Joe Beard is an American blues and rhythm & blues musician, and is the father of blues musician Chris Beard. He was surrounded by aspiring and veteran blues musicians. Matt “Guitar” Murphy and his brother Floyd Murphy were Beard’s childhood buddies and the ones who initially got him started on guitar. Beard moved to Rochester, New York, in the mid-1950’s and befriended Son House, who happened to live just around the corner. From time to time would visit one of his brothers in Chicago. He became enamored with the blues being played there and eventually sat in both with John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. In Rochester, he formed the Soul Brothers Six, playing bass and singing. He wouldn’t perform in public on guitar until 1965. For most of the ’60s on through the ’80s, Beard worked as an electrician by day and would occasionally play out at night and on weekends. He long ago gained a reputation as one of the best local players around Rochester and has sporadically been counted as one of the best nationally.
Jony James is overflowing with soul. It drips down from his hand onto his fingers, in lyrically urgent bends and intense ethereal assaults. It pours out through his weathered, leathery voice, telling vivid, open-minded tales of a tumultuous life, with his impressive song writing skills. His jovial, yet pensive nature is evident in both his music and his stage presence. He is often compared to Stevie Ray Vaughn, however, his persistence on being “Jony” and playing Jony James’, original “Survival Blues”, a soulful mix of smoothness and sting, sets him apart from the rest of the Blues Shows. Born in Buffalo, New York, Jony was raised in Chicago, which was full of Blues, Motown and Soul influences. B.B. King, Albert King, Otis Rush, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and Jimi Hendrix, were among those influences and are evident in his playing.
Ed Croft – Bass / Kent “Boom Boom” Leech – drums
