Marker’s Live Blues Pick Of The Weekend

Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues

This weekend is a party weekend as we close in on the peak of the holiday season. One Blues bar in Chicago is more like a party on Bourbon Street than any other, and that’s where one of the best bands in the land will be both Friday and Saturday this weekend.

The Sons of Blues were formed over thirty years ago in Chicago and, as the name says, they were a bunch of younger players who came mostly from Blues families. Now, after all these years, this band ranks as among the very best and most cohesive units in town and are a group of real Blues veterans. Leader Billy Branch is one of the hardest working blues players in town. Not only do the Sons of Blues play almost every Monday at Artis’ on E. 87th Street, they play the biggest and best blues clubs all over the city on a very regular basis. Plus, Billy seems to be one of the biggest stars at all the Blues awards programs, benefits and memorials.  So why does someone who seems to be everywhere all the time get singled out for the Live Blues Pick Of The Weekend? Because a performance is always influenced by the venue and the audience, and, like I said, this is a party weekend and a visit to The Mines is always a party. Kingston Mines always has a big crowd on the weekends, has two rooms of live Blues so there’s never a dull moment as one band begins a set just as the other band is finishing theirs, has the busiest dance floor of Chicago Blues bars, and just seems to draw a crowd that’s a little younger and more active than the average. That makes this band at this place on this weekend Marker’s Live Blues Pick Of The Weekend.

Billy and the band will be at Kingston Mines both Friday and Saturday night. Super talented Blues guitarist Joanna Connor will be performing with her band on the second stage. The Mines is open till 5AM on the weekends.

Read more from Tom Marker.

Visit the Blues Breakers page.