November 2006
Happy Thanksgiving! We have been laying low, on vacation, working on new material and getting ready for our showing at the 2007 International Blues Challenge. We also have some big news about a benefit in NEW ORLEANS in February 2007. Details to come...
Radio Play!
Our good friend Todd Glazer has been hard at work working on national radio play for us. We have quite a few stations reporting in and we expect a LOT more soon. If you hear us on your local blues station call in and REQUEST MORE, if you don't hear us then call in and REQUEST US! :)
Mighty Lester is STILL a HIT on XM Radio! We are now #5 on XM's PICKS TO CLICK chart! This is all very exciting to be sharing the airwaves with some of our idols and peers. Keep those calls and requests pouring in and thank you for all your support!
October 2006
Man, has there been a LOT going on. So allow me to jump right in...
Mighty Lester is a HIT on XM Radio! That's right, the worldwide domination starts now. XM Radio has been giving heavy airtime to both Gonna Ball Tonight and Big Booty Baby! As if that wasn't enough, we are one of XM's PICKS TO CLICK for the week of Oct. 14! We will be kicking up a nationwide radio promotion campaign with Todd Glazer Productions starting in Nov. so you will be hearing a lot more of us in the near future!
Blues Revue digs We Are Mighty Lester! And the praise keeps on rollin' in. In issue 102 (Oct/Nov 2006) writer Don Wilcock states "Mighty Lester honks, howls, and raises hell through a dozen songs..." Damn right! Gotta love a review that states one of our tunes (Skankin') sounds as if it was left over from the Green Onions sessions by Booker T and the MG's. That's music to my ears. Big thanks to Don for the kind words and to Blues Revue for keeping the flame alive!
SHOW REPORT!!!
Here's what we've been up to lately...
TBS Fundraiser - Wetlands in Chapel Hill
GREAT new venue in Chapel Hill. Nice stage and sound and the staff was top-notch. Good crowd for a Thursday evening that show promise for a blues & roots scene. Watch out for our return there on January 19, 2007
19th Annual Bull Durham Blues Festival & Meadowmont
The big show and we nailed it in a big way. Even as the opening act we played to an enthusiastic large crowd and we brought it! The staff and vibe was friendly and very open, great food and a great time playing alongside our peers and legends like Lonnie Brooks! We nice 11am show the next day at Meadowmont Arts Festival in Chapel Hill.
Hurricane Graham
We showed, set up and then it came. Drenching rain and 60 (SIXTY) mph winds. We tore, we left, then it left. Keep an eye out for a return engagement sometime next year.
10th Annual Camden Blues Bash
WHAT A BLAST two nights in a GREAT venue, the TenEleven Galleria with a massive crowd who were there to have a good time and we delivered it. Called out by many to be a highlight of the festival we gave as the promoter and booker Gary Erwin called it "a volcanic performance" and Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro stated "Mighty Lester's set started off with, maintained and ended with the energy of a launching rocket."
September 2006
TAKE NOTE SPECIAL EVENTS BELOW!!
Mighty Lester at the BULL DURHAM BLUES FESTIVAL! That's right we are finally getting our shot at this historic bluesfest. We hit the stage Saturday Sept 9 at 6pm. PLEASE be there to support us! Here's the full lineup...
9:30 pm – 11 pm The Lonnie Brooks Band
8:15 pm – 9:15 pm Nora Jean Bruso with Carl Weathersby
7 pm – 8 pm Smokin’ Joe Kubek Featuring Bnois King
6 pm – 6:50 pm Mighty Lester
And the very next day you can catch us at Arts in the Meadow in Chapel Hill at 11:15am!
SPECIAL EVENT: Thursday, September 7
BACK TO SCHOOL BLUES BASH (a benefit for TBS)
Wetlands Dance Hall (and juke joint!) www.wetlandschapelhill.com
157 E. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill 919-338-2746 Doors 7pm. Show 8pm.
$6 cash cover Must be 18. Convenient onsite parking. Municipal
parking garage just across the street for overflow.
