Kara Grainger August 11th
"Talk about star power, a killer voice and guitar skills. She said to the band as much to the audience, "I think tonight, we'll just play some blues." Playing slide guitar, Grainger began with rootsy blues, her voice full-bodied with plenty of soul. There was clarity there too with that unmistakable bell tone mixed with grit. We were in for some serious musicianship with Kara Grainger. Her vocals packed a punch and she played monster guitar solos that had the crowd whooping and clapping. Nice to see a female musician kick some a** like that". - Rock & Blues Muse.
Her music career began in a small suburban town of Sydney Australia and since then has taken her on an incredible journey throughout the globe. Combining slide guitar, soulful vocals and a heartfelt approach to songwriting, Kara's truly unique sound will leave you uplifted, inspired and always wanting more.
At the age of 16 Kara joined with her brother Mitch Grainger to form the band "Papa Lips". The band toured consistently throughout Australia and produced two studio albums that received national air play. The band was heavily influenced by the sounds of Stax recording in Memphis, and by the Funky style of blues and soul that derived from New Orleans.
In 2008 Kara signed to Australian label "Craving Records" and was invited to the US by producer David Kalish where she recorded her debut solo album. The recording entitled "Grand and Green River" received critical acclaim and remained in the top 30 of the Americana Charts for 38 straight weeks.
Since then, Kara has made three further albums whilst residing in the US. In 2011 "LA Blues" was recorded live at Studio City Sound. The cd paid tribute to some of Kara's earliest blues inspirations and in 2013 kara recorded and released "Shiver and Sigh" through Los Angeles record label "Eclecto Groove." The album was produced by grammy award winning producer David Z with some of LA's finest musicians, including Mike Finnigan, Hutch Hutchinson, James Gadson and Kirk Fletcher among others.
One of Kara's touring highlights was performing in North East India for the Himalayan Blues Foundation. Her performance at the "18 degrees cultural Festival" introduced the local community to roots and blues music for the very first time. She has traveled to Indonesia several times to perform at the the Jakarta International Blues Festival, performing together with her US band and also as a special guest with "The Jakarta all Women Blues Review".
In 2011 she toured Japan opening the show for "The Swampers and Donnie Fritts", the infamous house Rhythm section for "Fame Recordings" in Muscle Shoals. She has taken her band to Switzerland where she performed at the "Sierre Blues Festival" as well as at "Lucerne". The band has also toured in Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Spain.
In the US, Kara has performed at several Festivals such as 'The Portland Waterfront Blues Festival', 'Blues from the Top' in Colorado and "Austin City Limits". She has also opened the show for many extraordinary acts such as Peter Frampton, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal and Jonny Lang, to name a few.
Opening the concert is a well-known guitarist from Jersey, Johnny Charles. He's an exceptional blues artist with his own sound and unique style. Johnny is a W.C. HANDY/Blues Foundation Award Winner who has shared the stage with blues greats like B.B. King, Roy Buchanan, Jimmy Vaughan, Anson Funderburgh, Roomful Of Blues, John Mayall, Johnny Copeland, Dr. John, Hubert Sumlin and Ronnie Earl. His recordings include Hot Wired, Roadmaster, New Summer and Straight Eight.