Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame guitarist Elvin Bishop and Grammy-winning harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite are fellow blues travelers and living blues giants. The two history-making musicians—both Blues Hall Of Famers—have over 100 years of professional musicianship between them. They are among the most famous bluesmen in the world. Although they’ve known each other since the early 1960s, this is the first time that they ever teamed up to make an album together. 100 Years Of Blues, the new release on Alligator Records, is blues at its deepest, warmest and most engaging.

The idea for the album was sparked in 2017 when the two icons laid down the original version of the song 100 Years Of Blues for Bishop’s Big Fun Trio album. They found that, with their soul-deep understanding of the blues tradition, wry senses of humor and similar outlooks on life, they had a special musical chemistry. In 2019, Bishop and Musselwhite joined forces and played a series of stripped-down shows—along with their mutual friend, master pianist/guitarist Bob Welsh—swapping songs and telling stories. The audiences went wild, and Elvin and Charlie had so much fun they knew they had to capture the magic in the studio. According to Musselwhite, “This is us sitting down to play the music that we love and resonating together effortlessly because we’re ‘coming from the same place’...on many levels.”

ELVIN BISHOP
Elvin Bishop is a natural storyteller, an endlessly creative guitarist, a slyly good-humored songwriter and an instantly crowd-pleasing performer. Born in Glendale, CA on October 21, 1942, Bishop grew up in Oklahoma. He first got hooked on the blues listening to late night R&B radio as a teenager, and began collecting and absorbing the music. Once Bishop realized that many of his favorite records were recorded in Chicago, he used his National Merit Scholarship as a way to get closer to his musical heroes. He enrolled in the University of Chicago, whose campus was located near dozens of the South Side clubs. Soon he was spending more time in the clubs than the classroom.

After Elvin crossed paths with harmonica player and fellow University of Chicago student Paul Butterfield, the two began sitting in together at the South Side clubs, often hanging out with heavyweights including Otis Rush. They first formed The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1963, cutting their debut LP in 1965 with Michael Bloomfield as second lead guitarist. The groundbreaking self-titled debut album introduced real electric Chicago blues to the rock audience for the first time. With the release of East/West in 1966, their straight Chicago sounds drifted further into progressive and experimental rock and—with two world-class lead guitarists on board—they helped pave the way for groups featuring multiple virtuoso guitarists like The Allman Brothers Band and Derek and the Dominos. The band, including Bishop, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2015.

Towards the end of the 1960s, after recording three albums with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Elvin decided to move on, heading for the San Francisco area. He became a regular at the famed Fillmore Auditorium jam sessions, and played alongside Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, The Allman Brothers and many others across the country. He recorded first for Fillmore Records, then Epic and then for Capricorn, where his career took off. He guested on albums from blues stars including B.B. King, Son Seals, James Cotton and John Lee Hooker. Melding blues, country and rock, Bishop further developed his signature sound, a sound he used to create two chart-topping records: Travelin’ Shoes and Fooled Around And Fell In Love (the latter song reached number three on the pop charts and years later was prominently featured in the blockbuster film, Guardians Of The Galaxy).

After a seven-year recording hiatus, Elvin returned to his blues roots in 1988, signing with Alligator and releasing five albums between 1988 and 2000. After a few releases on other labels, Bishop returned to Alligator with 2014’s Can’t Even Do Wrong Right and once again turned the music-loving world on its head. Reviews poured in from NPR’s Fresh Air, Rolling Stone, Living Blues, No Depression and many others. He appeared on television on TBS’s CONAN and performed numerous times on A Prairie Home Companion. He’s most recently performed and recorded two Alligator Records albums with the Grammy-nominated Big Fun Trio, a group featuring Bishop, Welsh and Willy Jordan.

CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE
Harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite’s personal history is the kind of tale a novelist would sell his soul for. He is a larger-than-life musical legend, writing and singing what he calls, “music from the heart.” His life reads like a classic blues song: born in Mississippi, raised in Memphis and schooled on the South Side of Chicago. A groundbreaking recording artist since the 1960s, Musselwhite continues to create trailblazing music while remaining firmly rooted in the blues. His worldly-wise vocals, rich, melodic harmonica playing (and his deep country blues guitar work) flawlessly accompany his often autobiographical and always memorable original songs. Living Blues says, “Musselwhite’s rock-solid vocals creep up and overwhelm you before you know it. He plays magnificent harp with superb dexterity and phrasing. The results are amazing.”

