G. Love & Special Sauce
with Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Thursday, August 11
Gates: 6:30 pm, Show: 7:30 pm

G. Love and his band Special Sauce are known for their unique, laid-back blues sound. The group released their first album, self-titled, in 1994, and have been mixing Blues, R&B, Folk, and Hip Hop ever since. G. Love has enjoyed success with hits “My Baby’s Got Sauce,” “Cold Beverage,” and “Rodeo Clowns,” and has collaborated with several artists including All Fellas Band, Philly Cartel, King’s Court, Dr. John, Jack Johnson, Tristan Prettyman, Ben Harper, Jasper, and Blackilicious. His latest album Fixin’ To Die is a return to his country blues roots, with the Avett Brothers both producing and playing on the record. Inspired by shared musical heritage, the musicians produced a collection of rearranged traditionals, a classic cover, and a slew of G. Love originals, many simmering for over a decade, but all sharing a common goal: to strip away all pretense and capture the original spirit and sound G. Love has cultivated over his entire career.

Growing up in New Orleans, Trombone Shorty was participating in brass band parades as a child, carrying his trombone even before his arms were long enough to reach all the positions on the slide. He was a bandleader by the age of six, and by his teens he was attracting attention for his musical virtuosity. 2010 was a breakout year for Trombone Shorty, with the release of his major label debut Backatown, which hit Billboard Magazine's Contemporary Jazz Chart at #1 and stayed there for nine consecutive weeks. Equally adept on trombone and trumpet, he plays a variety of other instruments as well. He's applied the same skill sets and fierce discipline to his vocal instrument, to soulful effect, as the album demonstrates. Surrounding Trombone Shorty is his band, Orleans Avenue--Mike Ballard on bass, Pete Murano on guitar, Joey Peebles on drums, Dwayne Williams on percussion and Dan Oestreicher on baritone sax--virtuosos every one.