(STANHOPE, NJ) -- Powerhouse Chicago blues group, The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling, touring in support of their first Alligator Records release, The High Cost of Low Living, will perform at The Stanhope House in Stanhope on Thursday, July 11 at 7:00pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.
The album, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Blues Chart, is a tour de force of the classic Chicago blues ensemble sound that world class guitarist/vocalist Moss and master harmonicist/vocalist Gruenling knows, lives and loves. MOJO magazine named the CD as the #2 Best Blues Album of 2018. In 2019, Moss won the Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Male Artist Of The Year. Also in 2019, Gruenling won the Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist-Harmonica. Their new album, Lucky Guy!, will be released on August 9, 2019.
The High Cost of Low Living is no recycling of old songs. Moss wrote eight memorable new originals and Gruenling wrote two, all deeply rooted in the blues tradition with a touch of old school rock 'n' roll. Produced by guitarist Kid Andersen and Moss and recorded at Rancho de Rhythm in Elgin, Illinois, the album is a joyous sonic blast of pure blues power.
Although Moss and Gruenling had known each other for 20 years and had jammed together often, it wasn't until 2016 that they decided to team up full time. Moss' deeply rooted yet fully modern guitar playing flawlessly meshes with Gruenling's monster harmonica chops. On stage, the two communicate seemingly telepathically, as Moss lays down the deepest blues licks and Gruenling's harmonica wails and howls in perfect response, with Moss' top-notch band adding their energy and expertise to the ensemble.
Chicago guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Nick Moss is a bona fide bluesman down to his soul, a 30-year veteran of the city's take-no-prisoners blues scene. Moss paid his dues gigging in Chicago's rough and tumble West and South side blues clubs under the tutelage of some of the city's greatest blues luminaries. New Jersey's Dennis Gruenling is considered among today's best blues harmonica players.
Growing up in Chicago and standing tall at 6'2", Nick Moss dreamed of playing both music and sports. When kidney surgery sidelined his athletic hopes, he dove headfirst into the blues. His mother was a huge blues fan, even taking a young Nick to see bluesmen like Muddy Waters live in concert. Originally a bass player, Moss got his first professional break touring and playing bass with legendary West Side Chicago guitarist Jimmy "Fast Fingers" Dawkins. He next toured with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (longtime Muddy Waters' drummer), leader of the Legendary Blues Band. Finding himself in need of a guitarist, Smith insisted Moss switch instruments. Combining his natural talent with non-stop woodshedding and playing every open jam session, Moss quickly became one of the city's most highly sought-after players. Bluesman Jimmy Rogers (famous for his pioneering guitar work with Muddy Waters and for his solo it Walking By Myself) hired Moss to join his touring band and became his mentor. Moss' other influences include B.B. King, Freddie King, Earl Hooker, Magic Slim and other groundbreaking players.
Moss formed his own band in 1997 and released the first of his 12 solo albums a year later on his own independent Blue Bella label. He's received 23 Blues Music Award nominations (and won the Traditional Male Artist Of The Year award in 2019) and has earned legions of fans around the world, playing over 100 shows a year. Moss has shared stages with Buddy Guy, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Gary Clark, Jr., David Hidalgo and many others, and is an in-demand guest, always welcome to sit in with his musician friends around the world.
As a teen, Dennis Gruenling heard the Alligator recording Harp Attack! (a summit meeting of James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell and Billy Branch) and decided that blues harmonica was his life's calling. Gruenling was inspired by blues harp masters including Cotton, Little Walter and George "Harmonica" Smith as well as by saxophonists, including Lester Young and Red Prysock. A self-taught player and a natural entertainer with seven solo albums to his credit, Gruenling's giant, fat-toned harp work, raw-boned singing and untamed energy are a perfect foil for Moss' hair-raising guitar playing and straight-from-the-shoulder blues vocals.
With the release of The High Cost of Low Living, The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling will do what they do best: barnstorm the globe, bringing their muscular, high-energy show to clubs, concert halls, roadhouses and festival stages night after night. According to Moss, "When the band and I get on stage, the music takes over. We can't hold back and the energy just comes pouring out. We get carried away and the audience gets carried away with us."
The Stanhope House is located at 45 Main Street in Stanhope, New Jersey.
