MARK HUMMEL AND JUNIOR WATSON

"Mark Hummel is a harmonica God" - Blues Revue

"Hummel, a specialist in West Coast Blues, knows a thing or two about about how to please an audience" - New Yorker

"Hummel plays the harmonica with the fat, full sound that made Little Walter sound almost like a saxophonist rather than a harp man". -Chicago Sun-Times.

Grammy-nominated Harmonica man/singer/songwriter/bandleader/author/impresario MARK HUMMEL was born in New Haven, CT but moved to Los Angeles as a newborn. Hummel took up an interest in blues harp & rock-blues music in high school but soon discovered the originators like Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson & Little Walter. Soon after, Hummel frequented the Ash Grove club on Melrose Ave. in LA where he saw (in a three month period) three blues legends he would later work with on a regular basis; Charlie Musselwhite, Brownie McGhee (w/Sonny Terry) & James Cotton. By 1985 Mark Hummel's Blues Survivors hit the road full time & continue till the present (Hummel's memoir, "Big Road Blues: 12 Bars on I-80" recounts many road exploits). Hummel's been featured on over thirty recordings since 1985 including his 2014 Blind Pig Records, Remembering Little Walter (a recording of a Hummel Blues Harp Blowout.) The CD was nominated for a Grammy Award and won two Blues Music Awards. Hummel's most recent release, Harpbreaker (September 2018/Electro-Fi), is an all-instrumental harmonica album that redefines the scope and beauty of what the instrument is capable of in the right hands.

JR Watson is the guitarist on Hummel’s Hard Lovin’ 90s( 1990), Lowdown To Uptown( 1997) & Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Meltdown One (2000).Watson has recorded and toured w/Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers 1976-87, Canned Heat 1988-93, Kim Wilson 1993-95, solo projects 1995-present. Watson has recorded on over 150 sessions including Jimmy Rogers, William Clarke, Charlie Musselwhite, Hollywood Blue Flames, Big Mama Thornton, George Harmonica Smith, Luther Tucker, Shakey Jake and countless others. 

You may also enjoy these amazing upcoming shows!

Mon Aug 28: Sonny Landreth