LAKEPORT, Calif. – Rockin Johnny Burgin, one of the hardest touring and well recognized traditional Chicago blues guitarists and singers today, will perform at the Big Valley Hall on Saturday, Feb. 16.

The show will take place from 7 to 10 p.m.

The cost is $15 at the door.

Since his start in the early 1990s, apprenticing with Chicago blues masters such as Pinetop Perkins, Sam Lay and Taildargger, Burgin has become a leading blues attraction.

He is a Delmark recording artist with eight CDs to his credit. David Mac of Blues Junction called his latest release, "Neoprene Fedora,” “a wide wanging affair that is simply spectacular."

Burgin was nominated for a BMA for Best Traditional Blues CD of 2017 for "Howlin' at Greaseland", a Howlin' Wolf tribute. He also is in demand as a session player and has recorded with many blues greats including Billy Boy Arnold, Taildragger, Paul DeLay, Jimmy Burns, Andre Williams, Eddie Taylor Jr., Jimmy Lee Robinson and others.

Burgin grew up in Starkville, Mississippi, and Greenville, South Carolina, and while he was still in high school, he got to see many touring blues bands such as Guitar Jr, Gatemouth Brown and Eddie Clearwater. He father was an actor and folk musician and taught him guitar.

He went to University of Chicago with the intention of becoming a writer, but a different path unfolded and he fell headfirst into the Chicago blues scene.

After learning from the masters by touring with such artists as Pinetop Perkins and Howlin' Wolf drummer Sam Lay, he put his own band together.

Things started happening fast after The Rockin Johnny Band (with guest vocalist Jimmy Burns) took a Monday night residency at the Smoke Daddy in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Their original, energetic approach made them a strong local draw week after week and year after year. The atmosphere the band generated was so electric that the prestigious local label Delmark Records offered them a contract after hearing just one set.

Since those days, Burgin played the Chicago blues festival many times, toured Europe regularly and has headlined festivals all over the US.

Over the years, he has developed from a precocious blues guitar slinger and local blues hero into a fully fledged singer, harmonica player, a dynamic and engaging bandleader, and a mature, seasoned guitarist.

One look at his tour schedule confirms his status as an in-demand blues performer. He puts on the kind of satisfying and exciting show that only years of touring can develop.

Elmore magazine remarked on Johnny's "commanding vocals and stinging guitar," but Elvin Bishop may have said it best: "his guitar style is raw and rude and real – n the vocal side, a nice original style – he's damn good!"

The Big Valley Hall is located at 1510 Big Valley Road.