November 19th at the Country Store, 6 to 11pm

STEVE GUYGER &
 

RICHARD RAY FARRELL

 
"Down Home Old School Country
Blues" went to number 18 on the Living Blues radio charts for the month of November '06; 19 in December, and 23 in January of 2007. Andy Grigg of Real Blues Magazine of Vancouver, Canada calls the disc, "Easily the best acoustic blues album to come out in years." The CD appeared in the Roots Music Report charts for 19 weeks running.

   Philadelphia is home to one of the finest blues harp players in the world, much to the surprise of people not "inside" the blues scene. Over the past thiry-plus years, Steve Guyger with his band, The Excellos, has been dishing out some of the finest blues to be heard anywhere. Steve has toured with the late Jimmy Rogers, among others, and has played with many of the great Chicago bluesmen and contemporary players, yet he remains one of the best kept secrets in blues. The late William Clarke called Steve "the best harp player I've ever seen." Mark Hummel called him "a monster player." If you have heard Steve play, you know what they're talking about. If you've never heard him, you're missing a major page in your blues portfolio.

Some people live to make money, and some people make money to live. Some people are music lovers, some people are hobby musicians, and then again some people live and breathe music. They are the "real deal," so to speak. Richard Ray Farrell is one of them. He has not only mastered the art of singing and playing the blues--he has literally "lived" the blues for years on end.

Born in Niagara Falls, New York in 1956, Richard Ray left his hometown only two weeks after graduating from high school and backpacked his way through Europe, not knowing at the time that music would be his destiny. More than twenty-five years on the road as a traveling blues musician was to give him substantial credentials as a top-notch talent in the world of the blues.

In October 2006 Richard, together with Steve, released Down Home Old School Country Blues. This CD immediately reached #18 on the Living Blues Charts and is getting world-wide air play. This CD has placed Farrell and Guyger amongst the top blues duos in the world today.