BB King Returns to Cincinnati

NOTE:  This show is NOT a presentation of the Cincinnati Arts Association.

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Thursday, July 30, 2009

{please include in all calendar listings}

[high resolution images available upon request]

B.B. KING

The King of Blues returns to Cincinnati

Tickets go on sale Friday, August 7

CALENDAR INFORMATION

WHAT:           B.B. King

WHEN:           Friday, October 16, 2009 • 8:00 PM

WHERE:        Aronoff Center for the Arts – Procter & Gamble Hall

PRICES:         $99 • $65 • $45

INFO:             B.B. King, the popular octogenarian whose reign as King of the Blues has been as long as that of any monarch on Earth, continues to sing and play with relentless passion.   The 15-time Grammy® award winner and Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame member mixes traditional blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound that continues to thrill fans worldwide

TICKET INFORMATION – on sale Friday, August 7

·         www.CincinnatiArts.ORG 

·         (513) 621-ARTS [2787]

·         Aronoff Center Ticket Office

·         Group sales (10 or more): (513) 977-4157

CINCINNATI, OH – B.B. King, the popular octogenarian whose reign as King of the Blues has been as long as that of any monarch on Earth, continues to sing and play with relentless passion.   The 15-time Grammy® award winner and Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame member performs Friday, October 16, 8:00 p.m., at the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall.

Born in 1925 on a plantation in Mississippi, Riley B. King hitchhiked to Memphis in 1947 to pursue his music career in a city where every style of African-American music could be found.  He soon adopted a catchy radio name that started out as Beale Street Blues Boy, was shortened to Blues Boy King and eventually turned into just B.B. King.

B.B. developed one of the world's most identifiable guitar styles.  He borrowed from Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating complex vocal-like string bends with left hand vibrato.  His economical “every-note-counts” phrasing has been a model for thousands of players, from Eric Clapton and George Harrison to Jeff Beck. 

Performing more than 250 concerts a year, B.B. mixes traditional blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound that continues to thrill fans worldwide with classics like "Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss," "The Thrill Is Gone," “How Blue Can You Get," "Everyday I Have The Blues" and "Why I Sing The Blues.”

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