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This highly anticipated CD debuted at #3 on the Living Blues blues radio chart. It offers twelve brand-new originals and two covers performed by Johnny’s regular road band and augmented by the cream of the crop of West Coast blues talent. Artists on the CD are Johnny Burgin: guitar, vocals, Kid Andersen: guitar, piano, Steve Dougherty: drums, Aki Kumar: harp, Chris Matheos: bass, with special guests Rae Gordon: vocals, Charlie Musselwhite: harp, and Nancy Wright: sax.
The band had just one night to nail it – which made this recording a crazy, but thrilling, high wire act! Johnny drew from the great Bay Area blues talent pool that lured him to the West Coast back in 2016. Blues legend Charlie Musselwhite’s driving boogie-woogie harp on California Blues is an absolute highlight. You could feel a jolt of electricity run through the crowd when Portland, Oregon-based Rae Gordon took the stage. The end result is a raw, fresh, and original all-star set of blues, shot through with live energy.
It’s been 20 years since Burgin’s last CD. “My thing has always been live music,” says Johnny. “Going to shows, booking shows, playing shows. Playing with the best musicians I could. More than anything, I loved the feeling of getting in the van and going. Even better, once I got there, I love the feeling of knockin’ em dead.
…Chicago Blues sax legend Eddie Shaw once said, ‘It takes 20 years to make a bluesman.’ Here I am, ready to play my blues for you.”
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