5th Annual Joliet Blues Festival 2023 Entertainment Schedule
Matt Hendricks and Bill “Cash” Curtis
3:30pm to 4:30pm
Guitarist and blues singer Matt Hendricks and drummer Bill “Cash” Curtis are a Chicago based blues and American roots music duo. Slide guitar player and songwriter Matt Hendrick’s is originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, while his love for the blues is steeped in the South. Matt is versatile and comfortable with a wide range of blue styles and is equally at home in a solo setting or with other musicians. He has a masterful blues fingerpicking and slide guitar style, which complements a deep bluesy voice delivering original and classic songs.
Hendricks and Curtis have played in clubs, festivals, and venues all over the Midwest. Matt is a regular solo performer at Buddy Guy’s in Chicago. The duo are two-time winners of the Windy City Blues Society’s competition representing Chicago at the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge.
Matt has a long list of recorded music -- Let Me In from 2017, Way Down Deep from 2012, Sun Sessions from 2010, Under the Influence from 2009, Live at the Bremen from 2005, Ghetto Blues Hotel from 2004 For more information about Matt and his original blues music see www.bluethumbmusic.com
Darren Jay and the Delta Souls
5:00pm to 6:00pm
Darren Jay Fallas began his career in the music business at 13, playing guitar and performing in venues and night clubs. His skills, discipline and focus on results were later sharpened during several tours of duty with the US Navy. Making Chicago his home, he is a professional singer, songwriter, producer, recording and touring artist for Darren Jay and The Delta Souls, delivering original blues music with flair and energy. Darren has toured with several Blues Music Award winning artists and former member of Derek and The Dominoes Bobby Whitlock’s band. Aside from music Darren has a successful acting career, appearing in popular, locally produced shows like Chicago Med, PD and Fire.
A prolific writer and performer, Darren has released dozens of songs and toured extensively. His album Drink My Wine was released in 2012 and went on to chart at #3 in the iTunes blues charts and remained in the top 20 releases for several weeks in the Blues category. See his website for singles releases that are too numerous to mention. He frequently performs at Buddy Guys, House of Blues, and other clubs in Chicago. The Delta Souls were finalists in the Windy City Blues Society’s competition for the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2022.
The Delta Souls include Darren on guitar and vocals, Todd Lazar on bass, and Rob Davis on drums. For more information about Darren and the band see www.darrenj.com.
T-Bird Huck and the MVP’s
6:30pm – 7:30pm
‘I’m gonna give my soul to the music I love before I have to take it to the Lord above.’ This is Joliet bluesman T-Bird Huck’s testimonial from his “Lifetime of Blues” CD released in 2005. T-Bird has been called the original Joliet Jake based on his antics when he began playing the blues in the 70’s, long before Saturday Night Live’s “Blues Brothers” skit. T-Bird is the long-time host of the ‘Joliet Heritage Pro Blues Jam'’ held every other Sunday featuring blues artists from the 'greater Midwest area (see the Facebook page link below for updates.)
He has played in dozens of south side Blues clubs of Joliet and Chicago over the years and performed and met with the icons of Chicago blues -- Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Hound Dog Taylor. T-Bird is the real deal, and is what we call in the blues a “triple play” -- soul stirring vocals, hot guitar, and fat-toned harmonica.
T-Bird will be playing his with his band, the MVP’s, featuring Chris Alexander on drums, Doug Horan on bass, Dave Rice on keyboards, and Steve
Wunder on saxophone. For more information about T-Bird and the band, see www.facebook.com/tbirdhuckstep/
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Brandon Santini
8:00pm to 9:00pm
The Joliet Blues Festival is thrilled to feature Hohner harmonica sponsored blues ace Brandon Santini and his band as our headlining act! Brandon moved to Memphis, Tennessee from the East coast in his early 20s. His love for the blues took off after discovering John Popper and Paul Butterfield.
He formed the Delta Highway band and released The Devil Had A Woman in 2008. He released his debut album, Songs of Love, Money and Misery, in 2011. In 2013, Santini released This Time Another Year which was nominated for numerous Blues Music Awards. His 2019 album, The Longshot, was released to positive reviews and peaked at Number 7 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. He announced his new group Tennessee Redemption, a band co-fronted with Jeff Jensen in mid-2019. He won a Blues Blast Music Award in 2019 for best Contemporary Blues Album. Don't Shake The Devil's Hand was released in 2022 and released The Longshot in March of 2023.
Santini has toured the world performing throughout North America, Europe, India, and in Egypt. Santini has performed numerous times on Joe Bonamassa's Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea Cruise. Santini’s song, “Got Good Lovin” is featured in episode three of The NBC Peacock Network’s original series, “Poker Face”. Brandon is also the brand ambassador for Three Chord bourbon.
The Brandon Santini band includes Santini on vocals and harmonica Timo Arthur on guitar Paul Brackens on bass and Ron James on drums. For more information, see www.facebook.com/brandonsantinimusic
