PIPING Hot Chicken Shop will welcome one of Europe’s most prominent blues artists, Big Daddy Wilson, for a rocking one-night show this month.
Wilson, who’s based in Germany, only recently left our shores having completed his debut Australian tour.
But he’s getting right back on the plane and heading down under this month for The Blues on Broadbeach Festival and sideshows in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
Wilson uses his warm baritone voice to draw on a wide stylistic spectrum of blues, folk, soul and gospel – his music is all heart and soul.
His recent album ‘Time’ was co-produced by blues legend Eric Bibb who sums up the effect that Big Daddy Wilson has on listeners:
“As soon as you hear Big Daddy Wilson’s voice, whether speaking or singing, you hear his southern country roots,” he says.
“Working with Wilson has been a blessing and I’m sure this new album of his will bring much listening pleasure to all who hear it”.
The sound of the original blues people comes through loud and clear, reminding you of a bygone era when music came from people’s front porches instead of iPhones.
Wilson has a voice baptized in the river of African-American song – a voice with the power to heal.
His repertoire encompasses spirituals, blues, country and soul, delivered in his unique, heartfelt way.
Wilson was born more than 50 years ago, hailing from the small town of Edenton in North Carolina.He grew up on the sounds of the church and local country radio, only discovering the blues after re-locating to Germany after a stint in the military.
“We were very poor, but I had a beautiful childhood. As a child I worked in the tobacco and cotton fields, I was a real country boy.
Wilson quit school at 16, and joined the US Army in Germany. A few years later Wilson met a German girl who became his wife, and he decided to stay in the country.
“I met the blues in Germany when I went for the first time to a real blues concert,” he says.
“I’d been writing poems and songs long before I started singing the blues, I didn’t know what it was, but it was mixed in my blood, I was born with the blues.”
It did not take long for the shy guy, who just had written some poems years, to start looking for melodies.
He went on stage, jammed all over the German blues scene and even won the German Blues Challenge Award as the best German Blues Band.
Wilson has established himself as a stand-out performer through a solid touring schedule across Europe, Scandinavia and the US.
He has picked up several awards in Europe for his unique trademark style.
With his international solo debut on RUF Records some years ago, Big Daddy Wilson took it one step further in his late career as a musician.
In 2014 Big Daddy Wilson won the “Blues in Germany” Best Acoustic Artist Award.
His new album, produced with Eric Bibb and Staffan Astner, switches between acoustic and electric blues, with strong soul and gospel influences.
Bibb and Staffan share the guitar playing, while Big Daddy’s magic voice brings in an irresistible glow to album.
Doors open 7.30pm 14 May. Tickets are $25.
