Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his fellow musicians will lead the way on a new blues tour.
The group, formally known as the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, will headline the first “Backroads Blues Tour” this summer. The brief tour is scheduled to run Aug. 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 21 as part of the band’s ongoing Trouble Is…25th Anniversary Tour.
The “Backroads Blues Tour” will stop in Providence, RI Aug. 13, Bethel, NY on Aug. 14, Lewiston, NY on Aug. 16, Springfield, MA on Aug. 18, Roanoke, VA on Aug. 20 and Portsmouth, VA on Aug. 21. Buddy Guy and Grammy Award winner Christone “Kingfish” Ingram will joining the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band on the brief tour.
Shepherd shared his thoughts on developing the tour during a recent interview.
“These days nobody mounts a traditional touring blues festival,” he said. “I conceptualized one that will give people a chance to see the best of the best all in one place. We are extremely excited that Buddy Guy will be with us for each show. He is, after all, the living king of the blues these days. Also worthy of great respect is Christone “Kingfish” Ingram who is revitalizing the blues in a potent and powerful way.
Shepherd added, “We’re featuring three successive generations of blues artists, underscoring the resonance of the genre. In the past, I really looked forward to those blues packages both as a fan and as an artist, so I decided to bring the concept back with the Backroads Blues Festival tour. “Those were very special shows and once that ended there was a void. Our Backwoods Blues Festival Tour is firmly rooted in that same tradition.”
Guy also shared his enthusiasm for taking part in the tour.
“I’m excited to be part of the first annual Backroads Blues Festival and back out with Kenny Wayne and looking forward to jamming with Kenny and Kingfish,” he said. ““It’s possible we could do an all-acoustic show; we want to be as inclusive as possible.”
Ingram said he is also looking forward to the tour.
“To be back touring again is really great and the opportunity to join Mr. Guy and Mr. Shepherd on stage will be electric,” Ingram said. “These tour dates will be lots of fun.”
The full scheduled for the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band’s upcoming tour dates is noted below.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band on tour (Backwoods Blues Festival Tour dates in blue)
4/7 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
4/8 Springfield, MO Gillioz Theatre
4/9 New Buffalo, MI Four Winds Casino
4/13 Warren, OH Robins Theatre
4/14 Glenside, PA Keswick, Theater
4/15 Greensburg, PA Palace Theatre
4/16 Carmel, IN Palladium
4/26 Midland, MI Center for the Arts
4/27 Champaign, IL Virginia Theater
4/28 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre
4/29 Green Bay, WI Epic Event Center
5/1 Fargo, ND Fargo Theater
5/3 Sioux Falls, SD The District
5/5 Ft. Collins, CO Lincoln Center
5/6 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
5/7 Pikes Peak, CO Pikes Peak Center
5/19 Norwalk, CT Wallstreet Theatre
5/20 New Brunswick, NJ State Theatre
5/22 Annapolis, MD Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival
5/28 Marksville, LA Paragon Casino
6/11 Ft. Wayne, IN Sweetwater *
6/12 Kettering, OH Fraze Pavilion *
6/17 Aurora, IL Blues on the Fox
6/24 Wichita, KS Hartman Arena (with ZZ Top)
7/9 Nescopeck, PA Briggs Farm Blues Fest
7/15 Houston, TX House of Blues
7/16 Austin, TX ACL Live at Moody Theatre
7/30 Baton Rouge, LA River Center
8/13 Providence, RI Bold Point Park
8/14 Bethel, NY Bethel Amphitheatre
8/16 Lewiston, NY Artpark
8/18 Springfield, MA Symphony Hall
8/19 Wantagh, NY Jones Beach
8/20 Roanoke, VA Elmwood Park
8/21 Portsmouth, VA Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
8/22 Ocean City, NJ Ocean City Music Pier
9/17 Biloxi, MS IP Casino & Resort
9/29 San Diego, CA Humphreys by the Bay
9/30 Saratoga, CA Mountain Winery
10/2 Reno, NV Battle Axe & Tracks Festival
*KWS birthday celebration with Samantha Fish, the Ally Venable Band and special guest Shemekia Copeland
More information on the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band’s run on the inaugural “Backwoods Blues Festival Tour” is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
Website: https://kennywayneshepherd.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kennywayneshepherd
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kwshepherd
To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.