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Mem Shannon
They've shared bills with John Scofield, Toots & The Maytals, Gov't Mule, Josh Kelley, Junior Brown, Kim Richey, Branford Marsalis, Paul Cebar & The Milwaukeeans, Buckwheat Zydeco, Walter Trout, Karl Denson, Taj Mahal, Galactic, Robert Cray and many more. They tour constantly and have played most of the premier blues and roots festivals (King Biscuit, Montreal Jazz Fest, Kansas City Jazz & Blues Fest, Monterey Bay Blues Fest, Kerrville Folk Festival...), while headlining clubs night after night across the US and into Canada, Europe and Australia. Though they were also presented in Hong Kong by the House of Blues and in Venezuela by the U.S. Embassy, and were part of an all-star tribute to Muddy Waters at The Kennedy Center for a televised special for PBS and NHK/Japan. This year they played the huge Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle featuring diverse bands like Nickleback, Nas, The Pixies and Koko Taylor. They also played the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, an event that includes B.B. King, Gov't Mule and Greg Allman.
Not bad for a former cab driver.
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Mem Shannon: I'm From Phunkville
by Jim Santella
Fifteen years as a cab driver in New Orleans gave Mem Shannon the experience that he needed to communicate effectively with his audience. He's gathered a common ground selection of songs for this latest album so that he can relate to folks from both sides of the tracks: those who've grown up with the Big Easy" jazz tradition, and those who've grown up with blues-rock ringing consistently in their earphones.
Gospel plays a large part in Shannon's delivery. ...
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