Events

Known for his powerful soulful voice and a deep, almost mystical approach to the roots genre, Harper & Midwest Kind return to Arts Garage to bring you on a musical and lyrical journey, stirred up with masterful harp and the earthy, woody, percussive tones of the didgeridoo.

PERFORMER BIO:

Award-winning Australian singer/ songwriter/ virtuoso harmonica player “Peter D. Harper”, now based in Detroit, Michigan, USA creates a heady mix of roots music through his creative use of the harmonica, and the haunting drone of the didgeridoo.

Known in the music world as “Harper”, brings forth his latest release “RISE UP” (Access Records), featuring 10 original tunes that reach deep within.  “RISE UP”, which had its debut at #3 on the Billboard Blues Charts, profoundly expresses Harper’s creative use of the harp and the haunting drone of the didgeridoo with underlying meaningful lyrics, which reflect the divisive times, we currently live in.

Peter D Harper is known for his powerful soulful voice and a deep, almost mystical approach to the roots genre.  This new release is an expansive musical and lyrical journey, stirred up with a masterful harp and the deep, woody percussive tones of the didgeridoo. “RISE UP” is without doubt Harper’s best work to date and was listed in the Top 20 Albums of 2020 by Blues Blast Magazine.   “RISE UP” follows the highly acclaimed “Show Your Love” ( 2016) which reached # 3 on the Billboard Blues Charts and stayed in the top ten for an incredible 6 months. Harper is backed by his talented Detroit-based touring band “Midwest Kind” which features: Austin Johnson on guitar, Lee Lewis on Bass Guitar, Bud Smith on Drums, and Bobbi Llewellyn on backing vocals/ percussion.

Harper has received an amazing 14 x  Blues/Roots Music awards (including a Gold Record) in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada and achieved 4 x Top Ten Billboard Blues Charting albums.  He recently won a Detroit Music Award for “Outstanding Vocalist”. Karen Albano/ Modern Rock Review (USA) describes “Harper is an original, playing the harmonica like an authentic Chicago bluesman, singing about unity and love like a member of peacenik jam band, belting crisp vocals like a straight-up superb classic soul performer, and then pioneering the didgeridoo into these popular forms of modern music. Unique and quality music of this kind is truly a rare treat”.   While Rhetta Claudette Akamatsu, Making a Scene USA, states “A magnificent, deeply evocative album by a great singer-songwriter and his fantastic band. I give it the highest marks“.

Harper and Midwest Kind have been nominated for the 2021 Independent Blues Awards in the categories of:

*Best Modern Roots Band

*Best Modern Roots Album – “RISE UP”

“A magnificent, deeply evocative album by a great singer-songwriter and his fantastic band. I give it the highest marks.” Making a Scene,   Rhetta Claudette Akamatsu, USA

“An incredible mix of roots styles makes this music so versatile and suitable for music lovers from all over the world“.  Roots Time, Belgium

Harper’s ability to make another culture’s music accessible to a mass audience is analogous to Elvis, The Stones, and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s co-opting Delta Blues guitar, an aid to bringing us all closer together at a time when the world desperately needs just that”,  Don Wilcock, American Blues Magazine USA

“An excellent blues album that speaks to how most of us are feeling these days, addressing those thoughts and hopes and fears and needs we have in common”   Michaels Music Log, USA

https://artsgarage.org/event/harper-and-midwest-kind-award-winning-roots-blues-world-music-from-australia/