In the Strauss Black Box Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center
Jazz, zydeco and funk will fill the Strauss Studio Theatre with award winning St. Louis jazz artists, Soulard Blues Band live on Saturday night.
“For their ninth straight win in the category, the SBB has triumphed over a field that includes legend such as Johnny Johnson, Oliver Sain, Henry Townsend and Bennie Smith, all musicians whose reputations extend beyond St.Louis to the nation and the world. That the SBB reigns again as RFT poll winners in 2002 is a testament not only to the group’s musicianship but to its tenacity, longevity, work ethic and, well, to having established a name that’s familiar to even the casual blues listener.
Anchored by bassist/raconteur/bon vivant Art Dwyer, the SBB has persevered on the local scene for close to a quarter-century now, weathering good times and bad and enduring many personnel changes along the way. (Among the band’s more famous alumni are singer and character actor Jim Byrnes, a regular on the TV series Wiseguy and Highlander, and Larry Thurston, who’s done several tours as vocalist for the Blues Brothers Band.) They’ve established a solid following for their gigs at Broadway Oyster Bar, the Great Grizzly Bear and the other clubs around town and have taken their act on the road throughout Missouri, Illinois and the wider world, even recording one of their albums live in Stuttgart, Germany.
As the SBB’s style has evolved over the years beyond straight-up blues to include R&B and soul, as well as touches of jazz, zydeco and funk, they’ve remained a constant presence on the local scene. It may be true that in some circumstances familiarity breeds contempt, but for SBB and St.Louis blues fans, familiarity would seem to breed contentment.” - Dean Minderman
