Band Bios for Waukesha Rotary BluesFest 2025
Friday, August 8, 2025
Mitch Ryder
As a "white soul shouter from Detroit" (Rolling Stone) Mitch Ryder found international success in the mid 60's. Supported by his band The Detroit Wheels, he sold six million records by 1968 and placed four times in the top 10 of the US charts in just 14 months. Most notably 1966's "Devil With A Blue Dress", his highest-charting single at number four, as well as "Jenny Take A Ride!" which reached number 10 in 1965, and "Sock It To Me, Baby!", a number six hit in 1967. Ryder was the last person to perform with soul legend Otis Redding; they performed the song "Knock On Wood", on December 9, 1967, in Cleveland, Ohio on a local TV show. Redding died in a plane crash the following day.
In the early 70's, he formed the band Detroit that included guitarist Steve Hunter. They had a hit with their version of the Lou Reed song "Rock & Roll", which Reed liked enough to ask Steve Hunter to join his backing band. Detroit was tagged by the critics as the "American Rolling Stones". In 1983, Ryder returned to a major label with the John Mellencamp produced album Never Kick A Sleeping Dog. The album featured the Prince-penned "When You Were Mine." Bruce Springsteen is known for channeling Mitch when he performs his "Detroit Medley" in concert which features Ryder's singles; "Devil With A Blue Dress", "Jenny Take A Ride", "Good Golly Miss Molly" and "C.C. Rider".
In 2005, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. In 2009, Mitch was also inducted as a solo artist. In 2017 Mitch was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. Mitch's new studio record “With Love”, which was produced by Don Was (Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Iggy Pop), was released in February 2025 on Ruf Records.
Rocky Athas
Rocky Athas, known by critics and fans as "The Texas Tornado", "The Malice from Dallas", "The Young Eric Clapton" and "The Last Great Bluesbreaker Guitarist", possesses an arsenal of punishing guitar riffs and catchy hooks that have opened every door. Born in 1954, Texan Rocky Athas started playing guitar at school and performing at neighborhood gigs with good friend Stevie Ray Vaughan who were schoolmates and friends growing up in the Dallas, Texas suburbs. By age 23, Rocky was honored as one of the ten best guitarists in the state and in the late 70's and early 80's he was the creative vortex behind the band 'Lightning', one of the biggest draws in Texas nightclub history. His transition from Lightning to playing lead guitar for national acts was a significant leap, showcasing his versatility and appeal beyond the local scene. Collaborating with Jim Dandy and Black Oak Arkansas, Rocky not only contributed his guitar prowess but also his songwriting skills, penning hits that resonated with fans and further solidified his musical legacy. His contributions to “Ready as Hell” and “Wild Bunch” are enduring reminders of his creative spirit and technical expertise.
From recording his first solo album at Willie Nelson's studio with multi-Grammy winning producer, Jim Gaines to working with Buddy Miles and SRV's Double Trouble to Glenn Hughes to Joe Walsh and John Mayall, Rocky has a blues rock pedigree that reads like a Who's Who of musicians. His band of Texas musicians wowed audiences and ultimately led to John Mayall's invitation to join him as his guitarist. 2015 saw the release of the ultimate Rocky Athas collection highlighting his most crowd pleasing songs plus never before released tracks which pay tribute to his influences like Eric Clapton and Leslie West. The release of The Essential Rocky Athas - Volume I & II is hailed globally by critics as "a delectable album tailor-made for the blues enthusiast" filled with "delicious howling guitar riffs".
After carrying the mantle of the coveted role of lead guitarist with John Mayall's legendary Bluesbreakers for eight years, Rocky Athas returned to his successfully established solo career and in 2017, the much anticipated reunion between Rocky's good friend and multi-Grammy winning producer, Jim Gaines, delivered Shakin' the Dust to rave reviews! With his wonderfully crafted 2024 album, Livin’ My Best Life, Rocky gives his fans “ten bodacious tracks of high octane music” to encourage everyone to live their best lives. The album includes smokin' hot tributes to Jeff Beck and Peter Green and an instant classic performance by John Mayall on harmonica. Rocky delivers this musical message with his trademark soaring guitar pyro-technics, monstrous tone and iconic Texas style. Don't miss this authentic Texas guitar legend and former Bluesbreaker!
