A Night of the Blues at the Court Theatre October 27th

Concert Showcases Two Red-Hot Teenage Blues Artists Gaining National Attention

    icon Oct 23, 2018
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The newly renovated Court Street Theatre will be showcasing their first live musical concert showcasing national talent this Saturday, October 27th, as they feature two young up & coming Blues artists that are rapidly gaining notoriety throughout the United States for their unique and gifted talents.

Jake Kershaw is an 18-year old guitar slinging Blues-Rock phenomenon who recently was a stand-out performer at the 2018 Ann Arbor Blues Festival; and he will be joined by special guest Erin Coburn, another stellar young guitarist, ukuleleist and songwriter from Kentucky, who has also turned the heads of many national acts on the Blues Circuit.

Erin is a songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist with 2 original CDs out – Chaos Before Conformity (2015) and Queen of Nothing (2017), that encompasses many genres.  As she puts it, “Music is like food – you don’t eat the same thing every day, so why play the same thing all the time.”   

Erin was nominated for the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards 2017 for Best Blues artist. She has recently played at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago a couple of times. Erin is booked for several festivals throughout the year, including the King Biscuit Blues Fest where she plays the main stage, a few spots before Blackberry Smoke. She has also opened for 3 Dog Night, Larry McCray, and Marcus King, and recently played Milwaukee Summerfest July 5th, BlissFest July 13th & 14th, as well as many others from Michigan to Mississippi.

Jake Kershaw is a recently turned 18-year-old guitar slinging, blues/rock singing teenager out of Southern Michigan who has performed just about anywhere from Muskegon to the Ohio-Indiana State line and all points in between.

When not on stage or preparing for a show, Jake is a junior at Marshall High School. Jake holds down a 4.0 GPA which includes honors classes and was inducted into the National Honor Society this past spring. He also performs with the high school marching band and the symphonic band playing the euphonium (which he has played for the past 6 years).

Jake began playing acoustic guitar at around age 9. This first run at the guitar was not very successful as Jake was not a big fan of the acoustic guitar. However, when Jake was 11, he received a Fender combo kit for Easter and everything changed. Jake immediately bonded with the electric guitar and was rarely witnessed without it in his hands.  Jake began learning 80’s rock music from tablature books right away. Much like most kids learning guitar, Eddie Van Halen and Angus Young were on the top of his hero list.

Jake continued to play rock and roll music until he was introduced to his first Stevie Ray Vaughan CD in the summer of 2013. This was a real turning point for Jake. He quickly found that the blues didn’t require him to play every song note for note. He could put his own touch on every song expressing his own feelings. And even then, he wasn’t required to play each song the same every time. He found this new freedom opened up a plethora of musicians, sounds and feelings he could convey via the guitar.

In January of 2014 Jake made his public debut. Without ever playing with another musician before, he found his way to the main stage at a Chili Cook Off/ Blues Jam with approximately 600 people in attendance. Jake joined the stage with a bassist and drummer for the first time and whipped out a barn burning version of “Empty Arms”, where he even sang. It was such an emotional event for all that tears were flowing from both joy and disbelief. This single event is responsible for Jake’s continued love of music and joy of performing.

Jake began performing with other musicians at a local monthly blues jam at the Bohm Theater in Albion. The players there were extraordinarily kind to Jake and he developed many of his group playing skills when performing with others right there on stage. Jake continues to perform at these events to this day.

In September of 2015 Jake found himself on an even bigger stage but this time with an International star named Jonny Lang. During a meet and greet with Jonny before a concert, Jake was surprised with an invitation to perform on stage that night from Jonny himself. This was another barn burner as Jake was still 14 at the time. This event, due to Jonny’s genuine kindness, has continued to be a huge inspiration for Jake.

Jake has since performed with several National touring acts such as Anthony Gomes, Albert Cummings, Larry McCray, and Walter Trout. He has also had the honor of opening for Marcus King, Tab Benoit and Tommy Castro and the Painkillers.

Early spring of 2017 Jake was honored with his first endorsement, a Young Artist endorsement with Heritage Guitars in Kalamazoo Michigan, which is the very factory where all of the infamous Gibson Guitars came from in the 50’s and 60’s. Jake worked side by side with the Heritage Luthiers to build his first custom Heritage guitar which he received this past summer in July. Jake also released his first CD titled “Piece of My Mind” in Grand Rapids at the WLAV Summertime Blues on the Mall. Over 3000 people came for his performance.

Doors will open at 6:30 PM and the show begins at 7:30 PM with only a $15.00 admission. The Court Street Theatre is located at 1216 Court St. in Saginaw.  For tickets you can go to www.courtstreettheater.com

 

 

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