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Jontavious Willis and Jayy Hop (Blues)
February 14 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
See website
Every generation or so, a young bluesman bursts onto the scene and sends a jolt through the blues community. Jontavious Willis may just have that effect on people. Many fans of Willis regard him as an old soul. His style of playing the instruments and his voice touches the very roots of country blues. He brings back the true soul of the music. A newspaper headline once called him a “70-year-old bluesman in a 20-year-old body.”
Hailing from Greenville, Georgia, Willis grew up singing gospel music at the Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church with his grandfather. From an early age, he had the talent and passion for the music and the ability to sharpen his skills fast. At the age of 14, he came across a YouTube video of Muddy Waters playing “Hoochie Coochie Man” and was instantly hooked on the blues.
He got his much-needed break from the living legend Taj Mahal. In 2015, Mahal asked Willis to play on stage with him. That appearance resulted in a roaring response from the audience and led Willis to bigger stages and broader opportunities, including an opening slot at select shows along the TajMo tour, featuring his musical mentors Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’.
Jayy Hop is part of the new generation of Black bluesman. From Georgia, he got his start in the Church, first playing drums in Gospel groups before being introduced to guitar by his cousin. The guitar led him on a musical journey backwards through time, unpacking the history of blues guitar from Jimi Hendrix through Albert Collins and Son Seals through the funky soul of the Ohio Players (founded by his Uncles Robert and Billy Ward). He went to school with Jontavious Willis, who then opened his ears to an even early generation of acoustic players.
Jayy is on the path to becoming a powerful force in Country Blues working with Jontavious as well one of the elder living master of the country blues sound, Bentonia, Mississippi ‘s own, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes. For this show, he will be sharing the stage with his longtime friend, Jontavious Willis, for an evening of old blues, masterfully performed by the next generation of young masters.
Tickets: Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice or 570-577-1000