Lady Sunshine and the X Band kick off Blues at the Elks series

The 2^nd year of the Blues at the Elks series kicks off Tuesday, Sept. 9, with a performance by Lady Sunshine and the X Band.

Lady Sunshine was born on a plantation in West Helena, Ark., and grew up singing gospel music as a little girl. She moved to Ann Arbor in 1975 and began singing professionally.

The Sunshine Band came together in 1994 and made an immediate impact. The band, which has shared the stage with blues/R&B notables such as Koko Taylor, Bobby Rush, Little Milton, Roomful of Blues, War, Big Bill Morganfield, and many more, has garnered many awards.

The band is a two-time winner of the Detroit Blues Challenge; finished second at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn., in 2005; made it to the IBC semifinals in 2013; and has twice been named best blues band in Washtenaw County by Current magazine.

Janiva Magness

Lady Sunshine and the X Band will perform from 7-10 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Plymouth-Ann Arbor Elks Lodge, 41700 Ann Arbor Road in Plymouth, a half mile west of I-275. Admission is $5. There will also be a cash bar and pizza.  For more information, call 734-453-1780 or click
http://www.plymouthelks1780.com/.
Blues at the Elks is a co-production of the Plymouth-Ann Arbor Elks Lodge and the non-profit Detroit Blues Society.

Blues In Ann Arbor

The Ark in Ann Arbor has an impressive lineup of blues artists performing in the next eight weeks.

Standout singer Janiva Magness, a Michigan native who attended Mount Clemens High School while living with her grandparents, is the recipient of many top blues music awards. She’ll be at The Ark on Sept. 19.

Other blues artists headed to The Ark include singer-songwriter Laith Al-Saadi (Sept. 21), roots music performer George Bedard (Oct. 10), Shari Kane and Dave Steele with Brooks Williams (Oct. 16), and folk-blues singer and songwriter Chris Smither (Oct. 31).

For information, click www.theark.org.

To send info to JB Blues, please email Joe.Ballor@dailytribune.com