Monster Mike Welch was born in Austin, Texas, but moved early with his family to Boston. He is “only” 40 years old, but can still look back on a career of over 25 years. Earlier this year he was named best guitarist at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis.
Mike received the nickname that has followed him since he was 13 from the actor Dan Aykroyd, alias Elwood Blues in The Blues Brothers, after playing at the opening of the first House of Blues club in Cambridge, Massachusets. Not long after, he started his first band. Five years later he played at the Notodden Blues Festival, where he was back this year and was also honored with a star in the blues city’s Walk of Fame.
Mike has released six solo albums in addition to five albums with Sugar Ray & the Bluetones, and most recently an album with Mike Ledbetter, “Right Place Wrong Time”. The two had a very successful collaboration until Ledbetter died in January this year. Mike has otherwise played with a number of greats, from Shemekia Copeland to Duke Robillard, Johnny Winter and Svalbard celebrities such as Nick Moss, Victor Wainwright and the Mannish Boys. In Longyearbyen he joins Jon Grimsby (drums), Morten Norskaug (bass) and Lars Hammersland (keys) to give us a solid dose of guitar blues of the very best skill.
Dark Season Blues©2019
