Friday, December 15, 8 p.m.
The Redstone Room, 129 Main Street, Davenport IA
Described by Blues Blast magazine as “an excellent guitarist who uses the instrument to serve the music, not overpower it,” and praised for his “expressive, passionate voice,” Davy Knowles plays a December 15 Redstone Room concert as the latest stop on the Celtic rocker's cross-country tour.
Born in the Isle of Man's Port St. Mary and currently residing in Chicago, the 30-year-old Knowles first became interested in music when he heard Dire Straits' “Sultans of Swing” during a car ride with his father, after which he borrowed his dad's guitar and learned to play the song by ear. Knowles found similar youthful inspiration from other recording artists in his father's music collection (including Rory Gallagher, Eric Clapton, and Robert Johnson), and continued to hone his self-taught skills in high school, where he met future bandmates Brian Garvey, Ross Doyle, and Jamie Armstrong – all of whom, in 2003, would join Knowles as members of the blues-rock outfit Back Door Slam.
Knowles embarked on a solo career after the group's 2009 disbandment, and recording under the moniker Davy Kowles & Back Door Slam, the artist found immediate success with that summer's Coming Up for Air, which rose to number-two on Billboard's Blues Albums Charts. The album's release led to touring appearances at the Lollapalooza, Rothbury, and Mile High Festivals and an engagement opening for Buddy Guy, plus Chickenfoot guitarist deeming Knowles “my new favorite modern-day bluesman” in the U.K.'s Sunday Times. More recently, Knowles' 2016 album Three Miles from Avalon became another top-five hit on the Billboard charts, and the singer/guitarist has earned some of the strongest reviews of his career for this year's 1932, which Glide magazine called “a pure expression of love for music by a musician supremely devoted to his craft.”
Davy Knowles performs locally with an opening set by the Travis Ried Band, and tickets for the 8 p.m. concert are $12-15. For more information and reservations, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
