8:00pm • $20 • Tickets on Eventbrite and at the door
Devastatingly soulful vocalist, dynamic harmonica master and superlative songwriter Chris O'Leary is among the blues and roots world's most talented unsung heroes. The award-winning O'Leary--disciple and friend of both The Band's legendary drummer/vocalist/songwriter Levon Helm and iconic blues harmonica giant James Cotton--has been playing professionally since the 1990s, with five previous solo albums to his credit. The Marine veteran, ex-Federal police officer, former lead singer of The Barn Burners (featuring Levon Helm on drums) and loving father has walked a hard line from his upstate New York home to stages all over the world. No Depressionmagazine says, "O'Leary's voice contains startling emotion...reaching an intensity and emotional rawness [that's] primal. The performances practically vibrate with an authenticity that stays with you."
Between his large, athletic frame and his military-style "high and tight" haircut, O'Leary commands attention, singing his indelible original songs with pure, unadulterated soul and playing harmonica with urgent locomotive power. His keenly written songs come directly from his colorful and sometimes harrowing life experiences. On his Alligator Records debut, The Hard Line, O'Leary set his sights high and created what he says is, "the best work I've ever done. It's the most focused, most to-the-point album I've ever made."
"Chris O'Leary generates authority...with a huge voice [and] a force-of-nature harmonica sound." —Greil Marcus, Real Life Rock
"Gritty blues and soulful ballads [performed with] absolute authority...Chris O'Leary rocks relentlessly with assurance and a clear sense of passion and purpose. He is a potent, raging tourde-force." —Living Blues
"The Chris O'Leary Band offer a virtual encyclopedia of entertaining roadhouse blues styles, from boogie woogie to Southside Chicago to Louisiana stompers." —Philadelphia Daily News
"O'Leary is a forceful harp player, a powerful singer and a natural frontman." —Blues Music Magazine