Live Bands

Stacy Brooks

Playing with the Stacy Brooks Band Friday evening, May 23!

On January 5, 2020, Stacy fulfilled one of her dreams by joining the living legend Buddy Guy on stage and singing. Just recently, on January 14, 2022, another dream came true when she opened for the living legend at his club in Chicago.

Once Stacy Brooks took a deep dive into the Blues, she was quickly dubbed DC Queen of the Blues by her peers and fans in the DC area. However, she doesn’t just perform in DC, she is known internationally. Winner of the DC Blues Battle of the Bands, The Stacy Brooks Band has competed in a number of competitions, including the 30th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis (2014) and the International Blues Challenge in Memphis (2012). She has been nominated for many other awards numerous times, including for Best Female Blues Vocalist with the Washington Area Music Association for several years… (more about Stacy Brooks)

Listen to “My Name Is Stacy.”

Carly Harvey

Playing Saturday night, May 24!

Based out of Washington, DC, Carly Harvey combines Blues, Jazz, Soul and Americana roots styles to create a unique sound that calls to mind Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, and Nina Simone, with a little Ella Fitzgerald thrown in for good measure. In July 2018, Carly was featured in Big City Blues Magazine as one of the youngest Blues artists to watch. She has had the privilege of sharing the stage with iconic musicians including Annika Chambers, Ron Holloway, Kebbie Williams, Ephraim Owens, Cory Henry, Kofi Burbridge, Junior Marvin, and Susan Tedeschi – an artist whose work has been foundational to her musical evolution.

Carly is a two-time D.C. Blues Society Battle of the Bands Winner (Duo – 2016, Band – 2018) and was proclaimed D.C.’s Queen of the Blues in 2016 by Dr. Nick Johnson of WPFW Radio. Her band, Kiss & Ride represented Washington D.C. in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January of 2019 where they advanced to the semi-finals. That same year, Carly released a new EP titled Kiss & Ride: Vol. 1, and the hit single, “She Ain’t Me” is now charting on regional blues radio stations. She was shortly after voted 2nd place for Best Performance Artist in Washington City Paper’s ” Best of D.C. 2019.”… (more about Carly Harvey)

Listen to a “Carlyfied” Heard It Through the Grapevine.

Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation

Leading the blues jam at our Sunday afternoon picnic, May 25!

A volunteer-run foundation in Hyattsville, Maryland dedicated to preserving the memory of Washington D.C. blues artist and barbershop owner Archie Edwards – and continuing his mission to keep acoustic Piedmont Blues music alive through Saturday blues jams, education, community, live performances & workshops.

Clarence “The Blues Man” Turner

Playing Sunday night, May 25!

An infectious, rhythmic, gritty, and soulful, feeling sparked a fire into Clarence Turner while listening to his father’s collection of LP’s, which included the incomparable Muddy Waters and the legendary Howlin’ Wolf. Every wailing stroke of the guitar spoke to Clarence, and at the age of eight he began a lifelong love affair with the blues. It was no question the guitar chose Clarence. Throughout his teenage years, he played his guitar delivering the blues and receiving love from audiences both local and abroad.

The blues cannot be truly mastered unless one has experienced life and experienced it hard. Following suit, Clarence disappeared from the music scene in his early twenties. During this time, Clarence experienced the heart and origin of the blues, a strong dose of reality, pure love, painful hardship, and amazing good times. Clarence realized that what he felt in his gut and soul, could only be expressed thru his first love of his guitar. As such, he returned to wail the blues as only he can.

Clarence was born into blues and you will agree that he has been appropriately sanctioned; Clarence “The Bluesman” Turner.

Listen to “Fame & Fortune.”

DJs

We’ve got an amazing lineup of DJs for the weekend!

Omar Myers

Omar has been collecting music for blues, swing, and soul since he was a lil dude. It wasn’t until after he started Lindy Hop did he decide to start getting people to dance. He began DJing in 2010. Since then, he has left-clicked tunes all over the world including for events such as Snowball, Lindy Focus, and Blues Muse. Currently, he is a regular DJ in the Atlanta area.

Kenneth Shipp

Kenneth Shipp hails from St. Louis, MO as an instructor who grew up dancing hip-hop and DJing breaking comps before jumping into blues. He has spent the past few years passionately studying the family of blues idioms, incorporating his nerdy personality along the way. Kenneth’s life experiences inform his dancing and teaching style so that students walk away with a better historical and contextual understanding. With every class and practice, he’ll encourage you to approach social dancing with coolness, relaxation, or in other words “Chill The F$%& Out.” When he’s not dancing, you can likely find him ranting about the latest blockbuster movie, game, or nerd convention, or desperately trying to dismantle toxic institutions.

Stephen Watkins aka “Dr. Feelgood”

The legend that is Dr. Feelgood is coming to DC for Red Hot. Steven originally hails from NYC but now calls Oakland home. He started dancing in 1998, and began his blues DJing career at his other adoptive home – St. Louis’ Cheap Thrills 2004. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2005, your Dr. Feelgood has been thrilled to be spreading his love for the blues with a warm mixture of smooth, gritty, sultry, in-your-bones, hot skirt music.

Julie Brown

From acoustic to electric, horns to harmonica, New York to West Coast, Julie digs all the blueses. After breaking onto the national scene by winning the 2009 East-Meets-West Blues DJ contest, she has gone on to DJ around the country at bluesSHOUT, Blues Muse, Mile High Blues, Bambloozled, and more. She also DJs regularly in Boston, where she lives, dances, works, and thankfully sleeps.

Cortnie Cook

We’ve heard that people are talkin’ and curious about who some of our DJs might be. From days beyond recall and the lost city of Allegan hails down home girl Cortnie.

Cortnie is looking forward to earning all your love while hopefully inspiring the comfy and cozy dance vibes just like Mama’s cookin’ of collard greens and cornbread. Whether it be while you enjoy your catfish, chicken, gravy, and biscuits, red beans and rice with a little meat on the side, or satisfying your sweet tooth with too much candy or Annie’s Polk salad her goal is to keep you dancing well after midnight, early in the morning, and all night long. Don’t forget to drink your blue, blue water during the day, and to prep for the night time it’s highly recommended to pour some honey in your coffee cause you won’t want to miss any of her set even if it’s from a rockin’ chair.

By the end of the weekend, there will be far too many dirty dishes and maybe a big bug in your beer but Red Hot: that’s where it’s at.