By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Best known for his acting work in the hit American television series, House, Hugh Laurie is also a talented blues musician and he is bringing his live concert tour to Rio de Janeiro’s Citibank Hall tonight, Thursday, March 20th.
The show will be Laurie’s first ever live musical performance in Brazil and he will be joined by the eight-piece Copper Bottom band as he brings the vocals and plays piano and guitar, among other instruments. With two well-received albums under his belt, Laurie is currently touring in support of his most recent release entitled, Didn’t It Rain.
Laurie began playing the piano at age six and has been a fervent fan of blues music for most of his life. His first album, Let Them Talk, was released in 2011 and paid homage to New Orleans blues, a sub-genre of blues developed in the American city in the 1940s and 1950s.
His second album, released on May 6th of last year, had Laurie stay close to the Mississippi River influences as he explored the blues genre further with the revival of songs that included W.C. Handy’s “St Louis. Blues,” Dr. John’s “Wild Honey,” Jelly Roll Morton’s “I Hate A Man Like You” and the title track, “Didn’t It Rain,” which is an American gospel standard.
“I have resolved to forge on, deeper into the forest of American music that has enchanted me since I was a small boy. And the further I go, the more bewitched I become – both by the songs and by the people I have been lucky enough to play them with,” Laurie explained on his website.
After Rio, Laurie will play four additional shows in Brazil: March 21st in Belo Horizonte, March 25th in Curitiba, March 27th in Porto Alegre, and March 29th in São Paulo.
“While many in the audience no doubt came to get a look at the actor who played one of TV’s most iconic roles, one thing is for certain: when they went home, they were talking about the musician who managed to craft a rousing, wickedly entertaining, deeply memorable live show from songs that peaked in popularity from the thirties to the sixties,” Laurie told magazine American Blues Scene last year.
What: Hugh Laurie with the Copper Bottom band
When: Thursday, March 20th, 9:30PM
Where: Citibank Hall, Avenida Ayrton Senna, 3000 – Barra da Tijuca
Entrance: Available on the Tickets for Fun website.
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