Kevin Burt & Big Medicine at RIIBCO -- January 24.
Saturday, January 24, 8 p.m.
RIBCO, 1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island IL
Touring in support of their most recent album Thank You Brother Bill: A Tribute to Bill Withers, the blues and soul artists of Kevin Burt & Big Medicine play a special free concert at Rock Island's RIBCO on January 24, this acclaimed recording praised by Rock & Blues Muse as a work that “hits the highest marks on all counts – phrasing, soulful delivery, musical accompaniment, and genuine conviction.”
A self-taught Midwestern musician whose smooth, warm vocal presentation sets a mood of relaxed exhilaration, Burt has won many awards and played many festivals both solo and with his band, the Iowa Blues Challenge-winning Instigators. His laurels include being named Best Entertainer in Iowa City three times; Best Band in Iowa City three times; and one of the top 25 unsigned blues bands in the world by the International Blues Challenge Competition. Over the years, Burt's festival appearances have included performances at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival; Iowa City Jazz Festival; The Blues Foundation International Unsigned Band Challenge and Blues-stock in Memphis; and the 1996 Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folk life in Washington D.C. He and his band have also had the pleasure of playing at the Iowa Sesquicentennial Festival of Iowa Folk life in Des Moines; the Boundary Waters Blues Festival in Grand Rapids, Minnesota; and the Freedom Festival in Cedar Rapids.
Over the course of his lauded career, Burt has shared stages with a veritable who’s who in the music world, with the impressive roster of artists including: B.B. King, Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Luther Allison, Bernard Allison, Junior Wells, Robert Lockwood Jr., David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Lonnie Brooks, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Wayne Baker Brooks, Blues Traveler, Head East, Molly Hatchet, and Three Dog Night. As a registered artist and artist educator with the state of Iowa Arts Council, Burt wrote and published the classroom harmonica-method book Just Play It: An Introduction to Blues Harmonica. He has also enjoyed stage roles in several plays at the University of Iowa, appearing as “Old Timer” in Waking Niccodemus and “Whining Boy” in August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize winner The Piano Lesson. As Blues Blast magazine stated of the artist's gifts, “In this day and age where celebrity status is often conveyed on people with little discernible skills or talent, it is refreshing when the spotlight finally lands on someone who has worked hard, paid their dues, and actually deserves recognition for their talent. Such is the case with Kevin Burt."
Kevin Burt & Big Medicine play their Rock Island engagement on January with an additional set by the local talents of the Chris Avey Band, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is free, and more information on the night is available by calling (309)506-4924 and visiting RIBCO.com.
