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“Flawless fingerpicking and slide guitar paired with an idiosyncratic style and an exuberant performance persona make James come on like a full band.” – Dirty Linen

“James pulls off riffs that no one this side of Mississippi John Hurt or prime Leo Kottke has committed to tape in years”. – Blues Access

“It says a lot about James’ gift as a musician and storyteller that his own songs possess much of the same charm of the same charm of the older songs he performs.” – Washington Post

ABOUT STEVE

Steve James is a blues musician, a notable songwriter (Talco Girl, Farewell The Roses, Sonny Payne, Birmingham Steel to name a few), one of the best modern bottleneck slide players, a storyteller and a compendium of interesting facts. In the world of contemporary acoustic and roots music, hes earned his reputation with decades of tireless international touring, a stack of solo recordings, a funny, kinetic stage presence and an unmistakable style of playing and singing.

Hes shared his creative instrumental approach on guitar, slide guitar and mandolin with books, print lessons, DVDs and on-line tutorials for Acoustic Guitar and Homespun.

His own recordings engage with other top notch musicians- Cindy Cashdollar, the Bad Livers, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Del Rey and a host of others. As a sideman, both on stage and on record, he has played with Howard Armstrong, Bo Diddley, John Hammond, Maria Muldaur, Furry Lewis and James McMurtry. He often gets a shout-out to get on up here from the likes of Tommy Emmanuel, Hot Tuna or Chip Taylor. Steve has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, Austin City Limits Live, NPR Morning Edition and many other syndicated broadcasts worldwide.

Steve James started teaching himself guitar from age 12. After high school he worked various jobs and for guitar maker Michael Gurian. He moved to music-rich East Tennessee in the early 70s, where he met and was influenced by Sam McGee. He went to Memphis from 1975-77, where he hosted a radio show on WEVL, performed solo and accompanied Furry Lewis and Lum Guffin. He then moved to Texas, where he performed solo and led a small electric combo with saxophonist Clifford Scott and drummer Bobby Irwin at area clubs, concerts, festivals. His solo acoustic albums began to appear regularly after 1988 and he toured all over N. and S. America, Europe and Australia. Steve relocated to Seattle in 2015 so, not only can we call him a Master of the Blues, we can also call him Neighbor.

Tickets are available locally at Crossroads Music, Quimper Sound or online at Brown Paper Tickets