Little Walter Tribute with Mark Hummel & Anson Funderburgh

Date: Sunday, August 11th

Doors: 5PM  

Showtime: 6PM

Tickets: Free admission! RSVP BELOW

About:

BLUES SUPERGROUP PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE LATE, GREAT HARMONICA MASTER LITTLE WALTER

“Little Walter was a true innovator whose influence can still be felt in the blues world today. This tribute is our way of
honoring his legacy and introducing his music to a new generation of fans.”
-Mark Hummel

Harmonica giant LITTLE WALTER, born Marion Walter Jacobs, is considered the torchbearer and the standard by which
all other players are judged. In Walter’s short life (1930-1968) he had more Top Ten hits than any of his Chicago-based
Chess Records labelmates. In the early fifties, he had his first hit single, Juke. To this day, the record is the only
harmonica instrumental ever to be a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B chart. Walter’s amplified harmonica and
innovative approach transformed the instrument’s role in blues music and had a profound influence on countless
musicians.

MARK HUMMEL was born on the East Coast but raised in Los Angeles. He took up an interest in blues harp & rock-blues
music in high school but soon discovered the originators - Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter, to
name a few. Soon, Hummel was frequenting the legendary Ash Grove on Melrose Avenue in LA where he saw three
blues legends he would later work with on a regular basis: Charlie Musselwhite, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee and
James Cotton. By 1985 Mark Hummel's Blues Survivors hit the road full time and never looked back. Hummel has been
featured on over thirty recordings since 1985, including his Grammy-nominated, Blues Music Award-winning 2014 Blind
Pig Records release, Remembering Little Walter. Mark Hummel is a celebrated figure in the world of blues and has long
been recognized for his exceptional talent and deep reverence for the blues tradition.

Born and raised in Plano, Texas, Blues Music Award winner ANSON FUNDERBURGH’s musical journey began at an early
age. When he was eight or nine years old, Funderburgh received his first guitar. A box of 45s accompanied it - Jimmy
Reed, T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Albert Collins, Freddie King and Ray Sharpe - singles that pointed him on his musical
path. Funderburgh taught himself to play the guitar and went on to make a living doing what he loved with that set of
strings. In 1978, he formed the iconic blues band Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets, who continue to define the sound
of modern-day Texas blues. Throughout his career, Funderburgh has had the privilege of sharing the stage, and working
and recording with many of the biggest names in blues, including Delbert McClinton and Jimmie Vaughan, along with
countless others. His unmistakable style, tone and sensibility has made him one of contemporary blues music’s most
important guitar players. Anson has developed into a legacy artist and his influence on innumerable guitarists is
immeasurable. With each performance, Funderburgh reaffirms his status as a true legend of the blues.

Georgia native Wes Starr stands as a rhythmic force, renowned for his unparalleled talent and dynamic presence behind
the drum kit. He has kept time behind Asleep at The Wheel, Delbert McClinton, Marcia Ball, Anson Funderburgh & the
Rockets, Hal Ketchum, Jimmie Vaughan, Willie Nelson, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, just to name a few! With a career spanning
decades, Starr has established himself as a cornerstone of the blues scene.

Upright bassist Bill Stuve is best known for his three decades with Rod Piazza & Mighty Flyers. A highly sought-after bass
player, Stuve has had the pleasure of backing up Jimmy Rogers, Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Boy Arnold, Pinetop Perkins,
Little Milton, Big Joe Turner and many other blues greats. He has left an indelible mark on the blues scene with his
impeccable musicianship and passion for the music.

Hailing from Oakman, Alabama, pianist Clay Swafford started playing at age six. Eventually, he was drawn to the blues
by the feeling in it and how the music expressed life’s highest of highs and lowest of lows. Swafford has had the
opportunity to back up harmonica giant James Cotton and guitarist Hubert Sumlin. He has shared the stage with a
legion of musical legends, including opening for the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis.

Free Blues Fridays featuring Downtown Charlie Brown

Date: Friday, August 30, 2024

Doors: 5PM for Golden Hour 

Showtime: 8PM 

Tickets: Free admission! RSVP BELOW

About: 

Downtown Charlie Brown  

yes that’s his true name .. 

