Evento

Dorian Michael & Kenny Blackwell

After Kenny and Dorian met by chance in a music store in San Luis Obispo, then at a backyard jam session, and again at a music convention in Los Angeles, they decided it was time to play some music together. Kenny, one of California's foremost mandolinists, wanted a chance to play outside of the bluegrass genre in which he is constantly in demand. Guitarist Dorian Michael was looking for a skillfull musician who understood a wide variety of roots music. Six months later their first CD was released and they were touring as a duo.

The duo's diverse backgrounds are the wellspring for a performance of exciting and heartfelt music. Their enthusiasm for making music and their respect for their audience is plainly evident whenever they perform. Says Dorian, "Some music makes you feel deeply, some music makes you think and some tunes are played just for the sheer fun of it. We like to try to get to all those places in the space of a concert."

KENNY BLACKWELL
Mandolinist/guitarist Kenny Blackwell studied with Jethro Burns before moving to California where he joined fiddler Richard Green's band in '93. His mandolin and guitar work have been heard in TV and movie scores. Since '94, he has been a constant member of the famed Laurel Canyon Ramblers.

DORIAN MICHAEL
Dorian Michael has been a working guitarist for four decades and in that time has played plenty of blues and folk, jazz and rock and roll. He calls his solo music "contemporary traditional" - original music that reflects his interest in a number of styles of music. These influences come through in his original material, but it is a contemporary music that grows from, rather than mimics, those influences. When he plays someone else's music or a traditional piece he always manages to add a few surprises.