NRBQ

“For more than 50 years, they have conjured a slippery blend of early R&B, hardcore country, novelty songs and rockabilly by seizing the improvisational energy of jazz.” – Washington Post

“For half a century, this consummate cult act has served as a bulwark against the stiffness and pomposity that so often infiltrate rock and roll … ‘Let Me Tell You ‘Bout My Girl’ is one highlight; another is the band’s recent take on the Al Jolson standard ‘April Showers.’ The recording exquisitely confronts the current dark era with swooning dreams borrowed from an earlier one.” —The New Yorker

NRBQ is Terry Adams, Scott Ligon, Casey McDonough, and John Perrin. “NRBQ” stands for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet. NRBQ have attracted accolades and respect from talent as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Doc Pomus, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Keith Richards, The Replacements, John Sebastian, Dave Edmunds, Yo La Tengo and Penn & Teller.

NRBQ songs have been performed by Bonnie Raitt, She & Him, Dan Baird, the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Widespread Panic, Los Lobos, and Dave Edmunds among many others. The group served as the unofficial “house band” for The Simpsons for Seasons 10-12. They appeared as zombies in George Romero’s movie Day of the Dead. They have appeared at the Berlin Jazz Festival, the Grand Ole Opry, and Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival. NRBQ has released a series of critically acclaimed albums in the past decade, among them Keep This Love Goin’ (2011), Brass Tacks (2014), the 5-disc, 50-year retrospective, High Noon (2016), and Turn On, Tune In (2019). Their latest – a first-ever NRBQ rarities collection, “In*Frequencies” released by Omnivore Recordings on October 2, 2020. The career-spanning sixteen tracks, twelve never-before released, include live and radio performances, soundchecks, and rare singles.

NRBQ are that rare group that’s eclectic, stylistically innovative, and creatively ambitious while also sounding thoroughly unpretentious and accessible. At its best, NRBQ‘s music casually mixes up barrelhouse R&B, British Invasion pop, fourth-gear rockabilly, exploratory free jazz, and dozens of other flavors while giving it all a stomp-down rhythm that makes fans want to dance and expressing a sense of joy and easy good humor that comes straight from the heart.