“I've never missed a gig yet. Music makes people happy,

and that's why I go on doing it – I like to see everybody smile.”

— Buddy Guy.

Dear Friends,

Silver Spirng Blues Week has been a whirlwind of exciting events celebrating the Blues starting with an outing to Wolf Trap Sunday to see the legendary Buddy Guy with Samantha Fish. Then on Monday, we gathered virtually with musiican and Blues music historian Rick Franklin who discussed Piedmont Blues. A highlight of the week was Bluesday Tuesday at J Hollinger's Waterman's Chophouse with a special sold-out concert featuring Daryl Davis and Deletta Gillespie. See our Star Spotlight below where we feature Chef and Owner of J Hollinger's himself Jerry Hollinger who is a major sponsor of our Blues Festival and Silver Spring Blues Week. On Wedenesday, our community came together for a Blues Week Picnic at the Koiner Farm featuring Spice Cake and a Blues Through Poetry Open Mic hosted by Poet Brenda Bunting.

We had a rockin' good time on El Golfo's Patio on Thursday with Reggie Right Eye & the Missing Pieces hosting a Blues Jam with some excellent local musicians showing up.

On Friday night filmmaker Dave Minckler screened his film Masters of the Blues featuring Mississippi's own Mark "Muleman" Massey who takes the stage tonight at 6pm

Many of our artists performing tonight have travelled quite a distance to perform with us today, including Mark Muleman Massey who just arrived with his family from Mississippi. Mark has an incredible story to tell. He learned the Blues as a young man in Parchman Prison where he spent six years of his life for marijuana possession. See more of his story above in the short film Music of North Mississisppi Hill Country: Muleman Massey by filmmaker Michael Ford.

Another artist who performs today at 1pm traveled all the way from Milan, Italy - Ale Ponti who sings rural Italian Blues. (Photo Above)

We also feature The Boneshakers for the first time on our stage tonight. They are currently touring the East Coast. Saxophonist Ron Holloway also joins them for what is bound to be another fabulous performance. I highly recommend staying until the last hour of the Festival as these musical luminaries reconvene for a big All Star Jam led by Clarence the Blues Man Turner.

This is an event not to be missed!

In addition to all the recent Blues festivities, our community is celebrating Pride Month, including Pride on the Plaza. See details below. June is also Caribbean Heritage Month. We had planned to hold a Caribbean Culinary Traditions program, however we will postpone it until later in summer when more people can participate. And, of course, Juneteenth festivities are already underway. Our own Blues Festival has ties to this important holiday both rooted in African American History.

Last month, we held a variety of AAPI programs and events, including the 2nd Annual Asian American Culinary Traditions. Our community also celebrated Jewish American Heritage Month. While specific communities host their respective celebrations, we join in with them whenever we can and hope you'll join us!

As summer heats up, we continue our Twilight Tuesdays Series with Sunset Tuesdays--Afro Latin Dance taking place on the 3rd Tuesday of the month.

With so much to celebrate, we are fortunate to be part of such a vibrant, engaging community! We hope you will help us to continue to make this all possible with a tax-deductible donation of any amount.

We hope to raise $10,000 before the end of June. So please Donate Today!

Thank you for your generous support of SSTCi! We look forward to seeing you at the Blues Festival!

Warmest Regards,

Executive Director

Silver Spring Town Center Inc.

An infectious, rhythmic, gritty, and soulful, feeling sparked a fire into Clarence Turner while listening to his father’s collection of LP’s, which included the incomparable Muddy Waters and the legendary Howlin’ Wolf. Every wailing stroke of the guitar spoke to Clarence; and at the age of eight he began a life long love affair with the blues.

Clarence realized that what he felt in his gut and soul could only be expressed thru his love of his guitar. As such, he began to wail the blues as only he can. Once, at a Blues after party in Richmond, VA, Clarence took the stage after Big Bill Morganfield. As Big Bill was leaving, he immediately returned to listen and said, “Now, that’s the Blues”! Over the years, Clarence developed signature guitar strokes by using items other than the usual “pick." His fiery guitar picking included using cell phones, microphones, harmonicas and everything else in between. As he puts it, “Why use a pick when there are so many other interesting things to use?”

We are thrilled to welcome the amazing Boneshakers with internationally-renowned saxophonist Ron Holloway for the 14th Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival Saturday, June 17th.

