John Nicholas Blues All Stars

Local bluesman John Nicholas returns to the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival with ace Chicago guitarist Hubert Sumlin, twenty-four year veteran of the Howlin' Wolf band. It's nice to have the Festival open with some local talent; rest assured this band will do some uptown struttin'!
Nicholas has been an Ann Arbor mainstay for several years now, appearing at local clubs like Mr. Flood's Party, and The Blind Pig. John has jammed there with many out-of-town legends, including Roosevelt Sykes, Robert Junior Lockwood, and Johnny Shines. And don't forget Blue Monday parties at the Pig with Boogie Woogie Red.
In fact, John's presence is a key factor in the success of Red's new album. Nicholas wrote some of the songs, sings about half the tunes, and constantly provides Red with tasty guitar work and backup vocals. Red played with John in a band called the Boogie Brothers, along with drummer Fran Christina, harpist Steve Nardella, and Sarah Brown on bass. Their performance of "One Last Meal" appears on the 1972 Festival LP.
Previous to Ann Arbor, Nicholas made a name for himself on the East coast, most notably Boston, where he inaugurated Roomful of Blues, that town's legendary boogie band. Among John's close friends and fellow roommates are Big Walter Horton and Carey Bell.
Hubert Sumlin and S. P. Leary are personifications of the modern Chicago blues style. Former members of such distinguished bands as Howlin' Wolf s, Muddy Waters', and veterans of countless recording sessions for Chess, Cobra, Bluesway, & Delmark, Sumlin and Leary form the nucleus of this hard-drivin' blues band. They play in the best urban blues tradition: rough, raw, full of the rowdy ghetto life. It's music to make you shake your ass and get back to the real you. These men not only play the blues, they are the blues. Their combined talents should get this year's festival off to a great start.