FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PLEASE UPDATE LISTINGS

ATTENTION ALL HARMONICA PLAYERS AND FANS: MIKE STEVENS HOSTS TORONTO BLUES SOCIETY’S HARMONICA WORKSHOP SUNDAY FEB. 27

Who: Mike Stevens hosts Roly Platt, Kelly Hoppe, Robbie Antone, and Little Bobby, with house band Pete Schmidt, James Rasmussen, Bob Vespaziani
What: A practical workshop for all Harmonica players and fans
Where: Club 279, 279 Yonge St. (above the Hard Rock Café), Toronto
When: Sunday, February 27 2PM – 6PM
How much: $10.00 TBS members / $12.00 non-members
Website: www.torontobluessociety.com

The Toronto Blues Society will hold a special matinee workshop for Toronto-area harmonica players on Sunday afternoon, February 27 at Club 279 (279 Yonge St. Toronto).

The event will be hosted by harmonica virtuoso Mike Stevens and is designed to include both novice and seasoned players in an informative dialogue that addresses harmonica tone, sound and style. Mike has been proclaimed as an innovator of bluegrass harmonica, is a regular on the Grand Ole Opry, and has written several definitive instructional harmonica booklets.

For a number of years, Mike has been traveling at his own expense to communities in Labrador and northern Quebec to share his music with at-risk youth. On these visits, Mike has distributed hundreds of harmonicas to help young people discover music for themselves. He is also a founding member of the ArtsCan Circle which hopes to facilitate positive changes in communities suffering from poverty, unemployment, and solvent abuse by encouraging creative expression through music and art.

Stevens will be joined by some of the most adventurous and inventive blues harp players in the country including Kelly Hoppe, formerly of Big Sugar, Roly Platt, Robbie Antone, and “Little Bobby” Chorney. Little Bobby will also lend his band, The Jumpstarts for the occasion.

The Harmonica Workshop is one of the most popular events in the Toronto Blues Society’s ongoing programme. It is made possible by the generous support of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Ministry of Culture and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.

Media Contact:
Toronto Blues Society
416-538-3885
[email protected]