Blue Bear Master Artist Series

Get Informed, Get Inspired!

Elvin Bishop at Blue Bear Live III
[photo by: Julie Bernstein]

Blue Bear is very pleased to introduce our new Master Artist Series - a combination of performance, technique discussion, personal stories and audience Q&A that give you an opportunity to interact with well established musicians in a unique and intimate setting. Our Master Artist Series is both instruction and entertainment, for both musicians and fans!

Program 2 in our exciting new Master Artist Series features blues guitar legend Elvin Bishop. One of the most respected guitarists to emerge from the '60s blues-rock explosion, Elvin got his start in Chicago playing with such artists as J.T. Brown, Hound Dog Taylor and Junior Wells, before making his name as a founding member of seminal electric blues group Paul Butterfield Blues Band (which included Howlin' Wolf's former rhythm section). An integrated band playing blues music in 1965 was unheard of, and this, together with the band's powerful rock 'n' roll infused sound, helped introduce the blues to a whole new audience. Elvin eventually relocated to San Francisco, where he launched a solo career that has spanned four decades. He played in the epic Allman Brothers Band's Fillmore East concerts, recorded and toured with such blues luminaries as John Lee Hooker and B.B. King, and hit the charts with several solo tracks, all while clocking in many hours on the road and onstage entertaining and delighting crowds. Elvin has released three well-received solo albums on renowned blues and roots label Blind Pig Records, including his latest release The Blues Rolls On, which earned him a 2009 GRAMMY nomination and four 2009 Blues Music Awards nominations.

For more info on Elvin Bishop, visit his website and MySpace page.

Funding for this series is generously provided by the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation

More info on Program 1 featuring bassist Stu Hamm and drummer Joel Taylor.