Doors 4:00pm • Music 8:00pm

An Intimate Evening with Blues Great and Rochester Music Hall of Fame Member...
JOE BEARD and Very Special Guest: HANNA PK

Born and raised in Ashland, MS, guitarist Joe Beard grew up with the Murphy brothers, one of whom later found an international following as Matt "Guitar" Murphy. Guitarist Nathan Beauregard lived with Beard's cousin, so he was surrounded by aspiring and veteran blues musicians while growing up, and he began singing at an early age. Beard became interested in playing guitar via the Murphy brothers, who sat in with a young B.B. King when he played at the Roosevelt Lake Club. Beard began to learn guitar at age 17 from Ernest Scruggs, a neighbor, before heading to Chicago. Beard moved to Rochester, NY, and from time to time would visit one of his brothers in Chicago. He quickly became enamored of the blues being played in clubs there by people like Jimmy Reed and Sonny Boy Williamson. Beard sat in with John Lee Hooker one night and received encouraging words from Hooker, and also later sat in with his idol, Muddy Waters.While in Rochester, he formed the Soul Brothers Six, playing bass and singing, but he didn't perform in public on guitar until 1965. Beard befriended classic blues guitarist Son House, who was a neighbor in Rochester, and played a concert for students at the University of Rochester in 1968. Beard worked as an electrician by day and would occasionally play out at night and on weekends for most of the '60s on through to the '80s. He has a reputation as one of the best local players around, and though he may not be a household name in other parts of the U.S., he toured Europe in 1983 and did studio and stage work with Buster Benton, Lafayette Leake, and Memphis Slim. At the famed BK Lounge, Beard and his backing bands opened for Bobby Bland, Albert King, and others. More recently, Beard performed at President George H.W. Bush's inaugural gala. In 1990, he recorded an album for Kingsnake Records, No More Cherry Rose, which was well received by the blues radio community.Blues UnionBeard recorded an album with Ronnie Earl's band for the California-based AudioQuest label, Blues Union (1996). Accompanying him are Hammond B-3 organist Bruce Katz and tenor saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman. The album was a critical success, winning Offbeat Magazine's Blues Album of the Year award. He followed it up with 1998's For Real and 2000's Dealin', both records featuring Duke Robillard.

Hanna PK is a 2019 International Blues Challenge Semi-Finalist -- a solid pianist, soulful vocalist, and vibrant performer who channels a wide variety of the blues & swing, old school folk and boogie-woogie but with her own contemporary realness whether she’s performing her story-telling originals, breathing new life into songs that may be 100 years old, or anything in-between. Her seemingly sweet and soft-spoken appearance often leads to surprise when hearing for the first time her rich, resonating voice that goes from a whisper to belting with intensity. Her piano ranges from barrelhouse to jazzy to delicate, full of spontaneousness, and what draws the audience closer to her heartfelt and honest songs are her genuine passion and originality that comes from within. Once in a while, we meet an artist that seems to be quite nothing like what we’ve seen or heard, yet, reaching that common ground and emotions through their own creativity, makes us feel at ease, touched, and understood. With that kind of quality, Hanna is reaching out one show at a time.

https://www.facebook.com/joebeardblues
http://hannapk.com/index.html


Special thanks to our friends, Doug Camp and Cicero Ryland Jr., true music fans.

Cover: $5