Chris Beard at Quinlan Court -- June 16.
Thursday, June 16, 7 p.m.
Quinlan Court, 101 East River Drive, Davenport IA
Delivering what the Rochester City Newspaper deems a "genre-busting blast of blues," singer/songwriter and instrumentalist Chris Beard headlines a June 16 event in Davenport's Summer Concert Series, the artist's outdoor set in the city's Quinlan Court treating genre fans to what All Music magazine calls "a modern blues guitarist and singer like no other."
Born in 1957, Beard is the son of noted blues guitarist Joe Beard, who grew up on Memphis, Tenneessee's Beale Street in the 1950s. When family friends such as Matt “Guitar” Murphy and Buddy Guy stopped by to visit, young Beard became their willing pupil. Beard quickly graduated from learning to play the guitar to performing with a local R&B group by his mid-teens, and he played alongside his father before forming his own group after his graduation, performing in blues clubs around his home state for almost 20 years. As the artist has stated, “When your father grew up on Beale Street and music was in your DNA, then blues is who you are and what you do. As Joe Beard's son, I grew up around some of the best blues men. The influence of Buddy has been major for me. All he had to say to me was, 'Keep on doing what you’re doing,' and Matt always told me, 'The guitar has to become an extension of you. That will always stick with me.”
After years playing clubs in and around Rochester, New York, Beard was offered the opportunity to record. In 1998, he released his album debut Barwalkin on JSP Records, which went on to earn the singer/songwriter a W.C. Handy nomination as the Best New Blues Artist and a Blues Beat citation as New Talent of the Year. Beard produced his follow-up album Born to Play the Blues in 2001 to critical acclaim, earning the musician the moniker "Prince of the Blues," and his 2005 recording Live Wire inspired AllMusic.com's Chris Nickson to state, "Beard cements his stature with this record, and sets himself up to take a place among the contemporary blues guitar greats." Released in 2010, Who I Am and What I Do depicts his life story of growing up in a house full of music and his family commitment to keeping the blues alive, while five years later, Beard formed his own label, Destin Records, and released Eye of the Witch, a collection of true-life tales that capture the complications of modern male vulnerabilities and strengths.
Chris Beard plays his Quinlan Court set on June 16, donations to the free concert set are encouraged, and more information is available by calling the Mississippi Valley Blues Society at (563)322-5837 and visiting MVBS.org.