Don't miss their 7pm performance or their performance in the Silver Spring Blues Festival All-Star Jam led by Clarence 'The Bluesman" Turner!

This will be a fabulous show!

Ron Holloway is one of the busiest tenor saxophonists on today's music scene in any genre! Recently, Ron toured extensively with The Warren Haynes Band, in support of two critically acclaimed releases on the Stax Records label. Holloway is a frequent guest of Gov't Mule, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Allman Brothers Band, and many others. Over the years, he has been a member of an eclectic roster of groups, including; the Susan Tedeschi Band, the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet, Gil Scott-Heron and Root Boy Slim.

The iconic band lead by world-renowned guitarist Randy Jacobs of Was (Not Was). The Boneshakers and members have toured and recorded with Bonnie Raitt, BB King, Seal, Keb Mo, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Mindi Abair, Bootsy Collins, Tears 4 Fears, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Iggy Pop...just to name a few. A stirring blend of Detroit soul with Muscle Shoals-style R&B on full display every show.

New album One Foot In the Groove- #1 on Soul Blues Radio Charts and IBBA Pick of the Month (UK)

"Randy Jacobs is one of the funkiest and most original guitar players on Earth. His musical genius is on vivid display in this new album which, contrary to the title, finds him up to his knees with both feet deep in the groove.  Jenny Langer’s powerful vocals provide the perfect counterpoint…this is the best Boneshakers record to date."  - Don Was

“A real dose of soul at its best…the stuff of award-winning music.” Blues in Britain

“One Foot In The Groove however is a glorious, life-affirming celebration of their blues-infused funk and rock. A very impressive release.” Blues Blast Magazine

“This is an album that every blues, funk, and soul lover needs in their collection.” Blues Matters Magazine

]STORIED CAREER 

Flashback to 1980 — During his maiden session for Don and David Was, Randy Jacobs meets Sweetpea Atkinson on a cold night in the Motor City at Sound Suite Studio (the recording home of the fledgling band Was (Not Was). The connection was immediate and a bond was forged between the two artists. Their combined talents would help Was (Not Was) become a successful act during the 80’s and into the early 90’s cumulating with the worldwide hit “Walk The Dinosaur” co-written by Jacobs.

After their European tour with Dire Straits in 1992, the Was Band went on hiatus and Randy started playing and recording with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, BB King, Seal, Paula Abdul, Kris Kristofferson, Ofra Haza, Tears For Fears, Warren Hill and others. Sweetpea was in Los Angeles adding background vocals to artists like Neil Diamond, Bonnie Raitt, Keb Mo, and Bob Segar.

It was Bonnie Raitt who inadvertently gave them their name “Boneshakers” while they were working on her “Longing In Our Hearts” CD. In 1996, the two were signed to Pointblank/Virgin Records and produced two CDs for the label: “Book Of Spells” (1997) which included Randy’s rockin' swing arrangement of James Brown’s “Cold Sweat” and the powerful “Shake The Planet” (1998).

When Sweetpea stepped away to tour with Lyle Lovett, The Boneshakers released "Pouring Gasoline" (2001) on Bad Monkey Recordings label featuring Austin, Texas singer Malford Milligan (Storyville, Double Trouble) and the live in concert “Put Some Booty On It, Vol 1” (2002).

While working together on a session for former band mate producer Don Was, fate stepped in to reunite and bring Sweetpea back to the Boneshakers. They released “Put Some Booty On It , Vol 2″(2006) featuring their first live performance in San Francisco from 1997.

In 2017, Sweetpea released his solo CD produced by Keb Mo. Additionally, the band joined forces with sax queen Mindi Abair and released Live in Seattle on Concord Records. In 2018, Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers won 8 Independent Blues Awards including Artist of the Year, and an Independent Music Award for Best Blues Song Fan Award for “Pretty Good For A Girl” featuring Joe Bonamassa. They won the 2019 LA Critics Award for Best Holiday Album for All I Got For Christmas Is The Blues. 

In 2020, the band suffered an unimaginable loss with news of the passing of Sweetpea.   

Producer John Wooler, who originally signed The Boneshakers in 1997, connected Randy and incredible vocalist Jenny Langer- a powerhouse singer who was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame (NYC and VA) at the age of 28 and won the 2020 Int’l Blues Challenge for Best Self-Produced Album. What started as a few tracks for her project quickly morphed in a new album with The Boneshakers featuring no-holds-barred funk, blues, and rock that marries the sounds and spirits of Detroit Rock City, Memphis, and Mussel Shoals.

