Earwig Artists

May 9, 192 6 – February 24, 2004

To hear tenor saxist A.C. Reed bemoan his fate onstage, one might have gleaned the impression that he truly detested his job. But it was a tongue-in-cheek complaint — Reed’s raspy, gutbucket blowing and laidback vocals belied any sense of boredom.

Albert’s resume doesn’t read a whole lot like anyone else’s. He started out singing rock and roll and playing guitar as a teenager, traveled the globe as drummer for one of the most bizarre rock bands of the 1970s, and recorded as a sideman with a passel of blues legends. Now Albert is prepared to launch his solo career by... Read more

Allen is a keyboard player perhaps best known as a member of Albert Collins’ original Icebreakers, touring with Albert and playing keyboards on four of the Icebreakers’ Alligator releases. He has also worked with Lacy Gibson, Eddie Clearwater, Shirley Johnson, Willie Kent, Maurice John Vaughn, Jody Williams and Lester Davenport.  Allen moved to Hope, Arkansas about 10 years ago and... Read more

May 21, 1920 – June 20, 1991

Some folks called Chicago harpist Little Willie Anderson “Little Walter Jr.,” so faithfully did Anderson’s style follow that of the legendary harp wizard. But Anderson was already quite familiar with the rudiments of the harmonica before he ever hit the Windy City, having heard Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Nighthawk, and Robert Lockwood Jr.... Read more

Andy Cohen is a virtuoso finger-style guitarist who has been described as “a walking, talking folk-blues-roots music encyclopedia.” He grew up in a home with a piano and lots of Dixieland Jazz records. During the Sixties Folk Revival, he got hooked on the music of Big Bill Broonzy and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band. When Andy was 16, he heard... Read more

Nicknamed “the Fret Burner” by Jimmy Burns, Anthony Palmer works steadily in the Chicago area, backing blues notables such as Burns, Katherine Davis, Matthew Skoller and Byther Smith.

June 15, 1938 – February 29, 2016

Aron Burton spent over fifty years securing his place in musical history as a master of the blues and becoming one of the most sought-after bass players in the business. Born in Senatobia, Mississippi on June 15, 1938, Aron took interest in music at a very young age, when his gospel voice was... Read more

Pittsburgh, PA native Barbara Blue doesn’t remember life without music. Her answer to the question “When did you start singing?” will always be “since the day I was born and my plan is to exit this life the same way”. Early childhood years were spent singing in church choir, school choir, school band (flute), piano lessons, school plays and with... Read more

July 10, 1958 – December 12, 2016

Barrelhouse Chuck was the only Chicago blues pianist to have studied under Pinetop Perkins, Sunnyland Slim, Blind John Davis, Detroit Junior and Little Brother Montgomery.  He drew on this distinguished lineage to create a blues, boogie-woogie and barrelhouse piano style that placed him at the forefront of this celebrated tradition.

Electric bass player extraordinaire Bernard Reed is one of music’s unsung heroes, a gladiator who has survived more than 50 years in a cutthroat business. Born in Chicago and raised on the west side by his grandparents, Reed began his long career playing bass as a teenager at school and private events, before graduating to gigs at Chicago’s famous Regal... Read more

Award-winning trombonist/composer/arranger Bill McFarland leads The Chicago Fire Horns, a jazz band that demonstrates a high level of artistic merit and is cohesive and improvisational in its concert performances. Bill has performed with, arranged for, and recorded with blues greats Albert Collins, Son Seals, Fenton Robinson, Lonnie Brooks, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Koko Taylor and Otis Clay.

If blues harmonica has a long-term future on the Chicago circuit, Billy Branch will likely play a leading role in shaping its direction. Educator as well as musician, Branch has led the Sons of the Blues, his skin-tight quartet, since the late ’70s. Despite numerous personnel changes, the SOBs have never wavered in their dedication to pure, unadulterated Chicago blues.

Bobby grew up a shy child in North St. Louis with a debilitating stutter. Son of an elevator operator and confectionery clerk, Norfolk’s future was hazy when he was young. As a youth, Bobby wondered “What could a lost, lonely, discouraged kid from the low-rent blocks of St. Louis do with the rest of his life?”

The creator of a singular sound which he dubbed “folk-funk,” multi-instrumentalist Bobby Rush is among the most colorful characters on the contemporary chitlin circuit, honing a unique style which has brought together a cracked lyrical bent with elements of blues, soul and funk.

Multi-talented Chicagoan Bruce Thompson played piano and Hammond B3 organ, was a bandleader and arranger, and formed the gospel vocal group Bruce Thompson and the Black Roses.