Blues musician heavyweights come together at USU
A nine-fingered guitarist taught him how to play. She is a multi-talented guitarist/pianist/ singer/songwriter with enough rock to play auditoriums and enough boogie to fuel a 43 year career.
Anyway you look at it, Guy Davis and Ann Rabson are the stuff that legends are made of and this Thursday they both come to the Eccles Conference Center Auditorium.
Though he once played Dr. Josh Hill on “One Life to Live,” Guy Davis is much more comfortable being known as a bluesman. Over the course of eight albums, Davis has created a world where banjos, blues harps and even the occasional washboard are commonplace.
This lush soundscape, coupled with his gravely voice, has been enough to garner a fair share of critical praise. Nominated for several W.C. Handy awards and winner of the Blues Foundation’s “Keeping the Blues Alive” award, Davis is on the forefront of the revivalist movement of blues music.
Ann Rabson describes herself as a “Music Makin’ Mama,” and her 43-year career is proof enough that she’s dead on. This 60-year-old started playing guitar at the tender age of 17 and has been building an audience ever since.
While most fans know her as the boogie-woogie piano pounder premier of today’s blues scene and as founder of the group Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women, her latest work includes three successful solo albums and a steady stream of tour dates.
Guy Davis and Ann Rabson will be co-headlining the show at the Eccles Conference Center Thursday. Tickets are $12 in advance or $14 at the door, and can be purchased at the Spectrum ticket office, Sunrise Cyclery, Maya’s Corner and Import Auto. Tickets for children 12 and younger are $9, and are available only at the door.
-zpendleton@cc.usu.edu