Photo: Michael Weintrob

"This is a new band with the swank of New Orleans, the urgent honk of Chicago, the ache of the chain gang." — Rochester Democrat & Gazette

If you are lucky enough to hear this group, you’ll recognize their sound as something breathtakingly new even as they honor old African-American musical traditions. You'll hear the grit of low-down country and urban blues to the bold brass of New Orleans; the hand-clapping, hustle and bustle of gospel to fiery postmodern, jazz-infused horn arrangements; the haunting cries of work songs to pulsating drums that reach back to the roots of it all.

This group is an inspiring testament to the enduring power, possibilities and boundless beauty of African-American music. It drives us down Highway 49 from Clarksdale to New Orleans, journeys across the Middle Passage, takes us from chain gangs and juke joints, to orchestra pits and church pews, and even to back porches. Their loving celebration of tradition gives rise to a new adventure in music with a singular sound.

The Quartet is guitarist & vocalist Junior Mack, multi-instrumentalist Bill Sims Jr., singer Chaney Sims, and a drummer. More about the quartet below...»

Fort Hunter Centennial Barn

5300 N Front St, Harrisburg, PA 17110
Directions & Venue Info

Potluck 6:00pm

Join us for a potluck supper before the concert. Bring a covered dish to share. Drinks and place settings will be provided. Free, of course!

Concert 7:30pm

Ticket Info:

• $20 General Admission

• $16 SFMS Members

  SFMS Members Save!

• $16 Central PA Womyn's Chorus Members

• $16 BSCP Members

• $10 Students

  — ages 3 to 22

• Advance Tickets

  @ BrownPaperTickets.com

ABOUT THE QUARTET:

Junior Mack

A self-taught musician, Junior Mack is a gifted vocalist and guitarist. He has been playing since the age of nine and is equally at ease playing acoustic and electric styles. Junior started out on the guitar playing gospel, and moved into the countri blues of Lightnin' Hopkins and the big city blues of Freddie King and B.B. King. Junior Mack has worked and collaborated with many major American recording artists.

Bill Sims Jr.

Born into and raised by a sharecropping family in rural Georgia, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Bill Sims Jr. is an internationally respected master of the blues. He began playing piano at age four and by fourteen he was playing professionally in a rhythm and blues group. A Warner Bros. recording artist, Mr. Sims is also an accomplished musical director and has lent his talents to many theater and film productions in New York and the United States. He was also the subject of a critically acclaimed PBS documentary, An American Love Story, in 1999. Mr Sims currently lives in NYC where he mentors a new generation of blues and roots musicians.

Chaney Sims

A native New Yorker and the descendant of music makers from Georgia, Florida and Ohio, Chaney's voice is steeped in field hollers, work songs, spirituals, blues, soul and R&B. She is dedicated to sharing the significance of these unique art forms; exploring their influence on her voice as a queer woman of color; and revealing a broad spectrum of the blues, roots music and the American songbook. Chaney has performed at venues around the world, and had the privilege of sharing the stage with some of her mentors and muses including her father Bill Sims Jr., the late Odetta, Phylicia Rashad, and others.