Saturday, November 14th, 2009
Callahan’s Bar & Grill

Lonnie Brooks

Alligator recording artist, guitarist/vocalist Lonnie Brooks, brings his incendiary band to Calahans for a roof-raising live performance on November 14, 2009. Lonnie’s mix of Louisiana swamp blues, Texas string bending, proto-rock and roll and hard Chicago blues is a sure-fire recipe for a wild, good time. In addition to being honored by the Chicago Chapter of The Recording Academy with a Chicago Legacy Award for musical excellence, Lonnie has appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman and was a guest of the Chicago Cubs, singing Take Me Out To The Ballgame during the infamous 7th Inning Stretch.

Born Lee Baker Jr. in Dubuisson, Louisiana, Lonnie learned to play the blues from his banjo-picking grandfather. By the time he was 22, Brooks owned a guitar and was seen strumming on his porch in Port Arthur, Texas by zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier, who offered the youngster a job. By 1957 Brooks had become a regional R&B star in his own right recording singles for Goldband under the name Guitar Junior. Brooks met Sam Cooke in Atlanta in 1959, and the two became fast friends. Together they went to Chicago, where Brooks fell in love with the blues. Soon, his own potent mixture of Louisiana swamp R&B, Chicago blues, proto-rock and soul had people taking notice. He changed his name to Lonnie Brooks (there was already a Guitar Junior in Chicago) and recorded a number of local R&B singles during the 1960s.

Brooks continued to play Chicago clubs during the early 1970s, but his big break came in 1978 when four of his songs were included on Alligator Records’ Living Chicago Blues Vol. 3, which led to a recording contract with the label. >From his first Alligator album, Bayou Lightning in 1979 to his seventh, Roadhouse Rules, Brooks continues to create vibrant, emotionally charged music. And to the delight of his fans, he shows no signs of slowing down.

Saturday, November 14th
Callahan’s Bar & Grill
2105 South Blvd.
Auburn Hills, MI
248.858.9508
www.atcallahans.com
8:00 p.m.
$22.50 adv./ $25 day of show