Admissions

Lake Forest, Ill. - Chicago-based blues band Billy Branch & the Sons of Blues will perform at Lake Forest College on Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Center for Chicago Programs. The public is invited to attend free of charge. Call 847-735-6170 for more information.

After years immersed in the local blues scene Chicago blues musician Billy Branch formed the Sons of Blues (S.O.B.s) in the 1970s featuring musicians who where the sons of famous blues artists. The original S.O.B.s consisted of Billy, Lurrie Bell, Freddie Dixon, and Garland Whiteside. Today the award winning combo consists of some of the finest bluesmen in the world: Billy Branch - harmonica, Dan Coscarelly– guitar, Ariyo – piano, Nick Charles – bass, and Mose Rutues - drums.

Billy Branch has recorded and/or performed with an incredible list of Blues legends including: Muddy Waters, Big Walter Horton, Son Seals, Lonnie Brooks, Koko Taylor, Johnny Winter, and Albert King. In 1990, he appeared with three harp legends: Carey Bell, Junior Wells, and James Cotton on W.C. Handy Award winner, Harp Attack! His most recent recordings for the Polygram label are entitled The Blues Keep Following Me Around and Satisfy Me.

Billy is also passing on the blues tradition to a new generation through his Blues in The Schools program. He is a dedicated blues educator and has taught in the Chicago school system for over twenty years as part of the Urban Gateways Project. In 1996, some of his finest students opened the Main Stage at the Chicago Blues Festival which was broadcast throughout the U.S. on National Public Radio.

The Center for Chicago Programs is located on the College’s Middle Campus; enter at the intersection of Sheridan and College roads. Campus is accessible via Metra and ample parking is available.

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