**Take advantage of advance ticket prices, as they go up the day of the show!** ADV: $15/$12 MEM; D/S: $18/$15 MEM
Del Rey is a complex, pianistic guitarist, described as “a combination of Bo Carter and the Andrews Sisters” (Observant Fan). Steve James, songsmith and bottleneck guitarist is “a true Americana hero...his intensity and focus always reminds me of James Coburn’s character in the Magnificent Seven” (Third Coast Magazine).
These two powerful exponents of American vernacular guitar-playing have joined forces to make music testament to the hillbilly/smarty-pants/country blues aesthetic. Sharing a sense of humor and a similar manic intensity, their duets are smart, funny and full of instrumental virtuosity. Del Rey doubles on resonator ukulele and Steve James is known for his “noble savage” mandolin style.
Longtime colleagues and collaborators at festivals and workshops worldwide, they met in 1992 in Santa Cruz. Their friendship developed over many years in different places around the world, as they exchanged stories and hot tips in various hotel bars. They kept running into one another, sharing double-bills in Belgium and at the Gloucester Blues Festival in England. In 2001, when they saw each other at the Port Townsend Country Blues Workshop, they got serious about playing and recording together. Audiences and critics have since responded so favorably that they’ve been spending the majority of their time on the road playing as a duet.
With nine solo albums between them, they have recorded two CDs together, Tonight (2004) and Twins (2002). Recent shows include King Biscuit Blues Festival. Merlefest, Waterfront Blues Festival and A Prairie Home Companion. A recent Pacific Sun review of “Sweet Lovin’ Ol’ Soul” noted, “...they sound so natural and authentic that this recording sometimes seems like a time machine.”
