Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears at the Redstone Room -- March 5.
Tuesday, March 5, 8 p.m.
The Redstone Room, 129 Main Street, Davenport IA
Lauded by NPR as a group that "skillfully combines Southern gospel funk, soul, and Texas blues," which added that its bandleader's "raw and emotional vocals are reminiscent of James Brown," the touring artists of Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears headline a March 5 concert event at Davenport's Redstone Room, the musicians also praised by Medium as an outfit that "does an excellent job getting the crowd to dance."
While working at a pawn shop in Austin, Lewis first picked up the guitar, the nascent artist having been strongly influenced by the likes of Howlin' Wolf and James Brown. Shortly thereafter, he immersed himself in the local Red River blues/garage scene of his native Austin, Texas, recording and performing with Austin musicians including the Weary Boys and Walter Daniels. Following the release of 2005's Brian Salvi-produced Black Joe Lewis & the Cold Breeze EP, with its standout track "Bitch I Love You" featuring Matt Hubbard on Rhodes electric piano, the 2007 album Black Joe Lewis debuted, both recording released on Italian label Shake Yo Ass Records. Lewis' band gained critical national acclaim and toured as openers for Spoon and Okkervil River in 2007 and signed to Lost Highway Records in 2008, and after performances at 2008's Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears released a four-song EP in January of 2009. Their debut album Tell 'Em What Your Name Is! quickly followed that March, the same month that Esquire listed Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears as one of the "Ten Bands Set to Break Out at 2009's SXSW Festival."
Since then, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears have performed at music festivals including: Bonnaroo; Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival; Bumbershoot; Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival; Sasquatch! Music Festival; Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival; Musikfest; Latitude Festival; and Splendour in the Grass. The band has appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Late Show with David Letterman, Austin City Limits, and Later ... with Jools Holland, and its musicians were also featured in Echotone, a 2010 documentary about the Austin music scene. In 2017, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears' album Backlash debuted at number three in the Billboard Top Blues Albums Chart, and additional recordings since have included 2018's The Difference Between Me & You and the 2020 single "Five Dollars."
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears perform their Redstone Room engagement on March 5 with an additional set by Shane Guerrette, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $22-25, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)326-1333 and visiting CommonChordQC.org.
