Chris Cain photo by Brad Elligood
The Center for the Arts is serving up a soulful stew of Memphis-style electric blues with the Chris Cain Quartet. On Friday, April 9, 2021 Chris Cain, Greg Rahn, Steve Evans, and Sky Garcia will celebrate the release of Cain’s latest album, Raisin’ Cain live From The Center.
Powerfully deep vocals and jazz inspired, blues guitar riffs make Chris Cain unforgettable; uniquely his own, while reminiscent of the legendary B.B. King and Albert King. As a child, Chris Cain attended concerts with his dad to hear many of the great blues artists of the time. When Cain burst onto the blues scene in 1987 with his award winning debut album, he soon found himself sharing the stage and trading licks with a few of those legends, including Albert King and Albert Collins. Chris Cain has released a dozen albums, each filled with soul-stirring songs pulled from his own blues drenched heart. His brand of blues is unforgettable.
His latest release, Raisin’ Cain, is his first release with Alligator Records. Twelve original compositions make the album a head-spinning showcase of raucous blues, horn-driven romps and moody, after-hours laments bursting with sharp songwriting wit, gruff, commanding vocals and sparkling, amazingly inventive guitar playing.
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.”
At the age of eight, Cain taught himself to play guitar and began playing professionally when he was eighteen. Chris studied music at San Jose City College and was soon teaching jazz improvisation on campus. Over the next twenty years, Cain would also master piano, bass guitar, clarinet, and alto and tenor saxophone. The combination of his blues upbringing and his jazz studies melded to form the searing guitar style that sets Chris Cain apart and has moved him to the top ranks of the blues music scene.
The Quartet includes Greg Rahn, who has played keyboards with a diverse range of artists from Latin jazz greats to rock guitar legends. Steve Evans is one of the Bay Area’s most sought after bassists because of his ability to adapt his playing technique across a wide spectrum of musical genres. Behind the drums is Sky Garcia, whose family has enjoyed generations of music making here in California.
Enjoy the virtual album release party with the Chris Cain Quartet, live From The Center, on Friday April 9, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. PT. Advance tickets are $10 for the public and free for members of The Center for the Arts. Tickets and membership information are available online, by calling 530-274-8384, or visiting the box office located at 314 W. Main Street in downtown Grass Valley. The box office is open on Wednesdays and Fridays between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m
