THE BLUES SOCIETY OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA EVENT 2007

The Blues Society of Central Pennsylvania is proud to present a very special performance of internationally renown blues musicians, straight from the Mississippi Delta as a part of their on-going “Mississippi Railroad Series” on Sunday, July 8th at 2:00pm, on the grounds of the 40 & 8 Club, 5831 Chambers Hill Rd, Harrisburg. Headlining the show will be “Big Jack” Johnson, described by Paul Evans in Rolling Stone magazine as “Mississippi Delta authentic; his songs sweat with grown-up hurt.” Also appearing will be Terry “Big T” Williams, and Terry “Harmonica” Bean, both straight from the heart of the Delta.

In addition to the musical performance, Terry “Harmonica” Bean will host a harmonica workshop for children. Each child will be given a harmonica, supplied by the Blues Society of Central Pennsylvania.

Admission is free for members of the Blues Society, and $10.00 at the door for non-members.

A true master of contemporary Delta blues, “Big Jack” Johnson is one of the best Blues guitarists ever to come out of Clarksdale, Mississippi and that is a long list. Born in 1940 in Lambert, Mississippi, Johnson has spent the past 40 years living and playing the blues. He has shared the stage with players like Sonny Boy Williamson, Jimmy Reed, Robert Nighthawk and Carl Perkins, to name a few, and first recorded at the famous Sun Studios in Memphis in 1964. Unlike many Bluesmen today, Big Jack has stayed in the Delta and continues to make it his home. Nonetheless, tours have taken him to Japan, Germany, Holland, and many other European countries. He continues to be in regular demand at blues festivals all over the U.S.

In 1962, Big Jack first gained prominence when he teamed up with Frank Frost and Sam Carr and formed what most blues fans think of as the perfect Blues trio.

Big Jack has been named "Best Live Performer" in The Living Blues Magazine Critic's Poll and won the 1997 W.C. Handy Award for his MC Records release, "We Got To Stop This Killin'." An incredibly gifted and intense guitarist and vocalist, Johnson plays electric slide with the dirty, greasy feel of Elmore James
and shouts verses that sound as old as the Delta soil he was born on. This is raw, powerful, electric Delta blues at its very best.

Born in Farrell, Mississippi just outside Clarksdale, Terry “Big T” Williams has been playing blues for over two decades now. Early on, he tutored with local blues guitar legend “Mr. Johnnie” Billington. Mr. Johnnie taught him the basics, and Big T learned the rest on the road with blues bands like the Jelly Roll Kings, Wesley Jefferson Band, Little Jeno’s All Stars and the Stone Gas Band. Big T’s biggest influence is probably Clarksdale’s “Big Jack” Johnson, who Big T played with for years. In addition, Big T has sat in with well-known musicians like Albert King, Bobby “Blue” Band, CeDell Davis and Jimbo Mathus. Considering his experience, it’s no wonder that reviews of Big T’s performances invariably use words like “authentic,” “energetic” and “real” to describe his talent and abilities.

Born over four decades ago in Pontotac, Mississippi, Terry “Harmonica” Bean came up in a blues world filled with country jukes and late night house parties. “I always did love the sound of the blues,” he says. “Ever since I was a little bitty boy, that’s the music that I heard. My daddy used to play with B.B. King, but he had to stay at home and couldn’t go on the road.” One of 24 kids, Bean is the only one still playing the blues. “My folks died without hearing me really playing the blues, but they knew I could do it,” Bean says. “I just like to play. I can’t let the blues die. I don’t want to let it go.” As a harmonica-playing guitarist who sings, he’s a triple threat determined to hang on.

Bean still sees the younger guys as essential to blues’ future. “You got to get these kids interested in playing,” he says adding, “Blue is picking up more and more.” The Blues Society of Central Pennsylvania Inc. is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation, promotion, support and enjoyment of the truly original American art form, the blues.

For additional information, please contact the BSCP at 1-888 771-BSCP (2727) or on the web at www.bscpblues.org.

Contact: Carrie Baker FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phone: (717) 856-3606