THE George Kilby Jr. Blues Band will play The Balor Theatre in Ballybofey on Friday, August 17. George and his band are the resident band at B B King's, Times Square, New York City and he has shared the stage with some Americas blues and soul legends such as James Brown, Etta James, Albert King, Rosco Gordon and Pinetop Perkins.

George led his first group, the George Dickel Band, to New York's legendary Lonestar Cafe. There, he shared the stage with Albert King, Etta James and James Brown. He traveled to support his first LP all over the Eastern U.S. As a result, he met the legendary Pinetop Perkins and lived with Pinetop's family in Chicago in 1985. Then, after a couple of years in Paris, George returned to the States, where he recruited Pinetop, along with R&B legend Rosco Gordon, and recorded a CD entitled George Jr. and his Elders.

New Orleans drummer Charles 'Honeyboy' Otis gave the disc a spicy flavor which continues to be part of Kilby's sound today.

The second album, Pinetop Perkins and Friends, led to a deal with Vanguard Records. For the label, Kilby produced Pinetop's seminal Portrait of a Delta Bluesman, which won the W C Handy Award for Blues Album of the Year.

The album, Live at 85, features George and the band in an exciting live setting, recorded on Pinetop's 85th birthday. George's sound draws from both the blues and country traditions, but New York gives the band its cutting edge, as can be witnessed on the albums Spell it Out, George Kilby Jr. and the new album, Road Dog's Holiday, which includes guest appearances by Pinetop Perkins, and band members from Loup Garou Zydeco, The Tom Tom Club, Bob Geldolf and Boz Scaggs.

This is an amazing opportunity to see one of the peers of the great American blues artists in the flesh at an intimate Irish venue. For bookings and more information contact the Balor Box Office on 00353 74 91 31840.