This three piece blues-based band, featuring Ellie Mae Higgins on bass guitar and vocals, Bill Reidy on guitar, slide guitar, blues harp and vocals, and Johnny Botelho on drums, has a little something for everyone. They cover many of the old Chicago Blues standards of legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Freddie King and Junior Wells. And they also throw in a few R&B favorites of The Drifters, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, James Brown and Wilson Pickett. But they can also crank it up a notch and rock the house with some Stevie Ray Vaughan, Z.Z. Top and Jimi Hendrix. They round out their set with a few swing numbers, a couple of gospel tunes and some funky originals, written by Ellie Mae.
The Highway 61 Band was formed in 1995 by Ellie Mae and Bill, both dedicated blues musicians who were on a mission to play their brand of blues, swing and R&B music, which is true to the originals yet has a distinctive sound that is their own. As Jay Miller of The Patriot Ledger wrote, "Highway 61 really packs a roadhouse wallop...a versatile outfit with a tasteful songbook of traditional and contemporary blues."
SELECTED APPEARANCES Blue Note Exchange, Quincy Yard Rock Blues Club, Quincy Gilreins, Worcester North River Blues Festival, Marshfield American Legion, Fairhaven
BOOKINGS The Highway 61 Band is currently booking for 2010. Keep checking out this website for dates of our up-coming performances. Want to book our band? Go to our Bookings page for more information.
