The Dona Ana Arts Council Welcomes Soul Man Johnny Rawls to The Rio Grande Theatre Saturday, December 19, 2009
Who: The Rio Grande Theatre
What: Performance by Johnny Rawls
When: December 19, 2009
Where: The Rio Grande Theatre
Contact: (575) 523-6403
The Dona Ana Arts Council Welcomes Soul Man Johnny Rawls to The Rio Grande Theatre Saturday, December 19, 2009
One of the premiere soul and blues artists active today, Johnny Rawls will bring his down home deep soul sound to the Rio Grande Theatre, Saturday, December 19, 2009. After reaching #1 on the blues radio charts and winning the Living Blues Magazine Critics’ Poll for Best Southern Soul Album for his last release, Red Cadillac, Johnny has come roaring back with a firecracker of a new album, Ace Of Spades, which is already under consideration for the prestigious Blues Music Award. Just one more notch in the musical belt of a performer who exhibits “the earthiness of B.B. King and the Memphis Soul of Al Green,” according to the London Times.
A proud exponent of soul-blues, that special subgenre occupied by such notables as Mighty Sam McClain, Little Milton and Bobby Bland, Johnny was born in Mississippi, a grandson of blind guitarist John Paul Newson. In the mid-70s, after cutting his teeth by backing up Deep South chitlin’ circuit stars like Joe Tex, Z.Z. Hill and living legend O.V. Wright, he became the guitarist and musical director for Wright, until the bluesman’s untimely death in 1979. After years of solo work, Johnny hooked up with Texas music veteran Bob Trenchard and launched his own Deep South Soul label in 2005. Since that time, critics have hailed him a “world-class talent,” and several awards have been lavished upon his last three releases.
The new release is proving no different. Throughout Ace Of Spades, Johnny communicates with shadings of honest emotion, delving into hurt and loss, joy and satisfaction and everything in-between, with spirit and self-confidence. “His gritty, seasoned vocals,” wrote Blues Revue, follow in the grand tradition of Southern soul giants such as Otis Redding, James Carr and Rawls’ former employer O.V. Wright.” It was Johnny, himself, who, in an early-1990s Living Blues cover story, supplied the definitive description of his musical wizardry, when he said, “my style is somewhere between gospel, blues and good hard soul music.”
The Rio Grande Theatre is located at 211 N. Downtown Mall, in Las Cruces. Doors open at 7:30pm and the performance begins at 8pm. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased via the website at www.RioGrandeTheatre.com. For more information contact Rio Grande Theatre Manager, David Salcido, at (575) 523-6403.
