WORLD'S LONGEST-RUNNING
CIGAR BOX GUITAR
MUSIC FESTIVAL
4 Days x 5 Venues...Celebrating 20 Years...May 30-June 2
KICK-OFF CONCERT
Triple Threat Blues
In the backyard at Salty Nut Brewery. Bring a chair. Outside food is welcome. Beer, wine, water and soda available for purchase. Doors 6:30 pm. Music 7:00-9:00pm. $10 per person suggested donation. Proceeds benefit music in schools. Overflow parking will be available in the city lot behind Butler Green at Campus 805 (2610 Clinton Ave. Huntsville AL 35805).
Triple Threat Blues featuring:
2022 Independent Blues Awards & 2023 UK Blues Awards Nominee Debbie Bond, Carroline Shines, daughter of Blues legend Johnny Shines and Huntsville's own Microwave Dave with "Radiator" Rick Asherson on keys and harmonica and Darrell Tibbs on drums.
Performer Bios
Debbie Bond and "Radiator" Rick
Blues Singer, guitar player and songwriter Debbie Bond has been paying her dues in the Alabama backwoods for over 40 years. Influenced by the famed sounds of Muscle Shoals, and juke joint blues, her sound is contemporary and original. Her impressive musical story includes years of performing with older traditional Alabama blues musicians, including Johnny Shines who mentored young Debbie when she first moved to Alabama in 1979. The close connection with Johnny Shines, has meant that Debbie and Carroline see themselves as blues sisters and they have continued to do shows together through the years. Debbie has also
worked closely with other Alabama blues musicians including, Sam Lay, Eddie Kirkland, Willie King Little Jimmy Reed and more. Her immersion in Alabama blues has deeply flavored her guitar playing, soulful voice and original song writing - yet her sound is contemporary and original. Her collaboration with her British born keyboard/harmonica player husband "Radiator" Rick has added a swampy New Orleans edge to sound to her sound. They are regular on the US and European club and festival circuit. Debbie is a blues activist and the founder of the award winning Alabama Blues Project dedicated to promoting and preserving the states blues heritage and the recipient of a KBA from the Blues Foundation and nominations for Best Contemporary Blues Album, Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist from the Independent Blues Awards 2022; most recently she was nominated for best International Blues Artist 2024 from the UK Blues Federation. Her latest recording, Blues Without Borders, is her 6th and has received critical acclaim globally and charted in the US, UK, France and Australia. Learn more at: https://debbiebond.com/
Carroline Shines
Blues Singer Carroline Shines, blues singer extraordinaire, received her training from her mentor and father, the legendary bluesman Johnny Shines. Johnny Shines who started out in the delta traveled with Robert Johnson, then moved to Chicago and worked with musicians such as Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters and became one of the leading figures in the blues. Born in the "Windy City" of Chicago, Johnny Shines moved his family to the Tuscaloosa area when Carroline was three years old. Caroline, is his only living child, grew up at the feet of this blues legend watching her father play his music and pursue his international career. Her talent was nurtured from a young age in a house filled with the music of a blues legend. Carroline also received early training singing in church which she continues to do. She also works hard to keep her fathers legacy alive through her own music, teaching youth through the Alabama Blues Project educational programs and other community projects. In 2009 she
successfully campaigned to have a street renamed in memory of her father. In 2010, to further honor her father, and foster the area blues culture, she founded the first annual Johnny Shines Blues Festival in Holt, Alabama. which continues to grow each year.
Microwave Dave
Dave Gallaher’s life growing up was steeped in music, beginning with singing in a children’s choir and rambling through a host of instruments including trumpet, French horn, ukulele, guitar, and a bit of accordion. After serving his country during Vietnam, he returned to the states to purse his passion and career in music, attending Berklee College of Music in Boston. In Boston, Dave joined Cameron and Company and moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for a twelve-year run. Eventually renamed Cameron, the band recorded three albums and played 300+ dates a year, including many concerts appearances with name attractions of the period. During three years of Nashville-based touring, Dave began to long for the music that was closer to his blues / r&b foundation, and he moved to Huntsville, Alabama in the mid 1980s. Dave formed Microwave Dave & the Nukes in 1989. Over the years, they have developed an international following among blues fans both young and young at heart. Early Nukes’ success includes backing legends Jerry
“Boogie” McCain and Bo Diddley. Microwave Dave was named “Southern Blues Guitarist of the Year/Modern” in 2003. Writer Stephen King praised the Microwave Dave & the Nukes song “Highway 49.” “That electric slide will change your way of life,” King wrote. Microwave Dave is the longtime host of “Talkin’ the Blues,” a Huntsville-based radio program that airs on radio stations WLRH 89.3 FM and on WJAB 90.9 FM. Microwave Dave Gallaher was recognized by the Mayor of Huntsville, Alabama, Mayor Tommy Battle, in 2015 with the declaration of Microwave Dave Day and was given a key to the city for his significant community and charitable involvement, a first for any entertainer from the space capital of the south. Microwave Dave and the Nukes continue to educate the youth of America about the history of the Blues through their love and passion for the genre and as Dave stated, “Blues is America’s and still best-self-help program.”
Darrell Tibbs
Percussionist, drummer, writer, arranger, Darrell Tibbs is one of the most creative, tasteful and sought after percussionists around. With the ability to take anything he puts his hands on to create music, from traditional drums and percussion, to metal car parts, water glasses, paint cans, from in the pocket grooves to subtle atmospheric back drops, he can create a melodic and or a rhythmical groove anywhere. It has been said Darrell is able to treat playing percussion for music as a chef would treat seasoning for a meal, he knows when to “add salt and pepper” and when just to lay back and let it simmer a minute. Darrell toured with Donna Summer for ten years and spent a year touring with the a cappella Gospel/Christian group Take Six. Other artists he has
performed with include major artists including Lalah Hathaway, Victor Wooten, Kelvin Wooten, The Moody Blues Band, Little Anthony and many others. He has recorded with The Neville Brothers, Kenny Loggins, Tommy Emmanuel, CeCe Winans, and Michael McDonald to name a few. Darrell also enjoys sharing his talents and wisdom with younger players and kids.