BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA are recipients of the GRAMMY® LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD and ROLLING STONE calls them “Gospel Titans” while THE NEW YORKER calls them “Legendary.” Tickets for BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club in Portsmouth, NH on Thursday October 12 at 7:30 P.M., as well as the current list of 2023 shows, can be found on Ticketmaster.com and Jimmy’s Online Event Calendar at: http://www.jimmysoncongress.com/events.
PORTSMOUTH, N.H., Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club Features 5x-GRAMMY® Award-Winners & 12x-GRAMMY® Nominated Living Legends BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA on Thursday October 12 at 7:30 P.M. Blind Boys of Alabama have been singing together for over seven decades. The Blind Boys’ music has not only endured, but thrived, helping both to distinguish the sound of the American south and to push it forward. They are not just gospel singers borrowing from old traditions; the group helped to define those traditions in the 20th century and almost single-handedly created a new gospel sound for the 21st.
“Seeing the Blind Boys of Alabama in concert is part living history, part concert, all uplifting experience….”
— WASHINGTON POST
“This music is music that reaches across decades, belief systems and genres, its sole goal to spread some joy.”
— RELIX MAGAZINE
“[Blind Boys of Alabama] epitomize what is known as jubilee singing, a livelier breed of gospel music…they made it zestier still by adding jazz and blues idioms and turning up the volume, creating a sound…like the rock ‘n’ roll that grew out of it.”
— NEW YORK TIMES
Since the original members first sang together as kids at the Alabama Institute for the Blind in the late 1930s, the band has persevered to become one of the most recognized and decorated roots music groups in the world. It’s almost unbelievable that a group of blind, African-American singers, who started out touring during a time of segregated bathrooms, restaurants and hotels, would go on to win 5 GRAMMY® Awards, 12 GRAMMY® Award Nominations, a GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Award, and be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. It is a remarkable story!
In 2001, they released Spirit of the Century on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label, mixing traditional church tunes with songs by Tom Waits and the Rolling Stones, and won the first of their GRAMMY® Awards. The next year they backed Gabriel on his album Up and joined him on a world tour. Shortly thereafter, David Simon chose their cover of Waits’ “Way Down in the Hole” as the theme song for the first season of HBO’s acclaimed series The Wire. Subsequent albums included collaborations with the likes of Willie Nelson, Mavis Staples, Robert Randolph, Aaron Neville, Ben Harper, Patty Griffin, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the late Allen Toussaint.
In 2014, the Blind Boys released Talkin’ Christmas!, a collaboration with Taj Mahal that continued the band’s streak of creating original and interesting work. It includes new versions of Christmas standards, covers of hidden gospel gems, and seven brand-new holiday songs featuring Money Mark on keyboards, Taj Mahal on vocals and songwriting collaborations with Stax Records soul legend William Bell.
The Blind Boys are still going strong both with their recordings and their worldwide touring. Their album, Almost Home, created in 2017 on their own BBOA Records label, in collaboration with Amazon Music was released widely, digitally, and physically via Single Lock Records in 2020. The album features songwriting contributions from an exceptional collection of artists including Valerie June, North Mississippi Allstars, Phil Cook, John Leventhal, Marc Cohn, Ruthie Foster, and more.
In 2019, they did an album collaboration with GRAMMY® Award-Winning Singer and Songwriter Marc Cohn, known for his smash hit “Walking to Memphis“. The album Work To Do, a unique collection that combines the songwriting talents of Marc Cohn with the soul-stirring harmonies of the Blind Boys, is comprised of three studio tracks by Cohn and the Blind Boys and seven intimate live performances recorded at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center during a taping of the PBS series “The Kate”.
A couple years ago, the Blind Boys collaborated with 15x-GRAMMY® Award-Winning Bluegrass and Banjo Legend Bela Fleck. The result was “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free,” a cover of a song made famous by Nina Simone. It was released in 2021 as the A Side on a limited edition, with “See By Faith” (a Bob Dylan cover of a previously unreleased song) as the B Side, for a Record Store Day exclusive. The single was then released digitally, followed by a Nomination for a GRAMMY® Award for “Best American Roots Performance”.
The Blind Boys’ live shows are roof-raising musical events that appeal to audiences of all cultures, as evidenced by an international itinerary that has taken them to virtually every continent. The Blind Boys of Alabama have attained the highest levels of achievement in a career that spans over 75 years and shows no signs of diminishing!
BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA Tickets & Current Schedule of Shows
Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club’s 2023 Schedule of Shows now includes 10 NEA Jazz Masters, 49 GRAMMY® Award-Winning Artists, 45 Blues Music Award-Winners, and a comprehensive list of talented musicians with 450+ GRAMMY® Award Nominations amongst them. Tickets for BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club on Thursday October 12 at 7:30 P.M., as well as the current list of 2023 shows, can be found on Ticketmaster and Jimmy’s Online Event Calendar at: http://www.jimmysoncongress.com/events.
ABOUT JIMMY’S JAZZ & BLUES CLUB
The mission of Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club is to provide guests with a one-of-a-kind, world-class experience featuring serious jazz and blues music served with exceptional cuisine. Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club features a spectacular and visually breathtaking environment engineered to deliver the highest quality acoustics while utilizing state-of-the-art production, sound and lighting technologies. Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club is located within a beautifully restored 1905 building at 135 Congress Street in the heart of historic downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire. For more information visit www.jimmysoncongress.com or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JimmysJazzBlues and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjazzblues/. Sign-up for Jimmy’s Email Newsletter to stay informed on Upcoming Shows, New Artist Announcements, Promotional Offers, Ticket On-Sale Dates, Special Performances, and Jimmy’s Sunday Jazz Brunch. In June 2023, Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club was given the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for its’ outstanding Wine List.
PRIVATE EVENTS AT JIMMY’S
An architecturally breathtaking center of arts and culture in the heart of historic Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club offers a rare and spectacular venue to host important corporate functions, weddings, intimate or large-scale social gatherings, private parties, and memorable celebrations. The team at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club put heart and soul into creating a stunning full-service event space with new state-of-the-art production, sound and lighting technologies delivered with outstanding next-level culinary experiences. Our high-touch approach, provided by professional and experienced event staff, ensures that everything is tailored to exceed your expectations. To start a conversation about hosting your event at Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club, please call us at 888-603-5299, or fill out Jimmy’s Private Event Request Form.
JOIN THE TEAM AT THE LABRIE GROUP FAMILY OF RESTAURANTS
Motivated by a commitment to culinary and hospitality excellence, founders Michael and Peter Labrie and their leadership team understand it is essential to seek out talented team members for each of The Labrie Group family of restaurants — Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club, The Atlantic Grill, The River House, and Rio Tequila Cantina — all in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Career opportunities and current job openings can be found at www.TheLabrieGroup.com.
