John Jorgenson 19/05/2013 Gemona, Italy

America’s John Jorgenson, former guitarist of bands such as Desert Rose and The Hellecasters (with Fairport Convention guitarist  Jerry Donahue), played in Gemona.

A mandolin, pedal steel, piano, clarinet and guitar virtuoso, Jorgenson played in the small town of Gemona, located near Udine, on May 7^th, exactly one day after the anniversary of the terrible earthquake that had rocked the town in 1976 (and again in September of 1976 causing on both occasions many deaths).  His show consisted of a mixture of blues, country, rock as well as homages paid to the Beatles, George Harrison and Canada’s Leonard Cohen.

A Madison, Wisconsin native, John’s played for 6 years with Elton John (he played guitar and saxophone for Sir Elton).  He’s also played with some other greats of the music world, such as The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Willie Nelson, the late, great Johnny Cash, Barbra Streisand, Big Luciano Pavarotti, Emmylou Harris, Roy Orbison and Bonnie Raitt, just to name a few. 

Rhythm & Blues Band sells-out in Udine, May 4th, 2013

The Rhythm & Blues Band put on their “Back To The Roots” show in Udine. The very entertaining 25-piece Italian band, Rhythm & Blues Band, put on a great little show in Udine’s “Giovanni da Udine” theater in front of an all sold-out audience by proposing a 2 ½ hour show called “Back To The Roots”.

The band’s repertoire included hits from Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Otis Reading, James Brown, Wilson Pickett and Sam & Dave.  A great rendition of Joe Cocker’s re-make of the Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends” ended the show. 

The band was born in 1980 in the nearby town of Cividale, founded many, many centuries ago by Julius Caesar.