The new album One Foot In the Groove was released on Take It To The Bridge Records in Fall 2022 and immediately hit #1 on UK Blues Charts and #1 on US Soul Blues Charts. According to Blues Matters Magazine, "This is an album that every blues, funk, and soul music lover needs in their collection."

Hard time leads to hard blues. That’s the story behind Mark “Mule Man” Massey. Growing up in the cradle of the Delta blues, Clarksdale, Mississippi, Mark Massey heard plenty of blues. But it took a stretch in Parchman Prison for Mark to discover the blues’ deeper meaning. It was there he met and befriended David Kimbrough, son of legendary Mississippi blues icon, Junior Kimbrough, who taught him the basics of the blues and got him a spot in the Parchman Prison Band. Upon his release, Mark was determined to turn his negative experience into a positive. In the early 1990s – when he wasn’t busy with farm work (hence the name “Mule Man”) – he began his career as a blues guitarist and singer playing every dive and juke joint he could in northern Mississippi. Eventually he honed his skills well enough to play in the International Blues Competition as well as the better blues clubs like B.B. King’s on Beale Street and Morgan Freeman’s “Ground Zero.” Along the way, he received support and encouragement from many regional musicians including longtime friend of the Center for Southern Folklore and blues harmonica player extraordinaire Blind Mississippi Morris. Morris schooled Mark in the rich legacy of the blues masters who came before him. As Mark puts it, because of Morris, “Today when I play their music, I can really feel those guys. I keep playing because I want to keep their songs alive.”

Formed in 2019 as a local house band, Pepper brings an upbeat funky Blues sound to the DMV Blues scene. Pepper features John Potts on lead guitar with soulful vocals, Larry Spiwak on bass, Llew Edwards on keys, and Brian Frew on drums.

Within months of their formation, Pepper welcomed the sultry, charismatic vocals of Jesi Terrell, a well-known artist from Chicago bringin bluesy sounds to the DMV. Having performed all around the globe, Jesi worked alongside Little Milton Campbell until his death in 2005.

Ale Ponti is an italian Blues, Ragtime and Gospel singer and guitarist, usually performing solo. Winning the 2023 Italian International Blues Challenge brought him to Memphis where he made his way to the semifinals. In the tour that followed, Ale performed in Washington D. C. in a show with Daryl Davis and at the Archie Edwards Heritage Blues Foundation. He then performed in Clarksdale, Mississippi with local musicians. In 2020 Corey Harris asked Ale to join him on his Italian tour, just before the release of Ale's most recent album, "Dead Railroad Line Chronicles.” Ale lived in New Orleans during 2014 and made a brief appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival in 2018.

Women in Blues are Peggy Brannen (guitar), Carolyn Kellock (bass guitar), Florette Orleans (percussion), Sadia (guitar) & Stormi Weaver (guitar/vocals).

Each year, we welcome the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation artists to our acoustic stage is keeping East coast acoustic folk blues alive. Through weekly Saturday jams, performances, workshops, exhibits, and lectures, AEBHF carries on the educational tradition of celebrated Piedmont blues artist Archie Edwards.

"As a music lover and restaurant owner in Silver Spring I’m doubly thrilled to have J.Hollinger’s Waterman’s Chophouse be able to host an event during the Blues Fest Week. The festival is one of the many things we love about being part of this community. Nothing brings people together like good food and great music—we look forward to finding more ways to bring local music and arts into our space for our guests to enjoy." Jerry Hollinger, Culinary Director and owner, J.Hollinger’s Waterman’s Chophouse and Hollinger Group Restaurants.

Jerry Hollinger is the Founder and Culinary Director of Hollinger Group Restaurants, which includes The Daily Dish, the Dish & Dram, and J.Hollinger’s Waterman’s Chophouse. Jerry’s family owned Hollinger’s Farm Market in Lancaster County where he learned about sourcing the highest quality foods from his parents. Jerry started cooking professionally at age 19. He learned classic French cooking under Restaurateur Jean Michel and Chef Jean Gagliola. He was a private chef to DC political leaders and other luminaries, and opened his own catering company in 2005, followed by his three Montgomery County Restaurants, where he features the best of MidAtlantic cuisine and farm produce. Jerry sources the freshest seasonal produce each week at the Amish Mennonite Produce auctions and local farms in Maryland and Pennsylvania.