The Blind Boys of Alabama with Special Guest Jesse Dee
The Blind Boys of Alabama are recognized worldwide as living legends of gospel music. Celebrated by The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and The Recording Academy/GRAMMYs with Lifetime Achievement Awards, inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and winners of six GRAMMY® Awards, they have attained the highest levels of achievement in a career that spans over 70 years. The Blind Boys are known for crossing multiple musical boundaries with their remarkable interpretations of everything from traditional gospel favorites to contemporary spiritual material by songwriters such as Eric Clapton, Prince, and Tom Waits. They have appeared on recordings with many artists, including Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Aaron Neville, Susan Tedeschi, Ben Harper, Patty Griffin, and Taj Mahal.
The Blind Boys released their latest album, 'Echoes Of The South,’ in August of 2023. It found the Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductees coming home to Alabama to record in Muscle Shoals. The eleven-song collection is a portrait of perseverance from a group well-versed in overcoming incredible odds - from singing for pocket change in the Jim Crow South to performing for three different American presidents, soundtracking the Civil Rights movement, and helping define modern gospel music as we know it. The album garnered three GRAMMY® Award nominations, and won for Best Roots Gospel Album.
That win continued a run of GRAMMY® Award nominations from the two previous years. In 2021, the group’s collaborative recording with Béla Fleck, ‘I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free,’ was tapped in the Best American Roots Performance category. In 2022, they garnered another nod for their collaboration with the band Black Violin on 'The Message’ in the Best Americana Performance category.
In March 2024, the definitive book on the Blind Boys of Alabama, titled Spirit of the Century, was released. It’s an insider history of America’s longest-running group and the untold story of their world, written with band members and key musical colleagues. Appearances on The View tv show and other major media outlets followed. After all these years, the Blind Boys show no signs of slowing down!
https://www.blindboys.com/
Boston’s Jesse Dee is a singing, songwriting, guitar-playing soul man-a modern day trailblazer inspired by the old school. Dee’s passion is exploring and updating soul music for contemporary audiences.
With his warm and honest sound, his instantly memorable melodies and positive, slice-of-life lyrics (evoking the heyday of the Brill Building songwriters), he accomplishes just that. His inventive, hook-filled songs are delivered with buoyant, youthful exuberance. Live, he always brings down the house, and keeps his ever-growing fan base coming back for more. His band lays down driving, infectious grooves while Dee’s expressive vocals put him in a class by himself. On the strength of his fervent live shows, Dee plays to packed clubs in New England and has toured across Europe, earning new fans at every gig. The Boston Herald declares, “Dee has an explosive voice. He possesses a powerful, raspy tenor and an uncanny phrasing ability that can’t be taught.”
The Blind Boys released their latest album, 'Echoes Of The South,’ in August of 2023. It found the Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductees coming home to Alabama to record in Muscle Shoals. The eleven-song collection is a portrait of perseverance from a group well-versed in overcoming incredible odds - from singing for pocket change in the Jim Crow South to performing for three different American presidents, soundtracking the Civil Rights movement, and helping define modern gospel music as we know it. The album garnered three GRAMMY® Award nominations, and won for Best Roots Gospel Album.
That win continued a run of GRAMMY® Award nominations from the two previous years. In 2021, the group’s collaborative recording with Béla Fleck, ‘I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free,’ was tapped in the Best American Roots Performance category. In 2022, they garnered another nod for their collaboration with the band Black Violin on 'The Message’ in the Best Americana Performance category.
In March 2024, the definitive book on the Blind Boys of Alabama, titled Spirit of the Century, was released. It’s an insider history of America’s longest-running group and the untold story of their world, written with band members and key musical colleagues. Appearances on The View tv show and other major media outlets followed. After all these years, the Blind Boys show no signs of slowing down!
https://www.blindboys.com/
Boston’s Jesse Dee is a singing, songwriting, guitar-playing soul man-a modern day trailblazer inspired by the old school. Dee’s passion is exploring and updating soul music for contemporary audiences.
With his warm and honest sound, his instantly memorable melodies and positive, slice-of-life lyrics (evoking the heyday of the Brill Building songwriters), he accomplishes just that. His inventive, hook-filled songs are delivered with buoyant, youthful exuberance. Live, he always brings down the house, and keeps his ever-growing fan base coming back for more. His band lays down driving, infectious grooves while Dee’s expressive vocals put him in a class by himself. On the strength of his fervent live shows, Dee plays to packed clubs in New England and has toured across Europe, earning new fans at every gig. The Boston Herald declares, “Dee has an explosive voice. He possesses a powerful, raspy tenor and an uncanny phrasing ability that can’t be taught.”
