The Smiley Tillmon Band with Billy Flynn

The Smiley Tillmon Band with Billy Flynn Saturday, October 24th @ 7:30pm Non-members – $35 Members – $32 ABOUT THE SMILEY TILLMON BAND One of the busiest blues outfits in Chicagoland, the Smiley Tillmon Band is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. There’s an obvious reason why the veteran guitarist’s booking schedule is so jam-packed: Smiley knows how to have a good time and makes sure his audience does too.

After 55 years on the local blues scene, Tillmon serves up the blues and soul standards that people never seem to stop craving, his rich vocals and fluid guitar backed by a band that keeps his grooves tight and right. Born Moses Tillmon in rural Jefferson County, Georgia, Smiley grew up on a hearty musical diet of gospel, country, and a little blues.

His mother moved to Fort Lauderdale when he was ten; there he was exposed to calypso music, adding up to a singular list of influences. Tillmon took up guitar and was good enough by the dawn of the ‘60s to back Miami R&B singer Billy Miranda in the studio.

He joined Sammy Ambrose & the Afro-Beats, a calypso-oriented band, touring from Canada to New York. Smiley bid the Afro-Beats adieu in 1962 and moved to Chicago.

There he established himself on the blues circuit, playing with Billy “The Kid” Emerson, Denise LaSalle, and other South Side luminaries until he opted for a day job in 1977. Upon his 2007 retirement, Smiley reverted to full-time musical status.

He joined forces with bassist Tom Rezetko, and they’ve been inseparable onstage ever since. Kate Moss shares guitar duties with Tillmon; married to another blues guitar standout, Nick Moss, Kate’s sound is heavily influenced by Freddie King and Magic Sam (she fell in love with the blues at age 21 when she met Buddy Guy, and she’s shared stages with Buddy, Jimmy Johnson, Eddie Shaw, and Lurrie Bell, to name just a few).

Drummer George Baumann completes one of the Windy City’s toughest blues combos, one that’ll keep you smiling from ear to ear. – Bill Dahl ABOUT BILLY FLYNN Billy Flynn has a long and storied history playing Chicago blues. At age 14, he met Jimmy Dawkins in Green Bay, Wisconsin, while sitting outside a blues club and listening through the back door.

Five years later, Dawkins invited Billy to hit the road in 1975, working with The Southside Blues All-Stars and its ensemble cast including: Eddie Shaw, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Dawkins, and Junior Wells. His discography includes over 70 recordings on Sony, Delmark, Alligator, Blind Pig, MC, Electro-Fi, Earwig, Severn, The Sirens, Big Eye, Random Chance, Ichiban, and Easy Baby labels.

His 2017 Delmark recording, Lonesome Highway, was recently re-released and was #1 on AirPlay charts. His live performance and recording history includes: Jimmy Dawkins, Otis Rush, Deitra Farr, Billy Boy Arnold, Willie Smith, Kenny Smith, Pinetop Perkins, Willie Kent, Kim Wilson, Barrelhouse Chuck, James Wheeler, Bob Stroger, The Cash Box Kings, Chicago Blues A Living History Band, Bob Corritore, Demetria Taylor, Mud Morganfield, and more.

He’s a 6-time Grammy nominated musician and winner of 2 Grammys–including one for his guitar work on Beyonce’s 2009 R&B Song Of The Year, At Last.. Flynn’s work was featured as the guitar sounds of Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry throughout the Grammy nominated soundtrack of the movie Cadillac Records.

Billy was a backing guitarist for the Howling For Hubert (Sumlin) Tribute at the Apollo Theater, supporting Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Kim Wilson, Billy Gibbons, and Steve Jordan. He’s performed at the world’s greatest blues fests, including the Chicago Blues Fest, King Biscuit Fest, San Francisco Blues Fest, Lucerne Blues Festival (Switzerland), Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Cognac’s Blues Passion (France), Eutin (Germany), Notodden (Norway), and Bellinzona (Italy).

Billy is an inductee of the Wisconsin Music Association’s Hall of Fame and a member of the Chicago Blues Hall Of Fame. Billy kicked off the Tribute to Otis Rush at the 2016 Chicago Blues Fest, which highlighted 30 musicians paying homage in an all-star tribute.

Known as a musician’s musician, he is a multi-instrumentalist known for his innovative and unexpected solos steeped in history yet expressing today’s blues and beyond. PURCHASE TICKETS HERE