King King kick off their January/February 2019 UK Tour at the Nottingham Rock City on Thursday 31st January.Special guest will be American blues rock singer Sari Schorr. The 10-date tour will include shows at London Koko (February 7) and Glasgow O2 Academy (February 17). Don’t miss the chance to see this incredible band live and beat the winter blues with some amazing blues rock. Tickets are available via www.kingking.co.uk/tour & www.thegigcartel.com.
2018 has been a great year for the best blues rock band in the world – they won the awards for Blues Band of the Year, Blues Songwriter of the Year (Alan Nimmo) and Blues Album of the Year (Exile & Grace) at the UK Blues Awards, toured with Europe and played the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London – to name just a few highlights. Now the band are ready for 2019 and celebrated the new year with some amazing news – King King have signed with Siren Artist Management for a world-wide management deal. Siren also represents Europe, Saxon, Uriah Heep and Black Star Riders amongst others.
King King are the band to beat. Glasgow’s favourite sons have released four stunning studio albums – Take My Hand (2011), Standing In The Shadows (2013), Reaching For The Light (2015) and Exile & Grace (2017) – as well as an incredible live album – King King: Live (2016) – and they are not stopping. 2019 will be another exciting year for the band and their fans.
Following the release of her latest album ‘Never Say Never‘, New York born Sari Schorr is thrilled to announce that she will be playing London’s 100 Club as part of its London Blues Week on Friday 18th January with Sharrie Williams – The Princess of Rockin’ Gospel Blues.
Sari will be closing the co-headline show at the Central London club.
Sari Schorr has a voice like no other, hyper powerful, husky, muscular, with an incredible texture and range. She delivers sentences as a boxer would throw an uppercut to his opponent.
In 2016, Sari first burst onto the Blues-Rock scene with her critically acclaimed debut album, ‘A Force of Nature‘, produced by iconic British Blues pioneer Mike Vernon (David Bowie, Eric Clapton, John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green). Now, two years later, Sari is breaking new ground with her sophomore album, ‘Never Say Never‘. Sari insisted that the album be recorded live to capture the raw energy of her music. She has ventured deeper into her personal life. In the process, Sari has revealed herself with a vulnerability and honesty that she admits was as painful as it was healing. Her songs are highly crafted with vibrant lyrics that highlight just how good Sari is at invoking passion, grit, and empathy.
Sari’s success comes after years trudging the rugged road of life of the hard-working Blues woman. From her humble beginnings, working the music scene in the legendary fierce South Bronx of New York and on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, to a performance at Carnegie Hall, the operatically trained tornado stood her ground as a phenomenal Blues-Rock singer who would not be denied.
Sari’s home is her suitcase and her path has always taken her on the road less traveled. Her life is a story of never giving up, being true to yourself and pursuing your passions against all odds. It’s a story that is incredibly inspirational and a reminder why we should Never Say Never!
Blues vocalist Sari Schorr will release her brand new album ‘Never Say Never‘ on October 5th 2018 via Manhaton Records. ‘Never Say Never‘ is Sari’s second album and comes after the critically received debut album ‘A Force of Nature‘ which was released two years ago.
The ‘Never Say Never‘ UK tour kicks off in September and there’s a free song ‘Thank You‘ from the new album which can be downloaded here
I guess I must kick off this review by thanking the legendary Mike Vernon who’s part of the driving force behind getting this album recorded and released. And it’s a genuine thanks as A Force Of Nature is an absolute belter of an album from the outset! The majority of the album is written or co-written by Sari Schorr herself, plus she’s gathered a real wealth of musical talent around her.
Kicking off with ‘Ain’t Got No Money‘ your ears are greeted with a guitar sound that really sets the tone for what’s to come. The guitarist in question is Innes Sibun who plays on the majority of the album. And then your greeted by Sari herself. Her voice is a wonderful blend of warmth and huskiness but with an ability to wail like the best of them.
There are bound to be similarities noted with the late, great Janis Joplin, but hey let’s face, it that ain’t a bad thing now is it?
‘Aunt Hazel‘, street slang for heroin, is a song full of emotion, not glorifying the drug, but highlighting the devastating effect it has on those who partake, Sari drawing on what she saw happen to a friend of hers. ‘Damn The Reason‘ see’s guitar duty taken up by the talented Oli Brown with a great guitar tone that so suits this slow burner of a number.
Love the into to ‘Cat And Mouse‘ with it’s funky guitar and Hammond organ. Yep an absolute foot tapper but a track that tells of Sari’s struggle to bring herself back to the fore after a disastrous time spent with a previous producer.
And so we reach the first single ‘Black Betty‘, the Lead Belly track best known for it’s cover by Ram Jam. But Sari doesn’t just cover it, she makes it her own, changing the style of the song but without losing it’s original roots. Next up is ‘Work No More‘ penned by the legendary Walter Trout who also plays on it. As a fan of Mr Trout it’s interesting to hear a song that’s unmistakably one of his but with a female singer. This gives it a more soulful feel, still the emotion that Walter brings to his songs, but Sari then layers it with a richness of tone.