Born into a blue collar family in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 31, 1944 and raised by a single mother, Musselwhite grew up surrounded by blues, hillbilly and gospel music on the radio and around performing musicians in his neighborhood. His family moved to Memphis, where, as a teenager, he worked as a ditch digger, concrete layer and moonshine runner. Fascinated by the blues, Musselwhite began playing guitar and harmonica. As a teen, Musselwhite hobnobbed with many of the local musicians, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Johnny Burnette, but the celebrities young Charlie sought out were Memphis’ veteran bluesmen like Furry Lewis, Will Shade and Gus Cannon.

Following the path of so many, Musselwhite moved to Chicago looking for better paying work. While driving an exterminator truck as a day job, Charlie lived on the South Side and hung out in blues clubs at night, developing close friendships with blues giants Big Walter Horton and Big Joe Williams, who became his key mentors. He roomed with Williams, and was also close to Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and Howlin’ Wolf, always soaking up licks and lyrics, and learning how to be a bluesman. Before long, he was sitting in at clubs with Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, Earl Hooker, Jimmy Reed, Luther Allison and others, building an impressive local word-of-mouth reputation.

After the release of his first full-length LP on Vanguard—Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s South Side Band—he was embraced by the growing youth counter-culture. His subsequent releases found a place with the newly emerging progressive rock FM radio stations, especially on the West Coast. His iconic status established, he relocated to San Francisco, often playing the famed Fillmore Auditorium. Over the years, Charlie has released nearly 40 albums on a variety of labels. Musically, his albums range from straight blues to mixing elements of jazz, gospel, Tex-Mex, Cuban and other world music. Four of those albums—1990’s Ace Of Harps, 1991’s Signature, 1994’s In My Time, and 2010’s The Well—were recorded for Alligator Records and remain among his best-selling titles.

In addition to his own recordings, Musselwhite has guested on numerous recordings, as a featured player with Tom Waits, Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, John Lee Hooker, Bonnie Raitt, The Blind Boys of Alabama, INXS, Cyndi Lauper, and many others. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall Of Fame in 2010, has been nominated for eleven Grammy Awards (winning one) and has won many Living Blues Awards and Blues Music Awards.

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Steve Freund Trio

Guitarist, producer and bandleader Steve Freund, praised by Rolling Stone for his "masterful, no-nonsense guitar work,” continues to share his feeling for the blues wherever he can.  

Developing his love for American roots music, including blues and jazz, in Brooklyn during the 1960’s, Steve moved to Chicago after meeting the legendary pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim, in 1969 at a show in Greenwich Village. Slim told Steve to “look me up when you come to Chicago.”  That is exactly what the young guitarist did, arriving in 1976 and staying until 1994.  

During that period Freund played an average of 200 shows per year, with many being two or even three gigs a day.  The list of blues masters he has worked with includes Sunnyland Slim, James Cotton, Big Walter Horton, Koko Taylor, Floyd Jones, Luther Allison, and many, many more.  He also has appeared on well over fifty recordings, and is an established Delmark recording artist.  His latest release is a collaboration with long time colleagues under the name of Rockwell Avenue Blues Band.

In 1994, seeking a change, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where he continues to work regularly, with occasional road tours and European shows.  His work in the Bay Area includes live shows and recordings with Boz Scaggs and Maria Muldaur.

"Steve Freund is one of the most consistently creative guitarists playing blues today.""…a commanding, quite soulful vocalist."  
-Lee Hildebrandt, Living Blues Magazine

“He is a great guitarist”!-Vintage Guitar Magazine“Steve Freund plays with real taste, drive, and creativity.”
-Pete Welding, Downbeat

Melvin Seals is a powerhouse Hammond B-3 organist, producer and arranger whose sound hasbecome inseparable from the spirit of the jam band world. He spent 15 years as a core memberof the Jerry Garcia Band, joining in 1980 and helping define its soulful, genre-blending style.With his deep roots in gospel, blues, and R&B, Seals brought a warmth and groove that gavethe band its unmistakable feel, locking in with Garcia night after night and elevating the musicwith rich textures and expressive improvisation.

