Savoy Brown at the Magic Bag

For over 45 years, guitarist Kim Simmonds has been the driving force behind the British blues rock band Savoy Brown. He has been featured on the cover of Guitar Player Magazine and has shared the stage with such guitar legends as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Muddy Waters.

Now, the band, which recently signed with Ruf Records, is celebrating the release of its latest CD, “Voodoo Moon,” with “The Legend Continues Tour,” including a stop on Friday at the Magic Bag in Ferndale. Tickets are $25.

KIM SIMMONDS

Savoy Brown was one of the first British blues bands to record, releasing their first album in 1966. One of the first racially mixed blues bands, Savoy Brown backed up John Lee Hooker on his 1967 tour of the United Kingdom and has jammed with many blues greats, including Bobby “Blue” Bland and Charles Brown.

"Blues music has been my first love, somewhere it connects my Welsh roots and enables me to express my emotions and allows the perfect creative outlet,” Simmonds said in a release.

Savoy Brown has performed over 5,000 concerts at venues including The Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall and the Fillmore East and West. In 1972, the band recorded a live album in New York’s Central Park.

Ex-band members have also been members of many notable rock and blues acts, including Foghat, Humble Pie, Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath and Ten Years After.

Simmonds has been inducted into the Hollywood Rock Hall of Fame and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Detroit Blues Society.

Other upcoming events at the Magic Bag to mark on your calendar include the Anti-Freeze Blues Festival, featuring Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band, Johnnie Bassett, Thornetta Davis, and The Rattlesnake Shake, on Jan. 7; the Eric Johnson Band on Jan. 11; soul singer Charles Bradley and The Extraordinaires on Feb. 12; and the rescheduled date for slide guitar wizard Sonny Landreth on May 18.

For information, click www.themagicbag.com.

AT CALLAHAN'S: Callahan's Music Hall in Auburn Hills has an impressive 1-2-3 punch this weekend, with Popa Chubby on Thursday (Dec. 1), Duke Tumatoe on Friday (Dec. 2) and Steve Gornall and the Blue Collar Blues Band on Saturday (Dec. 3). For info, click www.atcallahans.com.

MORE MO’:  Keb’ Mo’ will be joined by special guest Andres Osborne on Jan. 20 at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. Reserved tickets are $39.50. For information, click www.royaloakmusictheatre.com.

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