AKI KUMAR AND THE SBGs
Wednesday, September 2
Empress Marquee Club
Doors & Dinner 5:30 PM | Show 6:30 PM
This Wednesday night, the Empress Marquee Club turns up the heat with Aki Kumar and The SBGs — a hard-driving night of blues, harmonica, vintage rhythm and raw rock ’n’ roll energy in one of Vallejo’s most intimate live-music rooms.
Aki Kumar is one of the Bay Area’s most distinctive blues artists: a master harmonica player, soulful vocalist, bandleader and producer whose musical journey began after he moved from Mumbai to the United States to work as a software engineer — and discovered the blues instead. He became a fixture of the Northern California blues scene, developing a sound rooted in classic Chicago blues while fearlessly bringing in the music and spirit of his Indian heritage.
For this show, Aki joins The SBGs, a band built around the electrifying sound of 1950s blues and rock ’n’ roll. Think greasy grooves, swinging rhythms, gritty vocals, hot guitar and harmonica that cuts straight through the room. The SBGs are made up of veteran Bay Area blues musicians who know this music from the inside out, playing with the loose, responsive chemistry that makes a live blues band feel dangerous in all the right ways.
Aki has earned an international reputation for taking the blues somewhere unexpected without losing the soul of the music. He has appeared at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, San Jose Jazz and SFJAZZ events, toured internationally, and has been featured by KQED Arts, CBS Bay Area and PRI’s The World. His recordings range from straight-ahead blues to his acclaimed “Bollywood Blues” fusion, earning praise from blues legend Charlie Musselwhite and major music publications.
But this Wednesday is about hearing it live — close up, loud enough to feel, with dinner and drinks just a few feet from the band.
Come early, settle into the Marquee Club, order dinner, grab a drink and make a night of it. If you love classic blues, vintage rock ’n’ roll, great harmonica playing, or simply seeing first-rate musicians in a small room where every note connects, this is the show.
AKI KUMAR AND THE SBGs
Wednesday, September 2
Empress Marquee Club
324 Virginia Street, Vallejo
Doors & Dinner: 5:30 PM
Show: 6:30 PM
Great food. Cold drinks. Live blues. Wednesday night at the Marquee.
Aki’s official calendar also confirms the September 2 Empress appearance at 6:30 PM.