Blues 101 -- Acts Scheduled To Appear:
7:30pm CLARK STERN (plays you in with boogie-woogie blues piano)
8:00pm LONESOME GEORGE & THE SOUL SHAKERS (contemporary blues)
8:50pm MIKE "HOWLING WIND" DAVIS (blues harp)
9:10pm MIGHTY LESTER (jump blues, swing)
10:10pm CLARK STERN (boogie-woogie blues piano)
10:30pm ROYAL STREET BAND (R&B, lady belts the blues)
11:15pm JOHNNY SWANK (traditional acoustic slide guitar)
11:35pm BOBBY FROST BLUES BAND (rockin' blues)
PLEASE COME TO THIS SHOW. The Wetlands is committed to having blues if the see enough demand so let's DEMAND it!! Please come out. It's only $6 and it's right there at the end of the week...
August 20, 2006
Hello everyone! Lot's going on despite the hush hush on the news front. First off we had some GREAT shows in August. Sunday August 6 saw us in High Point NC for the High Point Arts Council Summer Splash Concert Series. We ripped though 90min of Lester goodness for a a lot folks. You Triad area music fans are a dedicated bunch - we love you guys!
Then on Thursday August 17 we played the American Tobacco Ampitheatre in Durham, NC. What and amazing venue!! A ton of people great sound and staging and an excellent staff made this one fun event that we hope to play again and again!
July 17, 2006
WHAT A WEEKEND!!
Friday night we hit the Blue Bayou in Hillsborough. It was HOT HOT HOT HOT out. And very HUMID. Good lord it was criminal... But I can tell you that by the the time we were done it was hotter inside. GREAT SHOW! We pumped out the tunes with reckless abandon and put on a great show and got great response. It wasn't our biggest draw at the Bayou (Heat and Summer Vacations I guess) but the crowd was very into us. It was a good time and we look forward to coming back in the winter!
Saturday Night at the Armory was a blast. A lot more people than I expected (again heat and summer vacations) and they were dancin' until the very end. Big thanks to Maryelle (hope I got that right) for all the moves! It was fun.
We are going to be saying good by to Dave, our fearless bass player. He is heading down to FL. We will miss you Dave!! We are trying out some new folks in the next few weeks and hope to have the position filled soon. We gotta roll on...
July 10, 2006
JULY 4TH RE-CAP
Mighty Lester had a busy schedule over July 4th weekend.The Festival for the Eno show on Saturday was a hot one, though not as literally as we'd expected. Temps usually soar on the banks of the Eno but we caught a break. We'd all expected to be on a larger stage but we put on a great show for an appreciative audience. After practically four-wheeling into the venue (it's literally in the woods) we discovered a mini-Woodstock of environmentally geared vendors and some good ice cream. Oh yeah, and hippies. Lots of hippies.
Tuesday's Lester double header started with a show in downtown Greensboro which literally brought the heat, rising in waves off the pavement as all eight Lester boys dripped sweat. We slayed 'em, as usual; they love Lester in G'boro and the feeling's mutual. There's a real appreciation for the music and the musicians over there!
We rounded out the day with a post-fireworks performance at the NC State Fairgrounds, a vast complex which holds thousands of people. Seriously, we were the real grand finale of the fireworks show; we launched into "Swingin' at Lester's" before the smoke had cleared and we were off and running for a flawless hour-long show. The music, the breeze, and the enthusiastic crowd--not to mention the killer P.A. and lights--made for a great show and put another feather in Lester's cap. Or maybe that's Todd's orange hat??
June 26, 2006
Mighty Lester was crowned the champs at the 2006 Triangle Blues Competition at the Blue Martini on June 25.
We had some TOUGH competition and we are very proud of ourselves for taking home the prize and heading to the IBC for the second year in a row!
More to come!
June 21, 2006
We are getting ready for a busy summer & fall! We are working on new material, booking shows, getting radio airplay all over the world, selling CD's, and to top it all off we have been putting the polish on our set for the 2006 Triangle Blues Competition at the Blue Martini on June 25. We have some VERY stiff competition so we need to come out swingin'!
I am sure you have all heard about our glowing review in BILLBOARD Magazine. Pretty cool, eh? We also got a great review in the Independent Weekly and a fantastic article in the June issue of Metro Magazine
We Are Mighty Lester is on sale via our website, CD Baby.Com and at the Louisiana Music Factory down in New Orleans. We are looking at getting it into other retailers as well. Make sure you pick up a copy or ten.
