The Steepwater Band at the Raccoon Motel -- November 18.
Friday, November 18, 8 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Praised by Classic Rock Revisited for their “funky rhythm section” and their “freedom to take their dynamic guitar interplay to new heights,” the Chicago-based singer/songwriters and instrumentalists of the Steepwater Band headline a November 18 concert at Daveport's Raccoon Motel, their most recent album Turn of the Wheel lauded by Blues Rock Review as " a rocking set of Stones-inspired rock and roll."
Formed in the Windy City in 1998 by the trio of Jeff Massey (guitars and vocals), Joe Winters (drums), and Tod Bowers (bass), the Steepwater Band took their moniker from a cargo vessel that Massey sighted in a port on Lake Michigan. Initially, the musicians concentrated on playing their own versions of classic blues songs, particularly electric Chicago-style blues, and performed their first concert at Chicago's Phyllis' Musical Inn in October of 1998. The band quickly progressed from covering blues tunes to writing their own music, and in 1999, the musicians met singer/songwriter Michael Connelly, who collaborated with them on their inaugural effort: the five-song EP Goin' Back Home. The Steepwater Band returned the favor by performing on Connelly's project Bottles of Wine, with Connelly officially joining the ensemble in in 2000.
After a wildly successful performance at the 2000 Chicago Blues Festival, the group released its first full-length albums with 2001's Brother to the Snake and Live … Half in the Bag, and was soon performing and touring with the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special, Cheap Trick, the Doobie Brothers, Umphrey's McGee, Keller Williams, and the Yonder Mountain String Band. Over the past 15 years, the Steepwater Band has recorded another half-dozen studio albums including its critically revered Shake Your Faith from 2016 and their most recent full-length offering Turn of the Wheel in 2020, and the musicians' songs have enjoyed plenty of pop-culture awareness, appearing in such movies and TV series as Friday Night Lights, My Name Is Earl, Invincible, and even the reality series Deadliest Catch.
The Steepwater Band performs their Davenport engagement on November 18, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $15, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