Dustin Arbuckle & The Damnations
Dustin Arbuckle and The Damnations are not a band you can easily associate with one specific genre, and that's how they planned it. Arbuckle, a veteran of the progressive roots music scene whose singing and harmonica playing first came into prominence in Moreland & Arbuckle, has been kicking up fresh dust with The Damnations since 2017. A musician of vast appetites, he’s long held an appreciation for traditional American music in the vein of Charley Patton as well as the cross-pollinated sounds of The Band or Stax-style soul. The diverse musical sensibilities of The Damnations (Brandon Hudspeth on guitar, Caleb Drummond or Mark Foley on bass, and Colby Aiken on Drums) allow for all of that along with occasional forays into deep country and even jazz. “When we started playing together we all wanted the band to be a space where we could play anything we wanted to," Arbuckle notes, "and that's created this cross-genre electric Americana vibe."
"This band was Dustin's idea," comments Foley, "and we had to put it together fast because there were already shows lined up. He just shotgunned and called some of the best musicians he knew, and it turned into this army of generals! We all kind of knew this band was something special between us pretty much from the first time we played together. We had only three rehearsals before our first show, and they felt really good, and now, every time we play there's always something new. Because Brandon and Dustin are so deeply schooled in roots music, and have a wide range of tastes, we've got this musical vocabulary we can draw on. It’s kind of how jazz musicians talk, like “let’s do a Miles Davis vibe on this”.
Multiple rounds of touring across North America and Europe, along with two self-released EPs, have made the band tighter and tighter and helped to lay the groundwork for their first full-length album, My Getaway (released September 2020). The record spans a range of styles and moods from a Hill Country stomp through cranked up Fender Twins to Nick Cave riffing on Led Zeppelin III or the Laurel Canyon sound filtered through a southern swamp.
"This is definitely a collaborative band," Hudspeth offers. "A lot of the songs are built on us all throwing ideas around and adding our own layers in. There are also parts where we stretch, where we explore this weird free-form thing; we're just kinda playing off each other and it builds up to a point and then goes back into the song so it helps propel everything".
"One of the biggest compliments we tend to get from people," Arbuckle adds, "be it other musicians or promoters or fans is that our style is truly Americana, because we bring together so many different aspects of American music to make something unique. With this band, and this record in particular, we're really trying to paint a big canvas. We've each brought our own distinct and different influences to the table, and because of the way we've used that to cultivate our sound, this record really reinforces what the driving idea behind the band has been since we started. It all comes together in a really cohesive way and feels like us".
Blues Addiction
A Blues Addiction show will leave you speechless. Whether you’re a blues enthusiast, or just someone who knows good music when you hear it, Blues Addiction's powerful vocals, captivating guitar licks and tight rhythm section will keep you entertained for hours. Get ready to shake your tail feather because as long as you have a pulse, your foot will be tapping and your soul will be moving to this highly rhythmic craving!
Blues Addiction is made up of trained, skilled musicians playing the blues classics we all know and love while providing a twist of improv and a dash of personal flavor. Their set list is sure to offer a little something for everyone!
Troublemakers
Troublemakers are a four piece Waukesha area based band bringing a new dimension to traditional blues and blues/rock covers. A regular on the Southeast Wisconsin live music scene, the band makes their first appearance at Waukesha Rotary BluesFest this summer.
Extra - ROCKONSIN 2025 Finalist
Waukesha Rotary BluesFest is proud to present a finalist band from the 2025 ROCKONSIN youth garage band competition at the festival once again this summer in support of youth musicians. This year's band, Extra is made up of members from Brookfield East, Wauwatosa West, Mukwonago & Waterford Union High Schools. The band specializes in recreating classic rock hits with an emphasis on the music of the 70's.
Saturday, August 9, 2025
Tracy Nelson with The Jimmys
Tracy Nelson was born and grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. There, she first learned about R&B music from nighttime listening to WLAC Radio from Nashville. In her teens, Nelson sang folk music in coffeehouses and with The Fuller-Wood Singers group, and was lead singer in The Fabulous Imitations band.
In 1965, Nelson recorded an acoustic blues album released on Prestige Records, Deep Are the Roots. It featured blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite as a member of her backup band. In Chicago, where the album was recorded, Nelson met and learned from artists including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Otis Spann.
