6BN-Plattsburg

20 February 2016
Written by Phil Brisse

New Blues Concert Series in Plattsburgh

A new concert series has seen the light of day just across the border in Plattsburgh, NY. Less than an hour from Montreal, and only twenty minutes once you cross the border, the newly minted Plattsburgh Blues and Jazz Series will present top notch national touring bands over the next several weeks. A world class lineup featuring festival grade music will be heating up the Champlain Wine Company, where the shows will be held this spring.
 
A website will be set up soon, but for now you can pick up tickets in advance for $12 at the Champlain Wine Company, 30 City Hall Place, or you can pay $15 at the door. As a bonus for Montreal Blues Society members, Canadian funds will be accepted at par, which is nothing to sneeze at these days! (You can join the MBS online now - click the Members tab).
 
The inaugural series show featured Swampcandy on February 12th. Below are some photos of that night taken by series instigator Laura Carbone. In her words, "The first show of the Plattsburgh Blues and Jazz Series was off the hook great! Swampcandy rolled the crowd deep into the Delta with their raw, stomping post modern blues with a backlash to the Mississippi Hill Country. They went full tilt with inescapable rhythmic boogie riffs and physically took off on stage with a continuous motion of hands slapping bass, guitar shuffle, bare foot on the kick-drum and hair a flying blues." If that's not an endorsement, what is?

Here's what the rest of the lineup looks like:
 
Sunday March 6th 7 PM- BISCUIT MILLER AND THE MIX-(BMA Bass Player of the Year and one of the funkiest live bands around!) 
Saturday March 19th 9 pm- THE SLAM ALLEN BAND - Nominated for best Emerging Artist at this Years BMA's
Sunday April 3rd 7 pm - JP SOARS AND THE RED HOTS - IBC Band of The Year and BMA nomination for Best Male Blues Artist.
Tuesday April 12th, 8PM - JOHN NEMETH AND THE BLUE DREAMERS - Best Blues/Soul Album of 2015 and BB King Entertainer of the Year nomination for 2016 BMA's.

Since the demise of the various year-round blues concert series over the years in Montreal, blues fans who can't wait for the quality programming we are accustomed to during the summer festival season can warm up with some great choices not far from home. Use it or lose it as the expression goes. Support live music, or don't act surprised when good choices disappear. I saw JP Soars last summer at the Tremblant International Blues Festival; trust me you don't want to miss this. And John Nemeth? Caught him at Trois Rivieres en Blues last August and it was excellent. I was lucky enough to see Nemeth perform again on Beale Street last month in Memphis. Memphis Grease indeed! I've never seen Biscuit Miller or the Slam Allen Band, but trust our friend Laura to pick out gems. 
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