Chris Bell & 100% Blues - Year Of The Blues (Live) (2020)

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Massachusetts, Chris credits both his parents for introducing him to blues, jazz, rhythm & blues and gospel music. At the early age of nine, he picked up his first guitar and discovered his passion. During the 1980’s, while majoring in art and music at the University of Massachusetts, Chris participated in jazz workshops with Archie Shepp, attended a summer session at Berklee School of Music and studied under guitar great Tony MacAlpine.

In 1990, Chris relocated to Los Angeles to further develop his musical career and in 2000, went back to his roots and formed what is known today as the Chris Bell Band. Having always been influenced by some of the great blues artists both past and present from BB King’s swingin’ old school style, to stinging single note passages like masters Albert King and Albert Collins, combined with searing slide riffs from Bell’s favorite, Johnny Winter and the psychedelic sounds reminiscent of the master Jimi Hendrix, Chris can do it all. His remarkable guitar playing compliments any blues genre he covers while paying tribute to those vintage styles his forefathers cast before him.

Chris now calls Las Vegas home and shows no signs of slowing down. He continues to tour throughout the Western United States with regular trips each year to Texas, the East Coast and Midwest and has performed and/or shared the stage with the likes of Mike Zito, Shemekia Copeland, Chris Duarte, Coco Montoya, Billy Branch, Tommy Castro, Robert Lockwood Jr., Leon Russell and Shane Dwight just to name a few.

Make no mistake, Chris is establishing himself as one of the premier up and coming blues artists of this generation and has only begun to scratch the surface of what promises to be a long and prosperous career.