Kick off November with Ross Neilsen and the Sufferin Bastards. The southern blues rock n roll band is playing at the Rockwater on Nov. 1.
Known as one of Canada’s hardest working blues rock acts, Ross Neilsen does it right. He takes strong, timeless material, and takes it to a place that matters – to the people.
For more than six years Neilson has been hitting the pavement, playing more that 1,000 shows and travelling half a million kilometres.
Proving that hard work pays off, he has been honoured with a nomination for Best New Artist at the Maple Blues Awards in 2010, two Rising Star nominations from CBC, back to back Blues Album of the Year nominations from the East Coast Music Association, a win for Best Blues Recording for the album Redemption at the 2010 MusicNB awards, and most recently, Neilsen has been selected to represent Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival and the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.
Redemption, released in the spring of 2010, was recorded at the famed Zebra Ranch Studio in Mississippi.
The voyage to recording Redemption was an epic one, with Neilsen and his band deciding to record with famed musician and producer Jim Dickinson and the ranch. Dickinson was impressed with the demos he had heard, and was eager to work on the new recording. The stage was set and the plans were made for Neilsen to make the trip of a lifetime, however a wrench was thrown into the wheels.
In August 2009 Dickinson passed away, leaving the band shattered and unsure of the next step. Within hours, Dickinson’s family contacted the band to step in and take over production; this time in the chair would be Cody Dickinson, three-time Grammy-nominated producer and drummer for North Mississippi All-Stars. The recording would be back on.
Ross Neilsen and the Sufferin Bastards will be playing an early show at the Rockwater at 9 p.m. To hear more about the band go to www.rossneilsen.com.
