Celso Salim

Led by Brazilian guitarist, singer and songwriter Celso Salim, the Celso Salim Band presents a contemporary blues sound rooted in the past. With soulful and energetic performances, their music takes on many styles mixing deep blues with hints of soul, country, jazz and rock. Now releasing a new album titled Mama’s Hometown, Celso has established a solid career, becoming one of the busiest and most respected blues artists in Southern California.

Brazilian guitarist Celso Salim had his first contact with the guitar when he was six years old. At the age of 12 the talented young musician started to listen to his first Blues records, which changed his life forever. Since then Celso knew what he wanted to be, a Blues guitarist. For years he studied guitar hours each day, learning from old records by artists such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Freddie King, BB King, and Johnny Winter. A little later he began listening to 60’s & 70’s artists like the Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. At age 17, Celso moved to the US for the first time, spending 3 years studying music and performing live shows. During this period he was exposed to other genres like Soul, Jazz, Folk and Country. This time would later have great influence on Celso’s music.

In Brazil, Celso has built a solid fan base, releasing 5 solo albums since 2001 and is considered to be one of the best guitarists in the country. He has also toured and recorded with prominent artists in the Brazilian Blues/Rock scene. Frequently featured among top Brazilian acts, Celso has performed at it's biggest festivals and venues. He has toured Europe and opened for legendary artist B. B. King as well as Deep Purple and John Hammond. He has also toured with bluesman Larry McCray and performed with blues legends Magic Slim and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (Muddy Waters drummer).

Since Celso re-located to Los Angeles in 2014, the Celso Salim Band has won the Southern California Blues Society Battle of the Bands twice (2015 & 2017) and were semi-finalists at the International Blues Challenge 2018 in Memphis, TN. They have also opened for renowned artists Joe Bonamassa, Canned Heat, Kim Wilson and Larry McCray, performing at large venues all over Southern California. Besides that, Celso has performed with renowned musicians such as Scott Page (Pink Floyd/Supertramp), Kenny Lee Lewis (Steve Miller Band), Josh Smith, Jason Ricci, RJ Micho and Matt Abts & Jorgen Carlsson from Gov’t Mule.

The Celso Salim Band has won five Independent Music Awards in these categories: Blues Song (2008), Blues Album (2015), Jazz with vocals Song (2015), Funk/Fusion/Jam Song (2017) and R&B/Soul song (2018). Their last album, To The End Of Time (2014), received great reviews from major publications in the U.S. and around the world such as Blues Matters! (UK), Blues Blast Magazine (USA), Blues Time (Italy) and Jefferson Blues Magazine (Sweeden).

The band features Brazilian singer Rafael Cury on lead vocals. Mike Hightower: bass/harmony vocals, Lynn Coulter: drums/harmony vocals, Max Butler: keyboards and Celso Salim: guitars/dobro/lead vocals.