Tonight we welcome JJ Thames to the stage. If you are looking for some fun (Yes there will be a dance floor), this is an opportunity to hear a full on, full production, touring 5 member blues band from Jackson Mississippi in an intimate setting. Including 20 dates in Europe, JJ’s tour is in support of her 2017 release ‘Raw Sugar’. https://www.iamjjthames.com/
Thames’ live shows are the stuff of legend. She honors the bold blues women of the past with both feet firmly planted in the now. With her heart on her sleeve, she belts, growls, shouts, croons and moans from a place deep within her soul that harkens back to the days of Chess, Bluebird and Stax Records. She uses music as therapy and often writes from her own life story, and chooses material with positive affirmations that leave the audience feeling healed and exhilarated.
Her debut album, Tell You What I Know (2014 DeChamp Records), received much acclaim and stayed in the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales Chart for 21 weeks – 2 of those at #1. The album also made it as high as #3 on the Billboard’s Blues Chart.
The Mississippi Blues Diva
It’s clear that soul-blues is her calling. At age 30, Thames’ stage presence and vocal delivery are more reminiscent of singers from the golden era of the artform than they are of most blues belters on the scene today. Her delivery is never rushed, and her ability to express deep emotion is on par with someone twice her age as she delivers everything from downhome juke joint stylings to full-blown torch songs, all containing messages of positive affirmation.
-Marty Gunther Blues Blast Magazine