record the Show. I’m happy to say the tracks are great. The raw and greasy performances display the bands uncanny ability to support one another and groove like cazy. Paul Schneider’s sax playing is spectacular. The crowd’s energy and involvement in the show makes for a fun listen. When you listen to these recordings you feel like you are there, and it’s a kick ass party. I plan to put together a cd of the show that will be called “Live Assimilation”. I am looking forward to the next time I will be able to assemble these truly incredible musicians.