Delta Wires, Bay Area Blues Mainstays, Perform at Stockton Flavor Fest

Bay Area Blues Mainstays, The Delta Wires Perform At Stockton Flavor Fest - Friday, May 19

Posted on May 13, 2023 by Joseph Timmons in news // 0 Comments

“The Bay Area blues stalwarts Delta Wires combine downhome blues (via Ernie Pinata’s harmonica and Richard Healy’s guitar) with a taste of the urban blues (a pristine three-piece horn section) for a potent mix captured extremely well on the group’s latest release, If Somebody Told Me…a strong, well-balanced set of blues, R&B, and a nice bit of jazz.” BLUES BYTES

longtime respected blues mainstays in the San Francisco/Bay area musics scene, perform locally at Stockton Flavor Fest, Weber Point Event Center, 221 N. Center St., Friday, May 19. Set Time: 5pm (Michelob ultra Main Stage). Tickets: $5. Info: (209) 645-0779 or visit Stocktonflavorfest.com.

Ernie Pinata’s searing and impassioned harp on the track ‘Can’t Win For Losin’ opens The Delta Wires’ dynamic new CD. This seven-piece East Bay-based band has been generating powerful blues for over thirty years, performing at festivals from Monterey to Italy, and always with monumental audience response — all of which has earned them membership in California’s Blues Hall of Fame in 2012.

The Delta Wires’ potent combination of tight and highly-polished horns, fierce bluesy guitar and Pinata’s crying, emotional harp make for a powerful fusion, blending the heartbeat of the Delta with electric sophistication and a full-blooded brass sound. If Somebody Told Me… includes several originals, a few nods to the legendary Sonny Boy Williamson…and even a Count Basie lagniappe.

Band History and Info on Some Tracks on If Somebody Told Me…

Delta Wires started out as an Anthology of Blues Music that harpist Ernie Pinata presented as an undergraduate project for credit at The California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California. The program covered the regional migration of music from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago. It began with field hollers, the music of Charley Patton, Robert Johnson and Son House, and ended up with the music recorded at Chess Records in Chicago: Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf and many others. After the program, the band went on to play professionally, performing with some of the greats that we studied: Lowell Fulson, Bo Diddley, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and many others.

Delta Wires were finalists in the international Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2008, representing the Sacramento Blues Society. They have recorded seven albums. Among their high-profile appearances: Umbria Jazz Festival, Perugia Italy; San Francisco Blues Festival; Russian River Blues Festival; Monterey Bay Blues Festival (eight times); Shasta Blues Society’s Redding Blues by the River Festival; Crescent City Blues Festival, (and) Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee.

The Delta Wires have shared the stage with many noted artists including Van Morrison, John Lee Hooker, Freddie King, Bo Diddley, The Neville Bros, Dr. John, The Doobie Brothers, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, John Mayall, Boz Scaggs, Bad Company, The James Gang, and others.

The best way to experience the Delta Wires is undoubtedly live. Onstage, the ‘Wires always deliver an incandescent experience. But if you can’t catch them live, purchase If Somebody Told Me… and hold onto your hats. You’re in for a wild, wild ride!