The Knickerbocker All Stars

"Go Back Home to the Blues" is the second Knickerbocker All-Stars record, building on the enthusiastically received "Open Mic at the Knick". Once again the deep pool of New England blues talent has provided knockout versions of blues and R&B classics, this time adding some new songs which are perfect fits stylistically. The Knickerbocker All-Stars are celebrated veterans and masters of their craft. Original Roomful of Blues members and other Roomful alumni, members of the Duke Robillard Band, Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, and vocalists Willie J. Laws and Brian Templeton all make a powerful blend, and among them they've garnered literally dozens of BMA and Grammy nominations. The songs are characteristic of the ones played in the heyday of the Knick, first done by early Roomful influences Bobby Bland, Freddie King, Guitar Slim, Cleanhead Vinson, and many others, and this crew reanimates them with authority.

The Knickerbocker All Stars are a group of extremely talented blues musicians who have been in the business for decades. Members of the band have played with such notable performers as Freddie King, Robert Cray, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Roomful of Blues as well as their own bands. Sunday night at the Knickerbocker Café in Westerly, RI featured the Roomful of Blues in the 1970’s and early 80’s. It quickly became the hottest social event in the area. Duke Robillard, the legendary blues guitarist and leader of the Roomful, would invite many up and coming musicians on stage to get their licks in as well as featured artists, the list of which is too long to mention.

Texas Rhody Blues, featuring Jimmie Vaughan and Duke Robillard, is the third Knickerbocker All-Stars CD release. The project was supported by the Knickerbocker Music Center, a non-profit organization formed in partnership with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School. The Knickerbocker Music Center will have an exciting performance venue and an exceptional center for music education. This CD has its roots in The Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals of the late 1950s and early ‘60s which turned many white soul searchers on to blues, rhythm and blues, and jump blues. In 1963, Blues at Newport was recorded live at the Newport Folk Festival, which featured many of the greatest folk and delta blues musicians.

“Love Makes a Woman” has been nominated for the 2019 Blues Music Award for Souls Blues Album of the Year! Also Thornetta Davis, a vocalist on the recording, has been nominated for Soul Blues Female Artist of the year. Love Makes a Woman is The Knickerbocker All-Stars 4th recording. When two phenomenal vocalists such as Darcel Wilson and Thornetta Davis get together for a session, it’s going to be special. Love Makes a Woman was inspired by the great female soul and R&B singers who popularized the genre. These carefully selected tunes barely scratch the surface of the sacred music of early Soul and R&B. This recording spans a wide range of emotional and musical content including an instrumental that allows the band to let loose.