Jackie Payne & Steve Edmonson Band
Jackie and Steve have a history together that goes back almost ten years. They first met when they were members of the popular show band, The Dynatones. They soon found that they had a common love for the blues. While touring together they developed a friendship and camaraderie that is clearly evident when you see them perform together. You can hear the blues in every note that Jackie & Steve sing and play.
In addition to being gifted musicians, Jackie and Steve understand the art of performance in a way that few of today’s artists do. Jackie doesn’t just sing, he entertains. Jackie’s show can easily match the fervor and intensity of a fire and brimstone gospel revival. As Steve says, “in Jackie’s voice you can hear echoes of O.V. Wright, James Brown and Wilson Pickett, as well as Muddy Waters, Junior Parker, Bobby Blue Bland and Little Johnny Taylor, not so much because he has imitated them, but because he is one of them. Once you have seen him perform it’s easy to understand that Jackie Payne is the real deal!” There is no doubt that Jackie is truly one of the greatest living blues singers and deserves to be included in the pantheon of all time greats mentioned above.
When asked to cite his musical mentors, Steve names all of the usual suspects. What makes Steve different from others who cite these same influences is that you can actually hear it in his playing. This is one cat that has really done his homework. Steve’s style is most often compared to either BB King, former T-Birds guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, or Ronnie Earl but he is just as comfortable in the West Coast via Texas styles of T-Bone Walker, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Albert Collins or the Chicago styles of Robert Lockwoood, Jr., Eddie Taylor and Luther Tucker.
