RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS

“Rick Estrin sings and writes songs like the brightest wiseguy in all of bluesland and blows harmonica as if he learned at the knee of Little Walter.” –DownBeat

Larger-than-life blues star Rick Estrin has piloted the wildly fun and musically fearless Rick Estrin & The Nightcats for the last decade, touring the world and proving night after night why they won 2018’s Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year. The limitless combined talents of blues harmonica virtuoso and sly, soulful singer Estrin, guitar mastermind Kid Andersen, keyboard wizard Lorenzo Farrell and endlessly creative drummer Derrick “D’Mar” Martin take Estrin’s inventive, original songs to new and unexpected places. On stage, the band’s ability to deliver an unpredictable, no-holds-barred show is unmatched.

In addition to Estrin’s celebrated songwriting and spectacular harmonica playing, he and the band are among the most entertaining and colorful showmen around. Estrin’s flashing harmonica solos, quick wit and signature hipster-cool look, Andersen’s off-the-cuff guitar pyrotechnics, Farrell’s mighty organ and piano work and D’Mar’s dynamic drumming bring instant fun to their live performances.
“People don’t go out to see people who look like themselves,” says Estrin. “They want to see something special. I was schooled in this business to be a showman, and that’s what you get when you come to see us perform. We know how to put on a show.”

Since the 2009 release of Rick Estrin & The Nightcats’ celebrated Alligator Records debut “Twisted,” the 2012 follow-up “One Wrong Turn,” 2014’s crowd-pleasing “You Asked For It…Live!,” and 2017’s “Groovin’ In Greaseland,” the band has toured the world, earning high praise and standing ovations everywhere they go. The Chicago Sun-Times said, “These are serious musicians having a hotter than hot good time. It’s tough to stay in your seat when Estrin and his musical cohorts get cooking.”