Jill Dineen Blues Band- Blues with Gusto

We Saw The Jill Dineen Blues Band last night at The Irish Cue in Cornelius, or Lake Norman if you prefer. They can count on me to show up and soak in their gutsy brand of blues any time.

Covering everything you can imagine, they opened with some traditional stuff like "I Don't Believe" and Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long."The piano player, Mike Peters ,took a turn at vocals delivering a truly admirable version of the Allman Brothers' "Ain't Wasting Time No More." From there Ms. Dineen took back the vocals with one of my all time favorites "At the Dark End of the Street." Melts me every time I hear it.

Solid work on guitar by Jim Snyder, and the driving force of Harold "Woodstock" Woodside on bass along with the steady, insistent drum work by Jimmy Honeycutt made this another outstanding Jill Dineen Blues Band performance.

It's hard to hold an audience's attention on any given night- but throw in some pool tables and you have a heavy task before you. The Jill Dineen Blues Band lives up to that challenge in any setting. Check them out at www.jilldineen.com and I'll see you at the next show!

The Jill Dineen Band

There are lots of bands out there. Lots of music to listen to. Last Friday night Sue and I went to see George Terry and the Zealots at the Evening Muse in Charlotte. We arrived for the last half of the previous bands set. Were we lucky!

Jill Dineen is one of those rare and gifted blues singers who can pluck the strings of your heart with her strong and well phrased renditions of anything she sings.

Back her up with some very fine musicians and you get quite a show! From the really clean yet growling guitar licks provided by Jim Snyder, to the lyrical keyboarding of Mike Peters, combined with the pulsing bass and steady drumming of Harold Woodside and Jim Honeycutt, this band really moves!

Just look at the photo above- Ms. Dineen with her head reared back and really feeling the music, while Jim Snyder stands to the left- adding those sweet and sometimes gritty punctuations. This is the blues at its' best.

The songlist is extremely varied, drawing on artists such as Otis Redding, Etta James, Coco Montoya, Lucinda Willams and Delbert McClinton to name just a few. Ms. Dineen has a voice that surpasses the legendary Bonnie Raitt in strength and range,giving life to anything she sings. An easy repartee with the audience caps off a truly inspiring performance.

If you are a fan of the blues then you need to keep an eye out for The Jill Dineen Band. When they come to your town you don't want to miss them! For more about this band go to www.jilldineen.com You will be glad you did!