Nelson moved to San Francisco in 1966, where she became part of the music scene there. Her band Mother Earth played the Fillmore Auditorium, sharing bills with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. It was during this period that Nelson wrote and first recorded her signature song "Down So Low" released on the first Mother Earth album Living with the Animals, tracked in Nashville, with the vocal recorded in Memphis with Terry Manning. The song was later covered by Linda Ronstadt, Etta James, Maria Muldaur and Cyndi Lauper. Nelson also re-recorded "Down So Low" herself several times. In addition, the album featured famed guitarist Michael Bloomfield, who she had met earlier in Chicago, on the band's eponymous song, "Mother Earth."
In 1974, her duet with Willie Nelson, "After the Fire is Gone," was nominated for a Grammy Award. After a lengthy hiatus from recording in the 1980s, Tracy Nelson released several albums on the independent Rounder Records label. Her 1998 collaboration with label-mates Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas, "Sing It," garnered a second Grammy nomination. During this comeback period, she performed on American music television programs such as Sunday Night and Austin City Limits.
Since the early 2000s, Nelson has recorded for various independent record labels. She released her first in-concert album Live From Cell Block D in 2004. Other projects included a collaboration with blues-rock veterans Nick Gravenites, Harvey Mandel, Corky Siegel and Sam Lay. Billed as the Chicago Blues Reunion, the group toured major cities in 2005 and 2006. Nelson has performed as one of the four Blues Broads, with leader, Angela Strehli, Annie Sampson and Dorothy Morrison. From 2016 into 2018, Nelson performed intermittently with Missouri band the Bel Airs. Since 2018 Nelson has occasionally performed with Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues, of Chicago.
Tracy Nelson, one of the most powerful voices in American music, has emerged from a lengthy recording hiatus with the album of a lifetime, a musical self-portrait spanning her entire career. Life Don’t Miss Nobody (BMG; released in 2023) is a 13 track collection that stretches back to her start as a guitar-picking Wisconsin teen playing coffeehouses through an unparalleled career, now in its sixth decade, singing blues, country, New Orleans R&B and gospel, and performing in storied music meccas such as 1960s San Francisco and 1970s Austin in her epic, genre-busting musical journey.
Tracy Nelson brings her unique musical stylings to Waukesha Rotary BluesFest with the backing of Wisconsin favorites, The Jimmys. The Jimmys are an award-winning festival favorite bringing people together from coast to coast, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean for over twelve years. The Jimmys feature band leader Jimmy Voegeli phenomenal Hammond B-3 keyboardist, singer and songwriter; an experienced killer rhythm section steeped in blues with Perry Weber on guitar, Chris Sandoval on drums and John Wartenwieler on bass and the icing on the cake is the best horn section in the Midwest, Pete Ross on saxophone, Mike Boman on trumpet and Joe Goltz on trombone. It doesn’t get any better than this, The Jimmys deliver!
Parker Barrow
Parker Barrow, the blues-infused Southern rock band led by husband and wife duo Megan Kane (vocals) and Dylan Turner (drums), supported by the formidable Alex Bender (guitar) is a powerhouse group, taking the stage by storm as anything from a 5-piece to a 10-piece band – boasting a distinctive musical style. Forged from an immediate connection, the band finds inspiration in the infamous duo of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Kane and Turner aim to infuse their music with the iconic energy of a dynamic duo, portraying a narrative where, instead of evading the law, they are a dynamic pair in pursuit of their rock ‘n’ roll dreams.
Unleashing their full creative force, the band poured everything into their inaugural 10-track album, Jukebox Gypsies, released on August 11, 2023. This collection of songs chronicles the couple’s four-year journey, from a serendipitous meeting to navigating life on the road in an RV, capturing both the highs and lows. Each song serves as a reflection of their emotions and experiences, discovering a harmonious balance amid the chaos. “One of the best parts of releasing this album was getting to hear that people are connecting with our music and hearing people talk about our music the way we talk about some of our favorite bands,” Kane and Turner gushed. “It’s been an awesome ride with this record and we’re still enjoying the wave till we reach the shore and can paddle back out for round two!”
Drawing significant inspiration from The Black Crowes, The Allman Brothers Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Whiskey Myers, Parker Barrow seamlessly incorporates blues into each arrangement. The band’s true brilliance emerges in their live performances, marked by lively flights and a showcase of their grounded charisma. Turner and Kane, bound by a shared vision, genuine passion, and a love for life on the road, hold their relationship in high esteem through music and faith. As kindred spirits, they eagerly anticipate continuing to create and perform together in this next chapter of life. Whether in intimate acoustic sets or impactful full-band shows, it’s clear that the couple is precisely where they should be.