As a multi-talented performer including keyboardist /slide guitarist Charlie is also an engaging historian and storyteller of blues origins, its social importance and its migration to the Chicagoland area. 

His performances artfully combine soulful singing with the rich history of the blues and it’s legendary artists such as his personal favorites: 

Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, and Pinetop Perkins. 

Charles Brown (Downtown Charlie Brown) DTCB-started his musical journey at age 6, singing in a small Baptist Church in Morristown New Jersey. He is a graduate of Lehigh University with a BS in Economics and Marketing. He is a member   of Lehigh’s athletic hall of fame for basketball and holds a master’s degree in secondary education. 

Charlie lived in Kansas City developing his blusey stylings before moving permanently to Chicago. There, he fell in love with his true passion: Delta and Chicago blues. 

American blues scene magazine affectionately refers to Charlie as “Chicago’s Delta.’ He was also featured in both Living Blues and BG (Buddy Guy) Blues and Music News magazines. 

In 1995 he formed the Downtown Charlie Brown Blues Band 

Charlie now appears almost nightly throughout Chicagoland and is a regular opening act at Buddy Guy’s Legends. He tours the mid-west as well as the east, and southeast United States, appearing in New Jersey, Kansas City, and Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale Mississippi. 

Charlie teaches economics and business classes at Marmion Academy. He volunteers his time and inspires future generations by offering lectures called Blues in the Schools throughout Chicagoland. Other endeavors include corporate keynote speaking, podcast moderator and appearing as a regular guest on the King Biscuit radio show in Helena Arkansas. 

Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for our live music series concerts, and be sure to hit Golden Hour before-hand for drinks and lite-bites! Doors open at 5pm Wednesday - Saturday for Golden Hour with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials!

Come early to EXPLORE and DISCOVER your own EPIPHANY… our art galleries are open and there is free entertainment before the show!

Full Concert Calendar Here

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule

Free Blues Friday featuring Smiley Tillmon Band with Kate Moss

Date: Friday, September 20th

Doors: 5PM for Golden Hour 

Showtime: 8PM 

Tickets: Free admission! RSVP BELOW

About Smiley Tillmon Band:

One of the busiest blues outfits in Chicagoland, the Smiley Tillmon Band is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. There’s an obvious reason why the veteran guitarist’s booking schedule is so jam-packed: Smiley knows how to have a good time and makes sure his audience does too. After 55 years on the local blues scene, Tillmon serves up the blues and soul standards that people never seem to stop craving, his rich vocals and fluid guitar backed by a band that keeps his grooves tight and right.

Born Moses Tillmon in rural Jefferson County, Georgia, Smiley grew up on a hearty musical diet of gospel, country, and a little blues. His mother moved to Fort Lauderdale when he was ten; there he was exposed to calypso music, adding up to a singular list of influences. Tillmon took up guitar and was good enough by the dawn of the ‘60s to back Miami R&B singer Billy Miranda in the studio. He joined Sammy Ambrose & the Afro-Beats, a calypso-oriented band, touring from Canada to New York. Smiley bid the Afro-Beats adieu in 1962 and moved to Chicago. There he established himself on the blues circuit, playing with Billy “The Kid” Emerson, Denise LaSalle, and other South Side luminaries until he opted for a day job in 1977.

Upon his 2007 retirement, Smiley reverted to full-time musical status. He joined forces with bassist Tom Rezetko, and they’ve been inseparable onstage ever since. Kate Moss shares guitar duties with Tillmon; married to another blues guitar standout, Nick Moss, Kate’s sound is heavily influenced by Freddie King and Magic Sam (she fell in love with the blues at age 21 when she met Buddy Guy, and she’s shared stages with Buddy, Jimmy Johnson, Eddie Shaw, and Lurrie Bell, to name just a few). Drummer George Baumann completes one of the Windy City’s toughest blues combos, one that’ll keep you smiling from ear to ear.   - Bill Dahl

Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for our live music series concerts, and be sure to hit Golden Hour before-hand for drinks and lite-bites! Doors open at 5pm Wednesday - Saturday for Golden Hour with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials!

Come early to EXPLORE and DISCOVER your own EPIPHANY… our art galleries are open and there is free entertainment before the show!

Full Concert Calendar Here

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule