Eliza Neals

Chris Beard is a modern blues guitarist and singer like no other. His personal connections to the blues were forged with the living blues men he sat with since childhood. Born in 1957, Beard is the son of blues guitarist, Joe Beard, who grew up on Beale Street in the 1950s. When family friends like Matt “Guitar” Murphy and Buddy Guy stopped by to visit, young Beard became their willing pupil. Chris says, “when your father grew up on Beale Street and music was in your DNA, then blues is who you are and what you do.” While Greg Sover’s friends, in his Philadelphia neighborhood where he grew up, were listening to local rappers, he was immersed in classic rock, country and the blues, ever since he first picked up a guitar at the age of five. Sover names Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Duane Allman, Dwight Yoakam guitarist Pete Anderson and, of course, all three Kings - B.B., Freddie and Albert - as early influences. His fourth and latest album, His-Story, features eight blues, roots and rock-tinged originals. Eliza Neals, a Detroit blues-rock star on the rise, honors the gut wrenching, soul splitting intent the American roots of contemporary blues represents with inspired songwriting, live performances and magic not seen in years. Eliza Neals sings with unearthly passion and velvety grit, effortlessly pushing air to new heights. Her operatically trained voice has been called both sexy and menacing. None of this is surprising of course, since Eliza studied with Motown Legend Barrett Strong and could rightfully be called the last of the truly trained Motown singers.