Saturday 18th July awaits us Blues Experience Night, an exceptional event that will bring together on one stage three forces of nature from the international scene, to guide us on an experiential journey through three different souls of the blues: blues-rock, soul-blues and modern blues-rock.
JUDITH HILL – The Stellar Soul of Funk, Soul & Gospel
A monumental voice with seismic power, a regal stage presence, and an artistic DNA steeped in music history. Born in Los Angeles to a Japanese pianist mother and an African-American funk bassist father, Judith Hill embodies the perfect, visceral fusion of soul, funk, gospel, and blues. Her career is inextricably linked to some of the greatest geniuses of global pop music: in 2009, she was personally chosen by Michael Jackson as his main duet partner for his farewell tour. This Is It (thrilling the whole world during the televised memorial with his interpretation of heal the world). She was subsequently struck by the encounter with Prince, who became her mentor, hosting her at the legendary Paisley Park Studios and co-producing her acclaimed debut album. Back in Time.
Hill won a Grammy Award for her participation in the award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, which shines a spotlight on the extraordinary stories of the backing singers behind music's greatest legends. With critically acclaimed solo albums such as Baby, I'm Hollywood! and her most recent studio album, Judith has established herself as an independent force of nature, combining the legacy of Sly and the Family Stone and Janis Joplin with a modern, sophisticated, and highly committed sound. On stage, Hill is a whirlwind of dynamism, effortlessly switching from commanding the stage with her electric guitar to sitting at the piano for poignant ballads that hit you straight in the gut. Her set is the beating heart of the evening, a mystical and energetic journey into the most authentic groove.
TOBY LEE – The Six-String Prodigy (ONLY DATE IN ITALY)
Born in Oxfordshire, England, Toby Lee is living proof that the blues is ageless. His incredible rise in the music world began at just ten years old, when videos of his Sunday bedroom performances went viral, racking up over 50 million views worldwide and attracting the attention of six-string giants. Described by Joe Bonamassa “the future of blues-rock” and publicly acclaimed by living legends like Buddy Guy, Lee quickly transcended his “child prodigy” status to establish himself as one of the most mature, solid and dazzling guitarists on the international scene.
At just eleven years old he was chosen to play the role of Zack Mooneyham in the West End musical School of Rock by Andrew Lloyd Webber, winning a prestigious Olivier Award. Since then, his transition to the big stage has been unstoppable: he has shared the stage with McFly, performed alongside Peter Frampton, and signed a global endorsement deal with Gibson Guitars, which officially named him among its flagship artists. His debut album, Aquarius, and his subsequent studio recordings demonstrate an impressive expressive maturity, where the purity of electric blues in the vein of B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan blends with the vibrant, fresh energy and rock attitude of his generation. With a magnetic stage presence and lightning-fast solos that leave the audience breathless, Toby Lee is the perfect opening act and the electric spark of this extraordinary evening.
KRIS BARRAS' HOLLOW SOULS – The Muscles of Modern Blues-Rock (ONLY DATE IN ITALY)
If modern blues-rock needed a manifesto of pure power, that manifesto would be the face and hands of Kris Barras. His story is one of the most unusual, impactful, and fascinating in the international music scene: for over a decade, Barras lived a double life, fighting professionally as a MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter in arenas around the world while simultaneously studying the blues and writing riffs. Once he hung up his gloves, he poured the same ferocity, discipline, and physicality into the neck of his six-string, leading the Kris Barras Band to the pinnacle of European rock.
Barras' crystalline talent as a virtuoso of the instrument has been widely acclaimed by specialist critics: he was in fact officially voted among the “Top 15 Blues Guitarists in the World” from the prestigious industry magazine Music Radar and consistently included in the rankings of best emerging rock-blues guitarists of the world bible of the six strings, Whole Guitar.
The flagship of Mascot Records (the same label as giants like Joe Bonamassa and Black Stone Cherry), the band has achieved extraordinary commercial success for the genre. Their acclaimed album Death Valley Paradise and the next Halo Effect They climbed the British and European sales charts, placing themselves directly in the Top 5 on the UK Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart and debuting in the prestigious Top 25 of the UK Official Albums Chart (Top 100), a historic achievement for an independent blues-rock band. Award winners such as “Best New Band” at the Planet Rock Awards, their songs are in heavy rotation on rock radio across the continent.
For this special tour called The Soul & Wire Blues Explosion, the formation is enriched by the extraordinary collaboration with the ensemble Hollow Soul, an artistic partnership that blends the devastating sonic impact of Barras's riffs with gospel-roots textures, warm choruses, and visceral acoustic nuances. Barras's sound is a lethal crossover: the Delta blues tradition is enhanced with a Southern Rock attitude and epic choruses written for arenas. Kris Barras puts on a high-volume show, a scathing and muscular wall of sound that redefines the boundaries of contemporary blues-rock.
