(MONROE, MI) – The Big Gig! Monroe County’s 31st Annual Black History Month Blues Concert is an extremely popular event—no tickets are required, but seating is general admission, first-come, first-served, and limited to theater capacity. Doors will open at 6pm and showtime is 7pm. The Big Gig! Is Saturday, February 24 at Meyer Theater – Monroe County Community College (1555 S. Raisinville Rd. Monroe, Michigan). The concert will star three-time Grammy-nominee Ruthie Foster, blues-rocker Anthony Gomes, and the return of Rev. Robert B. Jones Sr.
Rolling Stone called Ruthie Foster, the Texas-based, three-time Grammy-nominated blues-soul-folk-gospel singer/songwriter “pure magic to watch and hear”. Influenced by the likes of Aretha Franklin and Mavis Staples, Foster’s commanding, compelling vocals bring to life both original compositions and cover songs she makes her own. High-octane Canadian guitar virtuoso Anthony Gomes, delivers “blues soul and rock and roll heart” that reinvents the blues in relevant and fresh ways and propels his electrifying live performances, blues scholarship and philanthropy. Returning for his 31st year as host and featured artist is Detroit-based multi-instrumentalist, storyteller and educator Rev. Robert B. Jones, Sr.
Presented by the Monroe County Library System, the series is a recipient of The Blues Foundation’s Keeping the Blues Alive Award. The Black History Month Blues Series began in 1988 with a solo performance by Rev. Jones. A 1990 appearance by blues legend Willie Dixon put the project on the map, and in the decades since, the series has welcomed a lengthy, stellar roster of blues and roots artists to Monroe County to perform for what is now tens of thousands of music fans of all ages.
