Blues nomad Stevie Wolf will make his next stop in Auburn this weekend.

Wolf, a former drummer with blues legends such as Earl Hooker and Pinetop Perkins, started performing in the Mississippi Delta region and then Chicago. After switching to the guitar, Wolf began performing with J.J. Jackson and the Hitchhikers, which took Wolf to Utica. When he moved to Binghamton in the early '70s, Wolf began leading his own pack: Stevie Wolf and the Brimstones.

“I prefer to lead,” he said. “I got my own ideas, a few original songs I'm working on.”

Though Wolf eventually returned to supporting roles in Syracuse blues acts Night Shades and Roosevelt Dean, he later formed another group in Stevie Wolf and the Blues Express.

As band leader, Wolf steers a course through the classic blues and R&B guitar sounds of Buddy Guy, B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He also tests his own material, such as “I Feel Alright” and “Big Boss Lady.” Whomever the author, Wolf looks for sounds that stimulate his audience's sense of rhythm.

“I like an easy-going atmosphere, with people dancing and having a good time,” he said. “A little sass to keep them on their feet, then once in a while we'll slow it down.”

It is in part because of the relaxed atmosphere it creates that blues music, Wolf believes, is catching on with younger crowds.

“The younger people are starting to adapt to the blues; it's picked up quite a bit since I started out,” he said. “Blues goes over pretty well around here.”

David Wilcox

253-5311 ext. 245

david.wilcox@lee.net