FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 7/10/09
Morgan Arts Council -- Berkeley Springs, WV
Press Contact only: Mary Hott --304-258-2300
www.macicehouse.org

PHOTOS AVAILABLE


NOTED BLUESMAN IN CONCERT

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV --- Billy Thompson assembles an outstanding
sextet to perform a genre-sampling blues concert in Berkeley Springs
State Park on Saturday, July 18 at 5:30pm. The concert's rain
location is the nearby Ice House.

Except for a few classic songs from Muddy Waters and Little Feet,
Thompson's concert is original blues and funk with some Dixieland to
show off the horns. "It's a melting pot approach based on playing
this music almost forever," says Thompson. One of the west coast's
best blues guitarist and much sought after sideman for years, when
Thompson decided to become " the leader," and assemble his own bands,
he always sought quality musicians. "It's good to play with people
who are better than you. That's the way to keep improving," he says.
For Saturday's concert, Thompson is joined on guitar by former "Blood
Sweat and Tears" guitarist, Greg Sullivan. From the DC area are Gary
Rosensweig on drums, Gene Monroe on bass and former Navy Band
trombonist, Matt Echols. Rounding out the group is trumpeter Jonathan
Greenberg from the Tidewater area.

Inspired at age eight when he heard Johnny Horton -- "I still love
rockabilly because of Johnny," he says -- Thompson began playing the
blues nearly 40 years ago. During the 1970s, he moved to country and
new wave for a while then returned to the blues in 1986. He has three
CDs and a list of "played with" credits that includes almost every
major blues figure of the past couple decades as well as stints at the
Kennedy Center and with Broadway shows on tour and in New York. He
found his way to West Virginia through the Contemporary American
Theater Festival in Shepherdstown when he was songwriter, guitarist
and musical supervisor for "Rose of Corazon." Thompson wowed local
audiences in January when he performed at the Ice House as part of
MAC's Back to Our Roots yearlong celebration of roots art and music.

"Having a bluesman of Billy's caliber perform in Berkeley Springs is a
real boost to the summer concert series," says Mary Hott, MAC's
Executive Director. "We expect people from around the region to
travel to hear him."

The MAC Summer Concerts in the Park are funded in part by the National
Endowment for the Arts, West Virginia Commission on the Arts and local
hotel/motel tax revenues. For more information about the Morgan Arts
Council and the calendar of upcoming events visit www.macicehouse.org
or call 304-258-2300. You can link to the music online from MAC's
Website.