Bay City Blues w/ Chris Cain

The Bay City Blues is our weekly showcase of world class Blues music and superb instrumental talent. This event is a celebration of the Blues in all its forms and an adventure into the depth of a national genre. Hosted by the nationally recognized Chris Cain & his All-Star cast of Musicians, every week they invite a new special guest to accompany them on stage and present new, upcoming, & old talent from the blues world! Bay City Blues is our tribute and exploration into the Blues genre, it is a special event in which we all get to help, share, & “Preserve the Blues."

Special Guest: Michael Osborne

Artist Website - Artist Facebook - Youtube Video

Michael Osborn was John Lee Hooker’s lead guitarist for 13 years. After his stint with Mr. Hooker, one of Michael’s songs, “Spellbound”, was featured on John Lee’s 1998 Grammy Award winner for Best Traditional Blues recording, “Don’t Look Back”! Michael has also backed, recorded with, or played with such musical luminaries as Robben Ford (Michael has a song credit on Robben’s “Blue Moon” release), Willie Dixon, Mark Ford, John Hammond, Bonnie Raitt, The Charles Ford Band, Carlos Santana, Elvin Bishop, Buddy Miles, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, Albert Collins, Jimmy Witherspoon, Johnnie Johnson, Luther Allison, Brownie McGee, Duke Jethro, Garth Webber, Jim Pugh, Karen Lovely, Peter Dammann, Patrick Ford, Chris Cain, Vala Cupp, Ken Emerson, Sugar Blue, Jimmy Thackery, Gary Smith, Mark Werner, Frankie Lee, Robert Cray, Guitar Shorty, David Raitt, Marc Hansen, DK Stewart, Bruce Kaphan, Curtis Salgado, Bill Rhoades, Sista Monica, Annie Sampson and so many others. Mike presently resides in the Portland, Oregon area and has been nominated three times by the Cascade Blues Association for best blues guitarist and once for blues best recording for his CD release of “Touch Tone.” As a member of Bill Rhoades and the Party Kings, he taken home 7 awards for best traditional blues band and was inducted into the CBA Hall of Fame as a member of that band!

About Chris Cain:

Chris Cain's jazz-tinged, blues soaked guitar and deep, warm vocals have the maturity and authenticity of bluesmen many years his senior. His expressive style is the result of a lifetime of study and the relentless pursuit of music mastery. His passion and intensity are a blend of his mother's Greek ancestry and his father's soulful black heritage.

Cain was raised on stories of his father’s childhood upbringing on Memphis’ Historic Beale Street and attended his first B.B King concert at the tender age of three. Blues music played continuously on the home stereo and family outings were often trips to concerts. Cain recalls, “I remember when I was a kid, my Dad would be mowing the lawn with the stereo blasting Muddy Waters. When I look back, that was pretty cool! There was always music playing at our house, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, all the greats.”

Larry Nager (syndicated Scripts-Howard music critic) writes, “Nowadays most young blues players are Strat-wielding Stevie Ray Vaughan-a-bes. Not Chris Cain. With a voice that recalls B.B. King and a thick toned Gibson guitar sound reminiscent of Albert King, Cain is forging a unique style. With his own highly personalized songwriting, “Hall Of Shame” is a giant step in the development of one of the most compelling young bluesmen on today’s scene.”

Through his guitar mastery and remarkable songwriting ability, Chris Cain has established himself as a musical force to be reckoned with. And as San Jose Mercury News music reviewer John Orr writes, “more than anyone else, anywhere, Chris Cain represents the future of the blues.”