Blues Journey with Andrew Wheeler - 10/9/15

University Club Hosts Concert and Presentation on Friday, October 9

From the Delta to Chicago and beyond – one element ties the blues together – truth. The music is a poetic vernacular form that rose up from suffering and oppression – it represents movement, change and rebirth.

On Friday, October 9, you’re invited to take a Blues Journey with musician and historian Andrew Wheeler at the National Register-listed University Club at 141 Washington Avenue. Meet for drinks and/or dinner at 7:00 p.m. with the concert and Q&A from 8:00 – 10:00 p.m.

This interpretive blues lecture and performance takes you down dirt roads to the piney woods, from moonlit nights in the delta to an empty freight train car, along highways 49 and 61, and into the hustle and bustle of downtown Chicago just before World War II.

Hailed as “genuine, authentic and engaging,” the presentation includes music steeped in Americana – from  such legends as Son House, Howlin’ Wolf, Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, Elizabeth Cotton, Tommy Johnson, Charley Patton, Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell, Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters and more. Hear and feel these legends come alive in story and song.

Andrew Wheeler has been researching and playing blues and roots music for over 20 years. He has performed on stages large and small from orchestra pits to bistros. During the day, Andrew Wheeler is Senior Academic Advisor in the School of Nursing at Excelsior College. Outside of work, he’s a lead guitarist and backup singer for Bent Rail, named #1 Blues Band in the Capital Region in the 2011 Metroland Readers’ Survey.

Tickets for the event are $10 and a portion of the proceeds benefit the University Club Foundation. Reservations may be made by calling the Club at 518-463-1151; by sending an email to Ellen; or online with a credit card. The event is sponsored by the University Club Foundation and one need not be a member of the Club to attend.

The University Club of Albany Foundation is a 501c3 corporation formed in 2009 to recognize and maintain the unique historic and architectural significance of the National Register-listed University Club building, its historic neighborhood and the city of Albany, where it has been located since its inception in 1901. Support for educational programming at the University Club is provided by AT&T.

For more information about the University Club, visit www.universityclubalbany.com .