Roman Sobus

exhibit 03 - Roman Sobus

Roman Sobus, in front of his Kate Moss photographs, at the exhibit.

PHOTOS

Ana Popovic

Fitzgerald’s Nightclub, Berwyn, Ilinois – 2015 © Roman Sobus

Ana Popović was born in 1976 in Belgrade. Her father introduced her to the blues, and she started to play the guitar when she was fifteen. She is is a Memphis, Tennessee based Serbian blues guitarist and singer.

In 1995, she formed the band Hush. Hush performed rhythm and blues but also incorporated elements of funk and soul into their sound. The band had their first performance in the club Vox in Belgrade. During 1996, Hush performed across FR Yugoslavia, also performing in Greece. In 1998 they performed over 100 festival and club dates and released their debut album, Hometown, through PGP-RTS. In 1998 she disbanded Hush and went to the Netherlands to study Jazz guitar. In 1999, she formed the Ana Popović Band in The Netherlands. In 2013 she released her ninth album. In 2014, she was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the ‘Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year’ category. Ana Popović released a triple album titled Trilogy on May 20, 2016. The album includes multiple guests, including Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph, Cody Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Bernard Purdie and rapper Al Kapone.

Anne Harris

Chicago Blues Festival – 2014 © Roman Sobus

Anne Harris was born and grew up in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She began studying classical violin at the age of eight and eventually attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where she earned a degree from the School of Music. After college, Harris moved to Chicago and worked as an actor in theater and commercials for a few years before returning to music around 1997.She worked for a while with a number of local Chicago bands, notably Poi Dog Pondering, building a strong reputation for her instrumental talent. Over time she began writing and performing her own music. Anne has independently produced and released five studio albums on her record label, Rugged Road Records.

Cathy Richardson

S.P.A.C.E., Evanston, Ilinois – 2015 © Roman Sobus

Cathy Richardson was born in Chicagoland and grew up in west suburban Burr Ridge, Illinois. She graduated from Hinsdale Central High School. Before starting her music career, Richardson worked as an auto mechanic and as a cashier at her father’s gas station. She started her music career full-time in 1990. She was introduced to Jim Peterik who mentored her and helped with her first two albums. Millions of American children have seen her on Noggin’s Jack’s Big Music Show, and the Cathy Richardson Band has been voted Best Local Band in polls by the Chicago Tribune and Fox News Chicago. She portrayed Janis Joplin in the original cast of the hit Off-Broadway musical “Love, Janis.” She also sang Janis’ vocal parts for Big Brother and the Holding Company during many of their recent live shows. In 2004, Richardson and art director Bill Dolan were nominated for a GRAMMY award for best recording package for her album The Road to Bliss. In 2008, Richardson became the new vocalist for San Francisco band Jefferson Starship and appears on the 2008 release Jefferson’s Tree of Liberty. In 2011, Richardson was the vocalist for Jefferson Starship on PBS’s 60s Pop, Rock & Soul TV show.

Ellen Miller

S.P.A.C.E., Evanston, Illinois – 2015 © Roman Sobus

Ohio-born, Chicago-based Ellen ‘Harpchick’ Miller is both a a successful real estate agent and sought-after blues harmonica player. In her past life, she tracked 24-years as an advertising executive at the legendary WXRT-FM. Radio & amp; music make great companions and along the “advertising way” she met and gleaned pointers from several famous musicians. Now a professional harmonica player in her own right, she has performed with some of the top musicians in the country. Ellen studied with Matthew Skoller, Howard Levy and Billy Branch (who is a close personal friend); and shared the stage with Buckwheat Zydeco and Irma Thomas. Her down home Harmonica playing style makes her a “first call” on many local, regional, and national gigs. And her love of food and travel have taken her all over the world including her beloved Greece, where all four of her grandparents were born. Ellen has played the main stage of the Chicago Blues Festival and is a regular on the Chicago Blues scene. She is also a regular passenger on the Legendary Blues Cruise in the Caribbean every January. A new endeavor will pair with Cathy Richardson in the Nelson St. Blues Band.

Kate Moss

Buddy Guy’s Legends, Chicago, Illinois – 2016 © Roman Sobus

Kate Moss has enjoyed playing guitar since her teens, but it wasn’t until she met Buddy Guy at age 21 that she realized what genre commanded her focus: The Blues. Since that day, Kate’s been honored to share the stage with not only Buddy on several occasions, but other top performers in the biz, like Tommy Castro, Jimmy Johnson, Eddie Shaw, Curtis Salgado, Ana Popovic, Samantha Fish, and most recently (and of note), Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie and Reese Wynans of Double Trouble (both with whom she recently recorded a live set, now on DVD and CD entitled: The Healers: LIve At Knuckleheads, proceeds of which benefit Blue Star Connection).

Marcia Ball

Born in Orange, Texas in 1949 to a family whose female members all played piano, Ball grew up in the small town of Vinton, Louisiana, right across the border from Texas. She began taking piano lessons at age five, playing old Tin Pan Alley tunes from her grandmother’s collection. From her aunt, Marcia heard more modern and popular music. But it wasn’t until she was 13 that Marcia discovered the power of soul music. One day in 1962, she sat amazed while Irma Thomas delivered the most spirited performance the young teenager had ever seen.

The Texas-born, Louisiana-raised musical storyteller has earned worldwide fame for her ability to ignite a full-scale roadhouse rhythm and blues party every time she strolls onto the stage. Her groove-laden New Orleans boogie, deeply soulful ballads and rollicking Gulf Coast blues have made her a one-of-a-kind favorite with music fans all over the world. In 2010, she was inducted into the Gulf Coast Hall Of Fame and in 2012 into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. She’s received a total of six Living Blues Awards and nine Blues Music Awards (and has a whopping 42 nominations). She’s received five Grammy Award nominations, including five of her six previous Alligator albums. Always a songwriter of renown, Ball delved deeper into songwriting than she ever had in her career with her Grammy-nominated 2010 Alligator release, Roadside Attractions, creating one of her best and most personal albums. The title track of Marcia Ball’s new album, The Tattooed Lady And The Alligator Man, is an irresistible tale of true love at the travelling carnival.

Nikki Hill

Those who have seen Carolina girl Nikki Hill sing her ass off agree—this isn’t just another newcomer on the scene, this is a ‘whiplash’ moment. Hill and her band have been touring extensively following the independent 2015 release ‘Heavy Hearts Hard Fists’ and debut album ‘Here’s Nikki Hill’, released in 2013. With a no-filter energy, and explosive live show, they deliver a sound that will make you believe in rock ‘n’ roll again! Nikki’s unique voice—with raw rock and soul dynamics mixed with the strength, passion, and honesty of blues shouters of the past—steers the driving guitar and a tight rhythm section to create a breath of fresh air with their fast forward approach to American roots music.

Nikki Hill’s self-titled, independently released EP in June of 2012 created a heavy and sudden international underground buzz that the band has traveled with across America and overseas to Europe and Australia. Those four tunes penned by Hill, combined with memorable live performances, have drawn a wide range of people from every avenue and musical taste to their shows. Her enthusiasm for music is simply contagious.