Artist Profile: The Kingsnakes

Syracuse, NY blues legends The Kingsnakes are nationally known and respected. The Kingsnakes rank right up there with the best of the blues revival bands of the 1980’s like The Nighthawks & Fabulous Thunderbirds. They were John Lee Hooker’s backing band for four years from 1987 to 1990 on tours of the Eastern half of North America. Highlights of those tours were backing Bonnie Raitt and John Lee at the 1990 Saratoga Bluesfest, as well as headlining the 1990 Chicago Blues Fest backing John Lee Hooker, with Charlie Musselwhite, Willie Dixon, and Buddy Miles joining them on stage in front of 117,000 people. John Lee Hooker endorsed the Kingsnakes 1989 album Trouble on the Run by saying, “I’m proud they named their band after one of my songs, Crawling Kingsnake, and they done it justice!” That album went on to chart at #11 on the international radio charts for Living Blues magazine. The Kingsnakes shared the stage with countless icons of blues music during their ten-year tenure including Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter, Hubert Sumlin, John Hammond, and Duke Robillard as well as countless others.

To learn more about The Kingsnakes, visit them on Facebook.