Roots-Rock with a New Orleans edge and some Blues and Country influences. Americana.

14 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Rockin' Blues, COUNTRY: Country Rock



Details:
George Kilby Jr.


George Kilby Jr. has taken his music from the road-houses of the Southeast to the major music festivals of Europe. His sound has been called everything from New Orleans R&B to Alternative Country. Born in Alabama, and residing in New York, Kilby's band is one of the top acts in the Northeast; and has backed the legendary Pinetop Perkins for more than a decade.
Born and raised in Anniston, Alabama, Georgeâs earliest musical memory is listening to his uncle play Hank Williams songs on the porch. As a teenager, he listened to the Allman Brothers and the country music of Willie and Waylon.
At Princeton University, he led his first group, the George Dickel Band, to New Yorkâs legendary Lonestar Cafe. There, he played countless country bills, but also shared the stage with Albert King, Etta James and James
Brown.
Before long, the blues became George's passion. He traveled to support his first LP all over the Eastern US. As a result, he met the Legendary Pinetop Perkins and lived with his family in Chicago in 1985. Then, after a couple of years as a busker in Paris, he returned to the states. He recruited Pinetop along with R&B legend Rosco Gordon and began a CD titled âGeorge Jr. and his Elders.â
New Orleans drummer Charles "Honeyboy" Otis gave the disc a spicy flavor which continues to be part of Kilbyâs sound today. By a strange twist of fate, George landed a roadie gig for The Beach Boys, so the CD was cut in L.A. and released in New York on Pipeliner Records.
The disc, Pinetop Perkins and Friends was the first to establish Pinetop as a touring act. This led to a deal with Omega / Vanguard Records. While at the label, Kilby produced Pinetopâs seminal Portrait of a Delta Bluesman, which won the W.C. Handy Award, Blues Album of the Year. Kilbyâs third effort with Pinetop, Live at 85 (Shanachie OE99), features his band, the Coolerators, in an exciting live setting.
Presently, George has taken his own material center stage. His sound draws from both the Blues and Country traditions, but New York gives the band its cutting edge. The 99 indie, Spell it Out, has helped support several tours of Europe lately. He appears regularly at European festivals and clubs from Scandinavia to Ireland. The self-titled CD George Kilby Jr., on Baltazar Music (Copenhagen) is well on its way to being a very popular disc in Denmark.
As well, the CD is a blues milestone for George. His latest record, Road Dogâs Holiday, takes him back to his Alabama roots. Nevertheless, he makes his home in the Big Apple and in the nearby Catskill mountains. He is a fixture on Manhattan's downtown roots music scene and can regularly be seen at BB Kings, The Bottom Line, & The Turning Point.