Folk Bands and Artists
Victor Wainwright & The Wildroots
Memphis
Power-house blues, Memphis soul, and roots rock’n’roll. Featuring the high-octane boogie piano and big soul sounds of vocalist and blues man Victor Wainwright, backed by one of the tightest smokin’ bands on the scene; the WildRoots.
Victor, along with producer/bassist/co-writer Stephen Dees have teamed up once again to deliver a blues and American roots ‘tour de force’. In short, they have scored another musical Bull’s Eye! On the heals of their critically acclaimed debut release “Beale Street to the Bayou”; their new CD “Lit Up” is poised to ignite blues fans with a freshness and flair that’s infectious and impossible to ignore.
Victor Wainwright, singer, pianist, “hepcat” from Memphis, Tennessee by way of the Savannah, Georgia; is a raucous high-octane dynamic performer and crowd pleaser with soul to spare. After earning what he calls a “double major in Boogie, a Ph.D. in Swing and a master´s in Rhythm,“ the “Piana´ from Savannah“ is making a name for himself in a big way.
Stephen Dees is a rock n´ roll aficionado, touring and-or recording as bassist and vocalist for Hall and Oates, Todd Rundgren, Pat Travers, and Foghat to name a few. He was a Billboard and MTV char-tee with his band Novo Combo, and has received great acclaim for his original rock band “Bandees.“
The boogie blues “piana“ player and savvy pop-rocker met in 2004 in Ormond Beach FL, where they were both on the bill of a benefit concert. Very impressed after hearing each other perform and finding that they had a common love for blues, R&B and roots rock ‘n’ roll out of the ´50s and 60´s, such as B.B. King, Ray Charles, James Brown, Muddy Waters, Otis Redding, Louis Jordan, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard; they discussed the possibility of collaborating on an original recording project for Victor; paying homage to the music that has influenced them. Dees agreed to produce and co-write what would become Wainwright´s 2005 release, “Piana from Savannah“. “...it´s hard to follow the speed limit while this one´s playing... Pinetop Perkins would be proud.“ [Backstage Pass Magazine]
After the release of the “Piana’ from Savannah” CD, and some outstanding live performances, they knew they had something special and decided to forge a more enduring working relationship. Victor Wainwright and the WildRoots were born.
The WildRoots debut CD, “Beale Street to the Bayou,“ was released in September of 2009; launching a successful radio promotion which landed them stellar reviews as well as charting #7 on the Root Music Report “Top 50 Blues”, #2 on the Blues Internet Charts, and #8 on the Tennessee Roots Charts. In addition, they hit #4 on Europe’s Collectif des Radio Blues Charts.
