Harmonica virtuoso and blues shouter Mark Hummel rocks the house tonight with guitar ace Rusty Zinn and bassist RW Grigsby for a double celebration: not only is it Mark's birthday, but it also marks the release of his new CD, Back Porch Music: Hummel Unplugged (MountainTop Records).

A longtime Bay area resident, Mark is one of the key architects of the West Coast blues sound, which mixes elements of jump blues and rock n' roll, a sound he honed playing internationally with such blues greats as Charlie Musselwhite, Brownie McGhee, Lowell Fulson, and Eddie Taylor. Raised in Los Angeles, Mark absorbed the music of such Chicago-based harp blowers as Little Walter, James Cotton, and Sonny Boy Williamson before settling in Berkeley in the early 1970's. The following decade saw Mark take the helm of the band the Blues Survivors and tour with the Canadian singer and guitarist Sue Foley. Since 1991, Mark has been both producing and performing at his Blues Harmonica Blowout^TM series, which has featured folks like John Mayall, John Hammond, Norton Buffalo, and Charlie Musselwhite.

Back Porch traces Mark's country delta blues roots back to his beginnings, featuring mainly acoustic versions of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee-styled folk blues, early Chicago Muddy Waters-Little Walter duets, plus a few Hummel originals thrown in for good measure!

American roots musician Dave Earl opens tonight's show.

Visit Mark's website

Visit Dave's website

Listen to a track from Mark Hummel: