MOHAWK VALLEY BLUES SOCIETY
The Mohawk Valley Blues Society proudly presents
From the Delta:
An Afternoon of Front Porch Blues
Featuring Colin Aberdeen
w/ Special Guest Brian Mulkerne
Sunday June 8, 2-5PM
Come Join the Mohawk Valley Blues Society for something a little different, an afternoon Fundraiser of Acoustic Delta Blues at the Historic Unity Hall in Barneveld! We are proud to have Colin Aberdeen headline this show, with an opening set from Brian Mulkerne.
As many of you know, we fell victim to theft this past year. Our entire assets were embezzled, as an unscrupulous individual completely wiped out 20 years of funds painstakingly accumulated one event at a time, one dollar at a time. While this individual has pled guilty and has paid minimal restitution, it has still left us far short of where we were and far short of where we need to be to fulfill our mission statement of promoting America’s music, the blues.
With that in mind we are partnering with our good friends at Unity Hall to present this fund-raising concert titled “From The Delta – an Afternoon of Front Porch Blues” on Sunday, June 8 at Unity Hall, featuring two of Central New York’s foremost practitioners of that style, Colin Aberdeen and Brian Mulkerne.
Colin Aberdeen's low-down exuberance makes him a joy to all who play with him and all he plays for. A mainstay in the Syracuse music scene, Colin
is a charter member of Los Blancos, The Westcott Jugsuckers, is a regular in The Barking Loungers, plus is
considered one of the region's top solo performers.performers. His recent opening set for Quatro at Unity Hall was outstanding.
Brian Mulkerne is a guitarist and singer-songwriter who he has performed for two decades, both as a solo artist and with the Brian Mulkerne Band. His early-blues project, The Parlor Dogs, with Matt Lomeo and Sean Peters, released an eponymous CD in 2018. His repertoire includes songs by many early blues figures, Rev. Gary Davis, Libba Cotton, Blind Blake, Muddy Waters and others. A Grateful Dead fan, he also covers many of their songs. Brian has played on WOUR-FM, WRPI-FM, at Cafe Lena in Saratoga and many venues around Central New York. He also was chairman of the Mohawk Valley Blues Society from 2013 to 2015.
Joining Brain will be 2 of the foremost blues players in the area, George Deveny and John Handzel.
Guitarist/songwriter George Deveny is a New York Blues Hall of Fame member, inducted in 2013. The lead and slide guitar player has played in many prominent Central New York and Capital Region bands, including the Dust Devil Band, Blueprints, Homegrown, Tom Healey Band, Slidewinder, Solid Oak Band, Gary Hunt Band, Al Nathan Band and the Brian Mulkerne Band. George has opened shows for Freddie King, Sonny Landreth, Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, Eddie Shaw Band (featuring Hubert Sumlin), Roomful of Blues, Peter Tosh, subdudes, Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson, the Nighthawks, and many others. George appeared at Woodstock 99 with John Savage, after producing his eponymous CD. He also has produced recordings for Blueprints and Don Paul Way. George has had his songs included in WOUR-FM’s Rock of Central New York Vols. I and II. In 2005, George played in Memphis with the Tom Healey Band at the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge, representing the Northeast Blues Society.
Bassist John Handzel is one of Central New York’s most experienced practitioners of the instrument. John excels at electric, fretless and upright acoustic bass. He was the bassist for the legendary CNY-based band, Drivin’ Sideways in the 1970s. For the past couple of decades he has been one of the most in-demand bass players in the area, playing with Rebecca Miner, Les Brers, Midnite Mike, The Fabulous Mojos and more!
Unity Hall is operated and maintained by the Unity Hall Foundation, a not-for-profit, all volunteer organization formed in 1995 to preserve the historic building and present entertaining and informative programs