Guy Davis

Event Details

Event type: All Ages

Guy Davis is a two-time, back-to-back Grammy nominee for Best Traditional Blues, a musician, Actor, Author, and Songwriter. Guy uses a blend of Roots, Blues, Folk, Rock, Rap, Spoken Word, and World Music to comment on, and address the frustrations of social injustice, touching on historical events, and common life struggles. His background in theater is pronounced through the lyrical storytelling of songs “God’s Gonna Make Things Over” about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, “Welcome to My World”, and “Got Your Letter In My Pocket”. His storytelling is sometimes painful, deep, and real, an earthy contrast to modern-day commercial music, meant to create thought, underlined by gentle tones from his guitar or banjo fingerpicking.

His records, while terse and truthful, are softened by songs like “We All Need More Kindness In This World”, denoting lyrical inspiration from Pete Seeger’s “If I Had A Hammer”, then teased with lyrically strutting works nudged by Hip Hop and Honky Tonk, like “Kokomo Kidd”. The contrast between pieces provides a robust, balanced experience, while giving Guy and his audience a healthy outlet for frustration through song and dance.

Awards/Fellowships:

• New York Foundation for the Arts Gregory Millard Fellowship / Playwright: “The Adventures Of Fishy Waters: In Bed With The Blues”
• Keeping the Blues Alive award,  for his starring role in “Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil”.
• AUDELCO “Best Actor” for “Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil”
• 1991 Brio Award, Bronx Council of the Arts for Mudsurfing (Collection of Short Stories)

Nominations:

• Grammys 60th & 64th (Best Traditional Blues Album / Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train and / Be Ready When I Call You, Best Traditional Blues Album)
• Blues Foundation 2021 (Keeping The Blues Alive, Best Acoustic Album of the Year) Best Acoustic Artist of the Year, Best Instrumentalist)
• Blues Award Nominations (About two dozen nominations) “Best Acoustic Blues Album”, “Best Traditional Blues Album”, “Best Blues Song” (“Waiting On the Cards to Fall”), “Best Acoustic Blues Artist

Lillian and the AH Team with Jason's sound extraordinaire.

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