#bluesdays

19-year-old phenom Matthew Curry to play two North Shore shows

The young gun who opened for Steve Miller and Journey July 30 at Stateline will be back in Tahoe for free shows Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 5-6.

Matthew Curry plays Tuesday at Squaw Valley and Wednesday at Crystal Bay.

Nineteen-year-old Matthew Curry has been added to Tuesday’s Bluesdays show at Squaw Valley and the next night will play in the Crystal Bay Casino Red Room.

Curry played a short set…

Paul Thorn shakes up Bluesdays

SQUAW VALLEY — Tuesday’s Bluesdays performer Paul Thorn will be the first to say he’s an entertainer and not a bluesman.

“An entertainer can click with any crowd,” Thorn, who is from Tupelo, Miss., told Tahoe Onstage. “I’m a big fan of the earlier style of entertainer, like the ‘Dean Martin Show.’ He was a great singer but between songs he would tell jokes. He was an entertainer. I consider…

Chris Cain returns to Squaw Valley’s Bluesdays

Chris Cain is often mentioned by his peers as being one of the greatest contemporary blues guitarists. However, many fans bypass him when talking about today’s best.

But that can’t be said of Bluesdays concertgoers in the Village at Squaw Valley.

Chris Cain has played Bluesdays in Squaw Valley more than any other artist.

Cain has played the Tuesday night summer tradition more than anyone else.

Ca…

Hummel wowed the crowd at Squaw Valley last night, the sun was sinking lower in the sky, and the blues resonated all through the valley. A tremendous sound coming from the band featuring guitarist Little Charlie Baty and with bassist R.W. Grigsby and drummer June Core.

Playing mostly originals, and throwing in some Muddy Waters, how could you not find yourself smiling while feeling those blues notes resonate deep within. Hummel is a personable and dreamy harp player, with a voice that is strong, angelic and bluesy. During the show he talked with the crowd and with his band, making for a very special evening.

Born in Connecticut and raised in Los Angeles, Hummel is an American blues harmonica player as well as a vocalist, songwriter and band leader of the Blues Survivors. Since 1991, Hummel has been produced the Blues Harmonica Blowout tour. James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite and James Harman, to name a few, have been featured in the Blowout. Hummel is well know for his West Coast blues. He also is a master at playing the Delta Blues, Chicago Blues, swing and jazz. He has toured for years and recorded many CDs. Last year’s “Remembering Little Walter,” my all-time favorite, features, of course, Mark Hummel, with Billy Boy Arnold, Sugar Ray Norcia, Harman and Musselwhite. He also has written a book, “Big Road Blues: Twelve Bar on I-80,” which describes the harmonica player’s decades’ long career on the road. It is a must read for any blues lovers and blues musicians.

Bluesdays Tuesdays in the Village at Squaw Valley

July 1 — Chris Cain July 8 — Studebaker John July 15 — Homemade Jamz Blues Band July 22 — Candye Kane July 29 — Paul Thorn Aug. 5 — Hamiliton Loomis Aug. 12 — Shane Dwight Aug. 19 — Nikki Hill Aug. 26 — Terry Hanck

Mark Hummel and Little Charlie Baty

Mark Hummel with Little Charlie Baty return to Bluesdays on Tuesday. Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage

Little Charlie Baty is an ideal guitarist to accompany a harmonica player because he used to be one.

“He was an excellent harmonica player,” Mark Hummel told Tahoe Onstage. “He was really one of the top guys before he took up the guitar. That makes a big different because a guy who’s played harmonica…

Four-time recipient of Contemporary Female Blues Artist of the Year Janiva Magness played Squaw Valley’s Bluesdays on July 23. She said she brought with her, “the best live band I’ve ever had.” Each of the band members played on Magness 10th and perhaps…

One of just two women ever to win B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award, Janiva Magness plays Bluesdays this summer at Squaw Valley. Here she is onstage singing “I Won’t Cry.”