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SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES
Main Stage - June 16, 2007
Two-time Grammy Award nominee, Sugar Ray Norcia, a frequent visitor to Toronto, returns once again to showcase his soul bearing vocals and supercharged harp playing. Backed by his long time band, The BlueTones, (including Monster Mike Welch on guitar and vocals), he comes in support of his new Severn cd - My Life, My Friends, My Music - and promises to unearth every emotion, and burn the house down!
Sugar Ray rose to prominence while fronting the renowned Roomful of Blues for 6 years and 4 critically acclaimed albums in the 90's. Regarded by critics, fans, and contemporaries alike as a "singer's singer", Norcia – who was technically trained by his father and influenced by the likes of Bobby "Blue" Bland, Nat King Cole, and Jimmy Rogers – employs his smooth baritone to full advantage. He can maneuver through a playful jump tune or plumb the depths of hard hitting Chicago Blues with equal ease and conviction. For proof check out the aforementioned Roomful albums, the handful of albums that bear his name, or his guest spots on any one of a number of releases. Of note are Turn It On, Turn It Up! (Roomful), and Super Harps (with James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, and Billy Branch), that garnered Grammy Award nominations.
And, Norcia is also a songwriter of merit and a supremely gifted and soulful harp player. Citing Big Walter Horton as his greatest inspiration, be it one of his own compositions or a time honoured cover, when Sugar Ray engulfs a slow Blues or powers a classic shuffle with the fat tone of his harp, he immediately elevates the form to new heights.
He mines the core of Blues in everything he touches. He's sweet and swingin'; he's mean and lowdown. And, he's sure to satisfy!
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