BLIND LEMON PLEDGE

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San Francisco based Blind Lemon Pledge is a unique acoustic blues band playing a combination of classic Blues, old-time Jazz, Americana and originals.

BLIND LEMON PLEDGE – ACOUSTIC MUSIC FOR THE SOUL

A steaming bowl of Delta and Chicago blues, a dash of New Orleans, a taste of country, and a teaspoon of rock, all flavored with a unique songwriting sensibility, create the tasty gumbo that is Blind Lemon Pledge. This San Francisco based quartet, featuring bluesy vocals, guitars, bottleneck slide, fiddle, mandolin and bass, plays a combination of blues classics, re-imagined rock/pop standards and sparkling originals. It is the sound of a modern string band paying homage to the great pre-WWII string ensembles of early Muddy Waters, Son House, and Sleepy John Estes and capturing the free-wheeling spirit of The Memphis Jug Band and Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers.

Their self-produced album “I Would Rather Go Blind” is a toe-tapping synthesis of the many elements that come together to form their music. With influences from Muddy Waters to 20’s jazz to The Rolling Stones, the album has aired internationally and selected as one of the Top Blues Albums of 2010 by KPIG Radio and in the 2010 Top 100 Singer/Songwriter Albums on iTunes Ireland and iTunes Austria.

Their 2013 album, “Evangeline” garnered international airplay and rave reviews. And their newest album “Pledge Drive” is scheduled to release in March 2016.

James Byfield formed Blind Lemon Pledge in 2008, posting on craigslist to audition and finally assemble the original team. Conceived as a weekly old-time jam session, what was, at first, a loose amalgam of musicians quickly became a tight quartet of players devoted to the sound and styles of the full spectrum of American blues. As the band developed, other styles and influences (including Byfield’s extensive Americana-influenced songbook) soon broadened the sound. A few fortuitous personnel changes brought in some of the top players in the area and eventually resulted in the current band which has a unique sound all their own: part blues, part rock, part New Orleans, part country, part modern folk…and all fun.

The current line-up includes:

• Blind Lemon Pledge – vocals, guitars / strings, songwriter

• “Pistol Pete” Grenell – bass / vocals

• “Thumpin’ Scott” Comet – percussion

• Sioux City Slim – harmonica

• Cal Keaoola – fiddle / vocals

With a repertoire of over 60 songs (and growing), Blind Lemon Pledge is bringing their unique blend of classic songs and crowd-pleasing originals to night clubs, coffee houses, street fairs, corporate events and private gatherings throughout Northern California. Visit them on the web at: www.blues.james-creative.com, https://www.facebook.com/blind.pledge or email them at blues@james-creative.com.