From Toronto - a dynamite vocalist who sings Blues, Soul and R&B equally well with passion, power and clarity. A 3X Maple Blues Award nominee. Over the years Robin has played with Blues legends like Sam Myers, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith and Junior Watson. "Robin Banks has got soul, class and most of all, good taste" - Duke Robillard.

Originally from Alabama David now makes his home in Victoria, BC. He plays foot-stompin’, rock ‘n rollin’, boogie-woogie piano as good as it gets – guaranteed to get you up and dancing! Over the years David has played with greats like Big Joe Turner, Roy Orbison, Bo Diddley, Jimmy T99 Nelson, Hubert Sumlin and Paul DeLay. Last January he was named Keyboard Player of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards – his second win in that category. Joining him for this show are The Willing Victims – Teddy Leonard on guitar and two members of the legendary Downchild Blues Band – Gary Kendall on bass and Mike Fitzpatrick on drums. This is David’s second visit to BOTR @ The Cove. Last time he tore the house down – expect more of the same this time around!

Rick and Suzie are two of the finest singer/songwriter/guitarists in Canada. They first met over 20 years ago in Ottawa while Rick was still a member of the famous Jackson Delta Trio and Suzie  had just moved there from Saskatoon. Both have gone on to have fabulous solo careers but they remain good friends and play together frequently. In 2006 they released an album together called “Nothing Halfway” which earned them the Maple Blues Award for “Songwriters Of The Year”. Together and individually Rick and Suzie have won countless Maple Blues and Canadian Folk Music Awards, taken first place in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition and Suzie won a Juno for her 2009 album “Me ‘n Mabel”. Either one of these great artists is worth the price of admission - together they’re magical. It’s their 4th visit to BOTR and they’ve packed the place every time so get your tickets early for this one. Another “do not miss” show.

Born and raised in Kitchener Steve fell in love with the Blues as a teenager after seeing the great Mel Brown perform. Mel recognized his talent immediately and helped mentor him to become the fabulous guitarist that he is today. Steve won the Mel Brown Blues Award in 2009 – a distinction  he still treasures highly. In the early 2000’s he married a Hamilton girl and moved to that city. He broke on to the scene with a roar in 2006 with the release of his debut album “Honey”. Since then Steve has recorded 3 more CD’s – and a DVD. His 2013 album “A Natural Fact” won him the Juno that year and his most recent one - “Let Me Prove It To You” - earned him a Juno nomination. He’s also been nominated for, and won, multiple Hamilton Music Awards and Maple Blues Awards over the past 8 years in the categories of Guitarist, Songwriter, Recording, Electric Act, Acoustic Act and Entertainer of the Year. Some of the Blues greats that he’s played with include B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Joe Cocker & Randy Bachman. Enough said – Steve Strongman is undeniably one of Canada’s best Bluesmen. This is his 4th visit to The Cove and he’s become so popular we had to bring him in for two nights this time!

Born and raised in Dorval, Quebec Angel started her career singing in a Janis Joplin tribute band – her voice has an uncanny similarity to that Blues Rock icon. She’s moved on since then to develop her own unique style and sings original songs written in collaboration with her music (and life) partner Denis Coulombe. With a career spanning 26 years and 8 albums to her credit (several en francais) Angel is recognized as one of the best female vocalists in Quebec  - and has a bunch of Lys Blues Awards to prove it. In 2013 she released her first English Blues album -“Mother Tongue Blues” - which brought her national and international attention. She won the Maple Blues Award for Female Vocalist that year – along with a couple more Lys Blues Awards – and played the Montreal Jazz and Tremblant International Blues Festivals. She followed that up with a double LIVE album which led to two more Maple Blues Awards last year – for Best Female Vocalist (again) and Songwriter Of The Year. In addition to being a fabulous singer she’s also a colourful, flamboyant performer who always gets the house rockin’.  It’s Angel’s first appearance at BOTR and we’re very pleased to have her.

Ria was born in Toronto but now calls Montreal home. She has a beautiful, powerful, soulful voice and sings Blues, Jazz, Soul & R&B equally well evoking memories of Etta James & Koko Taylor. Ria and her band hit the scene in 2013 with the release of their debut album. It got airplay around the world and positive reviews from as far away as Kenya, Los Angeles, Atlanta and London. She and her band were nominated for 4 Quebec Lys Blues Awards that year and were finalists in the Toronto Blues Society’s Talent Search. I saw her perform at a Showcase at the Canadian Blues Summit in Toronto last January and was blown away. So far she hasn’t performed that much outside of Quebec but look for that to change soon. Come out and see this young up-and-coming star so you can tell your friends you got to see her before she became famous! This is Ria’s first visit to BOTR @ The Cove.

Harrison Kennedy has an extraordinary voice and is one of the best Soul Blues singers this country has ever produced - period (and he can play Funk, Jazz, Country and Folk equally as well). He’s a direct descendent of African Americans who came to Canada on the Underground Railroad to escape slavery so his Blues roots run deep. The Kennedy house was always full of musicians when Harrison was growing up in “The Hammer” thanks to his famous uncle Jackie Washington – artists like Lonnie Johnson, John Lee Hooker and Billie Holiday. His career started in the late ‘60’s when he was chosen by the famous Motown producers Holland/Dozier/Holland as the lead singer in the Detroit supergroup “Chairmen Of The Board”. He toured the world with them appearing on Johnny Carson, Soul Train and American Bandstand playing on the same bill as artists like BB King, James Brown, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder. When the band broke up he returned to Hamilton and took a “real job” for a couple of decades – only playing music on the side. The lure of the Blues was too powerful however and he returned to music full time in the early 2000’s. Since then Harrison has released 7 albums – four of which earned Juno nominations. He’s also been nominated 15X for Maple Blues Awards and once for an American Blues Music Award – and he’s won 9 Hamilton Music Awards. Recently he’s toured with the great Eric Bibb and Ruthie Foster in Europe playing to packed houses. We’ve been lucky enough to have this man perform at The Cove twice in the past. Now you get another chance to see him – this time with his full R&B band behind him. I guarantee this will be a night to remember. Reserve early!

BLUES ON THE RIDEAU is produced by
CHOOSE THE BLUES PRODUCTIONS www.choosetheblues.ca www.facebook.com/ChooseTheBluesProductions
 in co-operation with THE COVE INN, Westport Ontario www.coveinn.com  www.facebook.com/TheCoveCountryInn
Sponsored by 101.9 DAWG FM Ottawa www.dawgfm.com
DAN AYKROYD WINES www.danaykroydwines.com
LAKE 88.1 Perth/Rideau Lakes www.lake88.ca
PERTH BREWERY www.perthbrewery.ca