June 12, 2006
Mighty Lester has a GREAT feature story in the June 2006 issue of Metro Magazine. Give it a read and learn how We Are Mighty Lester came to life. Thanks to Philip Van Vleck for the story and continued support!
May 20, 2006
WE ARE MIGHTY LESTER is reviewed in BILLBOARD (yes THE Billboard) Magazine. GO READ IT NOW!
Thanks to Philip VanVleck for the great review!
In addition we were featured as the opening track of this week's Roadhouse Podcast. Go check it out. If you don't have an iPod you can listen online. ig thanks to Tony for his continued support!
May 17, 2006
WE ARE MIGHTY LESTER is available for sale on our website via CDBABY. GO BUY ONE NOW!
May 15, 2006
Don't forget our CD RELEASE PARTY will be May 19 at the Blue Bayou Club in Hillsborough, NC! There will be food, prizes, a packed house, tons of dancing and hopefully a few surprises...
The CD's are HERE! WE ARE MIGHTY LESTER will be available on our site very soon. Our distributor, CD Baby has the CD's and are processing everything right now. Featuring 10 original songs and two great covers, We Are Mighty Lester will keep your toes tappin', and your
hand's clappin' all night long. One of the (many) standout tracks is the song "Give My Love A Try." A Stax soul influenced ballad that features a incredible performance from Todd Dewberry. Watch for this track and many others to get airplay on stations all over the world.
April 28, 2006
The CD's are on the way!
April 23, 2006
Well Earth Day was a bust. We showed up at our scheduled time to rock it out for 45min and because of the rains earlier that morning the stage was not even setup yet. Understandable, of course. At about 11:45 when the stage was ready to go the sky opened up around us and all hell broke loose. We tore down, moved everything under the cover, and waited. We set back up again, ready to go, and the sky opened up AGAIN! At this point we called it a day and headed home. Sigh - oh well dem's da breaks. Time to get ready for the big show at the Carolina Blues Fetival on May 6 in Greensboro! We can't wait to trot out the new songs and SELL OUR NEW CD!! That's right "We Are Mighty Lester" will be available for sale for the first time Saturday May 6. And don't forget our CD RELEASE PARTY will be May 19 at the Blue Bayou Club in Hillsborough, NC!
April 13, 2006
Just a reminder to head on out to the BLUE MARTINI this FRIDAY April 14 for Mighty Lester's return! That's right, we have been holed up working hard on our new album "We Are Mighty Lester" getting it ready for the May 6 release date. Thing is, we are ITCHIN' to strut these tunes out LIVE and the Blue Martini is the spot to do it. Great vibe, staff, food and drinks. The Blue Martini is the perfect spot to hang out with Mighty Lester for the evening.
Check out the Event Calendar for more details
April 6, 2006
I am sitting here listneing to the final rough mixes of the ENTIRE We Are Mighty Lester album and I have to say it's a powerhouse. You've got a preview of the album streaming out of our jukebox right here on the home page. The album will hit on May 6 and don't forget we have the CD Release and 5th Anniversary Party coming up on May 19 at the Blue Bayou Club!
March 28, 2006
Mighty Lester is on MySpace. That's right, we decided to jump the bandwagon and use yet another avenue for shameless self-promotion. Click the MySpace link to the left or click here.
March 27, 2006
Check back all week! We will be adding photos, audio, video and all sorts of other goodies as we prepare for the 2006 Mighty Lester blitz!
March 27, 2006
Help us spread the word! If you know of a venue, festival, or any event where we would could play please let both us and the contact at that venue know!
March 26, 2006
Hope you like the new web site! We are working real hard at raising our profile this year and bringing Mighty Lester to the masses. Stay tuned!
March 22, 2006
CD RELEASE PARTY on May 19, 2006! We cannot think of a better way to officially announce the release of "We Are... Mighty Lester" than a blowout event at the Blue Bayou Club in Hillsborough, NC. More details to come but I assure you this will be much more than just your standard Mighty Lester show.
March 20, 2006
We just finished tracking on our LONG awaited sophmore album! Entitled "We Are... Mighty Lester" the album will be available on May 6, 2006 at the Carolina Blues Festival in Greensboro, NC.