Leroy Airmaster with Junior Brantley
In the 1980s, Leroy Airmaster was the dominant blues band in a vibrant live blues music scene in southeastern Wisconsin. They performed constantly, and released four well received recordings. They received numerous Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) awards for best blues group. The bands origins grew from Whitefish Bay High School class mates Bill Stone, Dave Kasik, Marc Wilson and Steve Cohen then known as the Stone-Cohen Blues Band. They were inspired by blues/rock bands like Cream and Jimi Hendrix, and later by seminal Chess artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and Little Walter, as well as local bands Ox, The New Blues, and later Short Stuff.
A chance jam in Cedarburg in 1978 with Kasik, Cohen and Wilson’s brother, Tom, set things in motion. The name Leroy Airmaster refers to a West Allis manufactured air compressor jackhammer. No one in the band was ever named Leroy. Within six months of playing local gigs at places like Dr.Feelgood’s Bluenote, Stone once again joined the band. In 1982, drummer Vodie Rhinehart replaced Wilson, and was with the band until his sudden death in June of 2014. The members of the most popular version of the group reformed in 2010, and continue to perform their unique blend of blues, jazz and rock music today. Not content to rehash classic blues licks, Steve Cohen (harmonica) and Bill Stone’s (guitar) solo styles rely heavily on a jazz approach, but never lose the gutsy blues framework that made the band so popular. With powerhouse drummer Marc Wilson and original bassist Dave Kasik, Leroy Airmaster continues to satisfy audiences with their musical prowess, tasteful song selections, and dynamic delivery.
Joining Leroy Airmaster for this special show is former Short Stuff keyboardist and vocalist Junior Brantley. Junior Brantley started his career in Milwaukee in the early 1960s, performing with Sonny Boy Williamson and others at local venues. In the mid-1960s, his group, Junior and The Classics, had a breakout hit on a national record label and they opened for the Rolling Stones during their first Milwaukee concert.
By 1970, Brantley was providing keys and vocals for Milwaukee preeminent blues group, Short Stuff. After Short Stuff’s breakup, Brantley spent three years performing with Milwaukee blues group, Leroy Airmaster. In the late 1980s, Brantley toured with Jimmy Vaughan, Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. He later toured with Roomful Of Blues. In 1992, Junior moved to Las Vegas, where he plays with his own groups including the Del Vikings and the Shuffle Aires. Junior Brantley regularly returns to play shows in his native Milwaukee.
Danny Garwood & Company
Danny Garwood has been passionately playing guitar for six years, drawing inspiration from artists like Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Gales, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Based in Nashville, TN, his mission is to keep the blues alive and pass it on to the next generation of musicians. His journey began at the age of 10, when he attended his first jam session and was invited to play. This experience ignited a deep love for the guitar, leading to regular jam sessions and live performances starting at age 11.
In 2022, Danny competed in the Dallas International Guitar Festival's “10 under 20” competition. During the festival, Ally Venable invited him on stage, resulting in a viral YouTube video with over 5 million views. This exposure led to opportunities to open for Ally in Houston, TX, and Nashville, TN. In 2023, Danny returned to the “10 under 20” competition, earning 3rd place as the youngest competitor. Danny has had the honor of sharing the stage with Buddy Guy and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville during Buddy's Farewell Tour. He has hosted the youth blues jam at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, MS, in conjunction with the International Blues Challenge.
As a two-time Masterclass alum of the Pinetop Perkins Foundation workshops in Clarksdale, Danny has honed his craft under the guidance of blues legends, including Bob Margolin of the Muddy Waters Band. Danny plays regular live shows with his Nashville based trio, Danny Garwood & Company which includes Christopher Kirk on bass and Milwaukee native, Jenna Kopitske on drums.
Hi-Fi Comets
Firing up their own intense combination of old school rhythm and blues, rockabilly, soul and blues, the Hi-Fi Comets celebrate American music with big sounds - booming upright bass, incendiary reverb-driven guitar, propulsive swinging drums, and soaring vocals. The Hi-Fi Comets are Southern Wisconsin’s premier rockin’ and rollin’ rhythm and blues power trio.
Too Sick Charlie
Too Sick Charlie and his genuine one man band have gained a reputation of playing uncompromising, no-nonsense roots music that spans folk blues to American street harmonica. With his 3 string cigar box guitar he picks out foot tappin’ licks and lays down some solid beats with his drum kit. And throw in some soulful harp for good measure. “Some people play music like a lotta people don’t…”