After Garcia’s passing in 1995, Seals stepped naturally into the role of bandleader, formingMelvin Seals & JGB and continuing to carry that music forward. Rather than treating it as atribute, he’s kept it alive—stretching it, reshaping it, and bringing his own voice into the mixwhile staying true to the spirit of the original band.

Decades into his career, Seals is still out on the road, delivering high-energy shows that pullfrom the same well of soul, spontaneity, and connection that made the Jerry Garcia Band sospecial. His playing isn’t just part of that legacy—it’s one of the reasons it still resonates today.

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Steep Canyon Rangers arrive at a moment of renewal and reaffirmation with Next Act, their 15th studio album set to be released May 22, 2026. The record represents a conscious tightening of focus: a return to the bluegrass foundations that first bound the band together, approached with the confidence and emotional range earned through years of collective evolution. It is an affirmation that bluegrass still contains endless expressive possibility.

Formed in North Carolina and shaped equally by the Appalachian Mountains and the Piedmont, Steep Canyon Rangers have long occupied a singular space in American roots music. From their earliest recordings, the band demonstrated an unusual ability to honor traditional bluegrass forms while allowing contemporary songwriting, literary influence, and regional storytelling to seep naturally into the music.

Over time, this balance earned them both bluegrass credibility and broader Americana acclaim, culminating in a Best Bluegrass Album GRAMMY Award for 2013's Nobody Knows You, additional nominations for Rare Bird Alert (2012) and North Carolina Songbook (2020), and an induction into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.

Steep Canyon Rangers is made up of Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin/mandola and vocals, Aaron Burdett on guitar and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums, dobro, percussion and vocals, and Barrett Smith on bass, guitar, and vocals.

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Sam Grisman is a bass player, music appreciator, and bandleader who grew up in Mill Valley, California in a home where some of the great acoustic music of our time was being recorded on a regular basis. His father, legendary mandolinist, composer, and producer, David Grisman, was constantly having friends come over to his home studio for recording sessions and rehearsals. These friends, such as Doc Watson, Jerry Garcia, John Hartford, Mike Seeger, and Tony Rice all left an impression on the younger Grisman and inspired him to pursue a life making music with his many talented friends.

Sam Grisman Project was created to shed light on the music that Sam grew up around, and highlight that music’s influence on the members of the collective and in the greater music community. The band’s shows create a safe space where the band and audience can bask in the shared love and reverence for the great music and musicians who continue to inspire us all.

The friends who make up Sam Grisman Project are a rotating cadre of acousticians who are some of the brightest individual voices on their respective instruments. Members of this rotating cast of instrumental wizards include guitarists Max Flansburg, Logan Ledger, Sam Leslie, Henry Moser, Jesse Harper, and Jefferson Hamer, mandolinists Dominick Leslie, Joe K. Walsh, Matt Flinner, and Jesse Appelman, clawhammer banjo maestro Victor Furtado, fiddlers John Mailander, Alex Hargreaves, Nate Leath, Shad Cobb, and Phoebe Hunt, cellist Nat Smith, and Todd Livingston on the Dobro.

The band also frequently collaborates with legendary singer, songwriter, and bluegrass pioneer Peter Rowan, a deeply meaningful connection for Sam and the band tying directly back to his father David Grisman and the Old and In the Way legacy. Over the years Sam Grisman Project has been joined by a wide range of spontaneous and exciting guests including David Grisman, John Sebastian, Tim O’Brien, Billy Strings, Maria Muldaur, Margo Price, and many more.

This ever evolving collective of exceptional humans who happen to be incredible musicians is a testament to the abundance of joy, and wealth of experiences that growing up around this timeless music has brought into the younger Grisman’s life. Sam Grisman Project is committed to putting their love, gratitude, and individuality into the music that they share on stage each night, and to participating in the community effort of preserving, expanding, and appreciating great American acoustic music.

To preserve the sonic integrity of their instruments and voices, SGP plays acoustic music into condenser microphones. The sound on stage is fully acoustic and sensitive, so we kindly ask that you save conversations for before and after the show or during the set break. Thanks for coming and thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the music.

“They don’t just play this music. They live it. And they make you feel like you’re part of it too.” — No Depression

“This isn’t nostalgia. It’s a living breathing celebration led by musicians who understand the soul of the music.” — Bluegrass Toda

“One of the most joyful and reverent tributes to the Grateful Dawg legacy you’ll ever witness.” — Relix Magazine

An uncanny tribute to beloved master singer/songwriter/performer, American pop icon Neil Diamond — Super Diamond has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, CNN, VH1, Fox News, and Comedy Central, and has been featured in publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine, The New York Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

For three decades, San Francisco's Super Diamond has become one of the most popular live shows at major nightclubs, theaters, ballrooms, festivals, and public events throughout the United States.

