Chris Duarte.

The St. Marys Blues Guild welcomes The Chris Duarte Group to St. Marys and K.C. Geiger Park to headline the 2010 Riverside Bluesfest Saturday show on Labor Day weekend.

San Antonio native Chris Duarte was born the same year as his faithful Stratocaster, 1963. At the age of sixteen Duarte dropped out of school and moved to Austin to pursue a life in music. There, he went to the Continental Club to watch Stevie Ray Vaughan play, before SRV was "discovered" by David Bowie.

After exploring jazz with a club band in Austin, Duarte launched himself into the blues by joining Bobby Mack and Night Train. They toured Texas for a few years until Duarte's debut wide-distribution CD Texas Sugar/Strat Magik was released to critical acclaim in 1994.

Duarte has toured steadily since then as a trio, the Chris Duarte Group. It features Duarte on guitar and vocal, Matt Stallard on bass and Chris Burroughs on drums. He has also recorded with a Japanese band, Bluestone Company, and toured the U.S and Japan extensively with this lineup, including a 2008 show at Rhythm and Brews in nearby Wapakoneta, Ohio.

Duarte's Texas blues-rock style has been compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan's and Johnny Winter's, but he also draws on jazz and international influences to make his music. But don't let that scare you - this guy rocks the blues. Chris Duarte has been known to play guitar until his fingers bleed.

Pace yourself to brace yourself for The Chris Duarte Group's high-octane onslaught to close out the 2010 Riverside Bluesfest Saturday show. Be there after sundown. Duarte will supply the energy.
 

Discography:
Year	Title	Label
1987	Chris Duarte and the Bad Boys	SRS Records
1994	Sugar Texas/Strat Magik	Silvertone Records
1997	Tailspin Headwhack	Silvertone Records
1999	4x3: Edge	Aeroliner Records
2000	Love Is Greater Than Me	ZOE/Rounder Records
2003	Romp	ZOE/Rounder Records
2006	Live House ENN/Sendai Japan (with Bluestone)	Aeroliner Records (DVD)
2007	Blue Velocity	Blues Bureau International
2008	Vantage Point	Blues Bureau International
2009	396 (with Bluestone)	Blues Bureau International
2009	Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, All Things Blue	Blues Bureau International

Artist merchandise will be available for purchase at the Riverside Bluesfest!