16 Sep Telluride Blues & Brews Festival: The Lee Boys
[click “Pay” to hear Eileen’s interview with Alvin Lee]
The 16th annual Telluride Blues and Brews Festival takes place September 18- 20 on the Fred Shellman Memorial Stage in Telluride’s Town Park. The Lee Boys, out of Miami, have been given the revered opening spot for Sunday’s musical lineup. Out to prove there is no resting on Sunday, The Lee Boys guarantee to have the soulful crowd on their feet within moments of hearing their sacred steel musical styling. Rooted in gospel, The Lee Boys’ music is infused with rhythm & blues, jazz, rock, funk, hip-hop and country as well as influences from the world music scene.
According to Alvin Lee, founder and lead guitarist with The Lee Boys, sacred steel is a musical style, an African-American gospel tradition that developed in Pentecostal House of God’s Sunday services in the 1930s. Traditional sacred steel bands, like The Lee Boys, showcase the 10 string pedal steel guitar as the focal instrument. Although “sacred steel” is not known to everyone in the music world, this sound is being played outside church walls by musicians such as Robert Randolph.
In 2008, The Lee Boys released “Live at Telluride” and also have a live DVD out entitled “The Lee Boys Live at Bonnaroo.” Upcoming collaborations include a joint recording and tour with the Traveling McCourys. Alvin Lee commented that combining sacred steel with bluegrass is a natural fit: with their common roots in gospel, they have a sound that just fits.
Don’t miss The Lee Boys, Sunday, September 20th performing on stage at 11 am at the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival.
To find out more about the festival, to purchase tickets or download a festival schedule go to www.tellurideblues.com
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