‘Demolition Man‘ is another track that shows Sari writes about the real issues that affect people. Amnesty International passed a resolution that supports the decriminalization of sex work, and to show her support Sari decided to write a song about the virtues of legalized prostitution from a female perspective, while addressing the unfair bias those women face. ‘Oklahoma‘ sees Sari being joined by Oli Brown again on guitar. This track has real atmosphere, reminds me of the music Robert Cray released in the late 80’s with hints of Santana.
‘Letting Go‘ is dedicated to Mike Vernon’s late wife Natalie, and it’s just full of emotion and love. Sari’s style is different from the other tracks on the album, but it just highlights her versatility vocally. Oli returns for ‘Kiss Me‘. He was originally only going to play on one track but the two gelled so well it turned into three. What we have here is one hell of a sexy number, the huskiness of Sari’s voice once again coming to the fore!
Next we have another cover version, this time it’s The Supremes classic ‘Stop! In the Name of Love‘, but once again it comes with a twist! While still recognisable as the Motown hit, it’s had a blues rock make over.
And so we reach the final song. With the piano accompaniment of Jesús Lavillas, ‘Ordinary Life‘ could almost be called a jazz track. But whatever label you want to attach to it quite simply it’s a song of style and beauty.
Force Of Nature is an album I’ve found myself playing again and again, each time hearing something more. Really looking forward to seeing Sari sing this material live.
Sari Schorr is the undisputed new female rising star of Blues Rock. After only 3 gigs with her band The Engine Room, featuring ex-Robert Plant guitarist Innes Sibun, a video from Guitar En Scene Festival was put on Facebook. In 7 days it reached over 100,000 people, has already been watched by over 50,000 people, and shared by hundreds.
This week Sari has premiered the official music video for her new single ‘Black Betty’ – a captivating cover of the Lead Belly classic.
Sari’s album ‘A Force Of Nature‘ will be released on September 2nd.
Manhaton Records is pleased to announce the debut album ‘A Force of Nature’ from one of the most exciting Blues rock singers, Sari Schorr. Released in the UK and Europe on September 2, 2016, the album is produced by the legendary Mike Vernon.
In January 2015, Mike received a Keeping the Blues Alive award at the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. The award was not the only highlight of the weekend for Mike. The second highlight occurred when Mike witnessed the performance of one of the most amazing female blues singers he’d seen in years – SARI SCHORR. Mike was so knocked out, he came out of semi-retirement to produce her new album. Already a consummate songwriter in her own right, with tracks on major labels, Sari has written or co-written almost all the songs on the debut album.
Released by Manhaton Records (home of Robin Trower and King King) the new album features guitarists Walter Trout (John Mayall, Canned Heat), Innes Sibun (Robert Plant), Oli Brown (RavenEye) and keyboardist John Baggott (Massive Attack, Portishead).
New York-based Sari Schorr initially gained prominence throughout the blues world after several years of touring the US and Europe with Blues legend, Joe Louis Walker and renowned guitarist, Popa Chubby. Schorr was recently inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame.
The album delivers hard-driving Blues-Rock, influenced by the late ’60s British Blues movement. Sari (who trained as an opera singer) mixes Blues, Rock, and Soul with concrete melodies and poetic lyrics to striking effect.
“My songs are rooted in the blues and honouring that long tradition is important to me,” reflects Sari. “My song-writing draws heavily on contrasting melodic hooks with aching harmonies. I spend a lot of time working over and rewriting my lyrics. I rely heavily on imagery and enjoy using double-entendres that are entertaining to those who catch them. My influences are many and various and include Son House, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Lead Belly, Bessie Smith, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Freddie King, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Peter Green, Robert Plant, Martha Velez and Bob Dylan.”
Tracklist
Ain’t Got No Money
Aunt Hazel
Damn the Reason
Cat and Mouse
Black Betty
Work No More
Demolition Man
Oklahoma
Letting Go
Kiss Me
Stop! In The Name of Love
Ordinary Life
Sari Schorr & The Engine Room – European Tour Dates
August
August 4-5 Notodden Blues Festival Norway
August 26 Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Altwood Rd, Maidenhead, UK
August 27 Varenwinkel Festival, Herselt, Belgium
August 28 Seacroft Double Festival, Norfolk, UK
August 29 Great British RnB Festival, Colne, Lancashire, UK
August 28 Seacroft Double Festival, Norfolk
September
Sept 9 Darlington RnB Club, The Forum Music Centre, Darlington, UK
Sept 5 Half Moon Putney, London, UK (Album Launch)
Sept 10 Blues Club, Devizes, Wiltshire, UK
Sept 11 Winchester Discovery Centre, Winchester, UK
Sept 14 The Tunnels, Bristol, UK
Sept 15 Southern Pavilion, Worthing Pier, West Sussex, UK
Sept 16 New Crawdaddy, Billericay Town FC Billericay, UK
Sept 17 Old Town Hall, High Street, Hemel Hempstead, UK
Sept 23 Selby Town Hall Yorkshire, UK
Sept 24 The Iron Road, Evesham, Worcestershire, UK
