Sean Carney.

The St. Marys Blues Guild welcomes The Sean Carney Band to St. Marys and K.C. Geiger Park to the 2010 Riverside Bluesfest on Labor Day weekend.

Sean Carney is more than a great blues performer: he is also a great blues volunteer, ambassador and philanthropist.

A Columbus, Ohio native, Carney attended the Fort Hayes High School for the Performing Arts. Soon, he was performing with the best of the musicians in Columbus' vibrant blues scene. Not content with playing the blues, Carney began organizing concerts, writing articles, co-hosting a radio program and volunteering for the grand-daddy of Ohio blues organizations, the Columbus Blues Alliance, where he served three terms as President.

"Provisions," Sean Carney's first CD, was released in 1998. This and his continued touring led to a performance at the 2001 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival with Cincinnati's Big Joe Duskin, and other high-profile gigs like the The Ratskeller Jazz Festival in Berlin, Germany, The Monterey Bay Blues Festival and Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago.

In 2006, Carney and drummer Eric Blume established Nite Owlz Records for the release of their self-produced CD, "Life Of Ease." Critical acclaim led to tours of the midwest United States and western Canada, and an appearance at the Paris Jazz Festival.

But things really got busy for the Sean Carney Band when they took first place at the 2007 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. Carney also won the IBC's coveted Albert King Best Guitarist Award that year.

The Sean Carney Band started getting radio play, they did a live performance on XM Radio, they played the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, they were booked at blues festivals all over the U.S. and Europe. That touring range continues today.

Blues for A Cure 2009 poster.

But Carney isn't resting on his performing laurels. Inspired by his mother, who battles Hodgkins Lymphoma, in 2007 he founded "Blues For A Cure," an annual blues blowout that benefits cancer research and treatment. The annual December concert in Columbus has raised tens of thousands of dollars in its three years, attracting internationally acclaimed blues performers like Cleveland Fats, Teeny Tucker, Jimmy Thackery, Henry Gray, Hubert Sumlin and many more.

As a special treat for the 2010 Riverside Bluesfest audience, The Sean Carney Band will be performing with a three-piece horn section. The complete band lineup is Sean Carney on guitar and vocals, Eric Blume on drums, Steve Parakis on upright bass and vocals, Jim Godin on trumpet, Chuck Moore on tenor and baritone sax, and Mark Daruth on tenor and baritone sax.

The St. Marys Blues Guild is excited to have this internationally-acclaimed Ohio blues band anchor the center of the 2010 Sunday Riverside Bluesfest lineup. What a show!
 

Discography:
Year	Title	Label
1998	Provisions (Sean Carney & the Nite Owlz)	Main Street Records
2000	Twist Of Fate (Ray Fuller)	Oahu Records
2003	First Class Woman (Teeny Tucker)	Hot Rod Records
2006	Life Of Ease	Nite Owlz Records
2007	Provisions: A Second Helping	Nite Owlz Records / Main Street Records
2009	Live Blues On Whyte	Nite Owlz Records

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