THE DELTA GROOVE HARP BLAST

An arsenal of the heaviest harmonica players that Delta Groove has to offer, the Delta Harp Blast is sure to be an exciting addition to your festival's lineup.  With a backing band packed of stellar Delta Groove talent including Kirk Fletcher on guitar, Willie J. Campbell on bass, and Jimi Bott on drums, the Delta Harp Blast can accommodate any size festival or event and budget level. Simply customize the lineup to appeal to your target audience demographics by selecting any combination of the following harp blasters (based on availability) Rod Piazza, Mitch Kashmar, Lynwood Slim, Al Blake, Randy Chortkoff, Bob Corritore, and Big Pete.The Delta Harp Blast packs heat that’s guaranteed to leave your festival’s stage smoldering and your patrons drenched in the blues!

ROD PIAZZA: Over 40 years of recording and performance experience has landed Rod Piazza the inimitable role as one of the world's preeminent harmonica players in modern blues today. With over 24 albums to his credit, Rod has clearly demonstrated time and again his mastery and command over the instrument, which has culminated in critical praise and numerous awards including the 1998 Blues Music Award for Harmonica Instrumentalist of the Year, along with four additional BMA's for his work with the Mighty Flyers. In person, Rod's stage shows have become legendary for his electrifying and rousing performances known for whipping an audience into a frenzy and creating a legion of devoted fans around the globe.

MITCH KASHMAR: Mitch Kashmar is one of the most soulful and powerful blues singers in the business today, black or white.  His blues harp playing is second to none for creativity, drive and excitement.  Over the course of his career Kashmar has achieved what so many set out to do, but few can accomplish; he has found his own voice.  From his humble beginnings in the early 80’s in Santa Barbara with The Pontiax, to sharing the stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2008 with legendary British rocker Eric Burdon & War, Kashmar’s own unique talent has always shone through.  A two-time Blues Music Award nominee, Kashmar has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in blues over the years and they've all known what the rest of the world is about to find out: Mitch Kashmar is a force to be reckoned with.

LYNWOOD SLIM: Armed with an impressive catalog of iconic recordings, Slim’s own uniquely cool blues meets jazz approach has landed him international acclaim and endeared him to an audience around the globe with a devout affection for California Blues.  His mastery of blues harmonica – both the “little harp” and the more difficult chromatic – is second to none.  He is also one of the finest blues vocalists of his generation.  His first hand experience and apprenticeship under veteran blues masters such as multi-instrumentalist Leonard “Baby Doo” Caston and harmonica giant Big Walter Horton has served him well as he has mastered the subtleties of tone and phrasing, and developed his own distinctive voice in the blues.

AL BLAKE: Al Blake is a name synonymous with class and style. His encyclopedic knowledge of the Blues and its players has earned him the status as one of the most serious students of the genre. Blake's early work with guitarist Michael "Hollywood Fats" Mann on the self-titled LP "Hollywood Fats Band" released in 1979 laid the blueprint for modern day era West Coast Blues and is widely considered a landmark album of the genre. Today Al Blake still walks the paths of his early mentors with a near-sacred need to preserve their tradition and avoid selling out to the aberrations of so many modern Blues-makers. His music is slowly evolving to the status of legend. Blake has said, "If the kind of Blues I'm so passionate about playing was a 4-legged mammal, it would be on the top of the endangered species list. It's that rare."

RANDY CHORTKOFF: Randy Chortkoff is a man thoroughly possessed and consumed by the Blues. He's made it his life's work to spread the power and message of the Blues to as many people as he can find who are willing to listen. From humble musician to concert promoter; to record producer and ultimately CEO of Delta & Eclecto Groove Records, Chortkoff's boundless passion and conviction for the blues is inexhaustible. As the founding member of The Mannish Boys, Chortkoff has helped preserve the raw sensibility and time tested tradition that encapsulates the blues, while also capturing the attentive ears of music fans around the world.

BOB CORRITORE: It has been forty years since Bob Corritore first picked up a harp. He maximized his early proximity to the 1970s Chicago Blues scene, befriending and learning from masters Louis Myers, Eddie Taylor, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Little Willie Anderson, Big Leon Brooks, Lester Davenport, Big Smokey Smothers, Little Mack Simmons, and others. Since relocating to Phoenix, Arizona in 1981, Bob has been prolific as a player, producer, radio personality since '84, and owner of the renowned Rhythm Room with which he's been associated for nineteen years now. Bob has built on that illustrious foundation, contributing his authoritative harp to about forty releases and it is now routine to find him on European stages or profiled in Blues magazines worldwide.

BIG PETE: Dutch blues vocalist and harp master Pieter "Big Pete" van der Pluijm may not be a familiar name to American blues audiences, but he's already well-established in the Netherlands – his native home base in North-West Europe. At 23, Pete was handpicked for a European memorial tour to honor the music and memory of legendary harmonica player and vocalist Lester Butler (the Red Devils and Thirteen), backed by several of Lester's original bandmates. The project was met with great success and critical acclaim, so more tours and a CD by the Lester Butler Tribute Band soon followed, securing Pete's arrival on the scene as one of the premier next generation blues performers in the Benelux region. Since then, Big Pete has gone on to form and record many other successful projects including his debut release "Bathroom Acoustics" by The Strikes, a couple of CDs by the rockin' 50's Chicago blues outfit The Backbones, and most recently, the more progressive and forward-thinking group M.O.C.T. (Men Of Considerable Taste). Pete's growing reputation has also led to tours and performances backing many internationally acclaimed blues artists including Alex Schultz, Mitch Kashmar, Monster Mike Welch, Hook Herrera, Matt Schofield, and Ian Siegal. Pete's informal introduction to the U.S. market materialized in March 2010 with his appearance on The Mannish Boys' 5th anniversary release "Shake For Me." Pete closed out the album in style paying tribute to his hero Lester Butler on the storming New Orleans romp "Way Down South," backed by Kid Ramos, Willie J. Campbell and Jimi Bott along with special guest pianist Andy Kaulkin, who previously recorded with Lester Butler on the classic album "Thirteen." Now Holland's best kept secret makes his official American solo album debut with an incredible all-star recording lineup featuring Kim Wilson, Paul Oscher, Al Blake, Johnny Dyer, Alex Schultz, Kirk Fletcher, Kid Ramos, Rusty Zinn, Shawn Pittman, John Marx, Mojo Mark, Rob Rio, Willie J. Campbell and Jimi Bott. "Choice Cuts" is guaranteed to be an instant classic not to be missed by anyone who considers themselves a true blues lover!