Shawn Holt & the Teardrops at Crawford Brew Works -- March 19.
Saturday, March 19, 8 p.m.
Crawford Brew Works, 3659 Devils Glen Road, Bettendorf IA
With Blues Blast praising their recording Daddy Told Me as “an excellent album by any standards,” the electrifying musicians of Shawn Holt & the Teardrops – led by the son of late blues legend Magic Slim – play a March 19 fundraising concert at Bettendorf's Crawford Brew Works, the musicians' raves including That Devil Music's praise for Daddy Told Me as "a wonderful collection of inspired versions of songs written or popularized by Magic Slim alongside Holt’s own well-written originals."
Shawn Holt began his professional career at age 17, touring alongside his father and his uncle Nick Holt as part of the previous iteration of the Teardrops. Following that tour, Holt formed his own outfit, Lil' Slim and The Back Alley Blues Band, and continued learning the craft of the blues. Holt became a Teardrop himself in January of 2013 and toured with his father that month. During the East coast tour with Johnny Winter, however, Magic Slim became very ill and ended up in the hospital in Pennsylvania, but told his son to carry on with the performances. After Magic Slim passed that February, the Teardrops opened for Johnny Winter in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and the artist requested that requested that Holt's band continue to be his support act for the remainder of his touring commitment.
Later that year, former Teardrop John Primer was a special guest on Shawn Holt & the Teardrops' debut album Daddy Told Me, playing and singing on two of the album's tracks, five of which were written by Holt. In honor of his father, two songs on this collection – "Buddy Buddy Friend" and "Please Don’t Dog Me" – were cover versions of Magic Slim tracks. Released on the Blind Pig record label, Daddy Told Me reached number one on the Living Blues radio chart in October of 2013, and upon hearing the album, Pierre Lacocque of Mississippi Heat noted that Holt "only uses a thumb pick for his guitar, with no special effects, and straight into his amplifier. It is indeed a guitar style that is reminiscent of his father's."
Holt and his fellow musicians perform in Bettendorf as part of Crawford Brew Works' and the Mississippi Valley Blues Society's Brews ’n’ Blues Concert Series, a new part of the MVBS's fundraising efforts for its education-outreach program Blues in the Schools. During the Saturday-evening event, the MVBS will have representatives on site to answer questions and take direct donations, while the venue will donate a portion of its sales during the series' performances.
Shawn Holt & the Teardrops play their Brews 'n' Blues Concert Series event at 8 p.m. on March 19, and more information on the night is available by visiting CrawfordBrewWorks.com and MVBS.org.