Super Diamond delivers a glittering, powerful show that performs Neil Diamond's hits with a rock edge and unrestrained enthusiasm. It is pure entertainment — classic music combined with fun, energy, and passion!

Neil Diamond (the man himself) has sung his songs on stage with Super Diamond at their shows. Don't let anyone tell you Neil Diamond doesn't "ROCK!"

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Surprise Chef
Surprise Chef are a Melbourne-based quintet whose cinematic blend of soul, funk, jazz and forgotten soundtrack worlds has taken them from humble home-studio sessions to stages around the globe. Formed in 2017 in Coburg VIC, the band began by chasing spontaneous grooves recorded straight to tape, only to uncover a creative chemistry that would become the foundation of one of Australia’s most distinctive instrumental groups. Their analogue warmth, deep musical curiosity and unmistakable sense of groove have earned them a devoted international following.

Following their acclaimed releases All News Is Good News, Daylight Savings, Education & Recreation and Superb, Surprise Chef continue to evolve their richly textured sound.

Tommy Guerrero
Tommy Guerrero may be better known in the world of skateboarding than music. Born in San Francisco, Guerrero joined the skate company Powell Peralta in 1984 and became one of the original members of the legendary "Bones Brigade" team. TG has been playing music since the late 70s with his brother Tony - both raised on a steady diet of DIY punk music/ethos and skateboarding, which informed and shaped the person he is today. Since then, Guerrero has become an accomplished bassist and guitarist with influences as diverse as John Coltrane, Bad Brains, Joy Division, Gabor Szabo, and on and on...

La Santa Cecilia is a Mexican American band founded in 2007 in Los Angeles, California, whose musical influences are found in genres such as bolero, folk, cumbia, ranchero, norteño, jazz, among others; and a unique style that gives shine to their music. Formed by La Marisoul (vocals), Pepe Carlos (guitar and accordion), Alex Bendaña (bass) and Miguel Ramírez (percussions). Their talent has led them to be Grammy award winners in 2014. With more than 100 presentations during 2023 and 2024 between Mexico and United States. La Santa Cecilia has gained great recognition by participating in international festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 2025, and the Cervantino International Festival in 2016 and 2023, as well as important festivals in Mexico such as Tecate Pa'l Norte and Vive Latino. In addition to performing in emblematic venues in the United States and Mexico such as Teatro Metropolitan (Mexico City) and The Wiltern (Los Angeles). Their talent has led them to tour in Spain, Portugal and Brazil, spreading their musical culture to other countries.

Ritmos Tropicosmos is a seven piece psychedelic cumbia group, from Oakland, creating heavy tropical rhythms with an emphasis on live percussion, synthesizers and familial stories put into song. Together in a time-warped crossroads of electric and acoustic instrumentation, Ritmos Tropicosmos stands somewhere within the traditional rhythms of the past and the futuristic soundscapes of The Now.

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The Brooklyn-based MC earned his stripes as one of the most lyrically-gifted, socially aware and politically insightful rappers to emerge in the last 20 years. “I’m a touring artist. I’m an artist that’s internationally known. I’m not just a local artist at this point in my career. I’m cognizant of the fact that what I do is beyond where it started. I’m trying to reach the apex of where I am now, but without turning my back on or dismissing what I’ve done before.” After nearly 20 years of releasing mesmerizing music, Talib Kweli stands as one of the world’s most talented and most accomplished Hip Hop artists. Whether working with Mos Def as one-half of Black Star, partnering with producer Hi-Tek for Reflection Eternal, releasing landmark solo material or collaborating with Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Just Blaze, J Dilla, or Madlib, Kweli commands attention by delivering top-tier lyricism, crafting captivating stories and showing the ability to rhyme over virtually any type of instrumental. In 2011, Kweli founded Javotti Media, which is self-defined as “a platform for independent thinkers and doers.” Kweli has set out to make Javotti Media (which released his 2011 album, Gutter Rainbows, and is named after his paternal grandmother) into a media powerhouse that releases music, films and books.‍