Blujazz Promotions -
Jazz | Blues/Roots | Pop | Funk | Soul
Southside Denny
Born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, Southside Denny is a legendary bluesrocker and acoustic fingerstyle player with ten albums to his credit. He began growing his reputation in the early 1980's being often associated with and seen regularly on stage with many of his Chicago musical heroes and influences such as Luther Allison, Sugar Blue, and Pinetop Perkins. Denny performed as opening act for these and many other stellar acts such as Ray Charles, Lonnie Mack, Albert Collins and what resembles a who's who list of Chicago blues acts. He also answered the call to share the stage with many legendary rockers such as John Fogerty, Edgar Winter, BTO and Styxx.
In 1984 he and his band (Southside Denny and the Skintones) scored a regional hit with a protest song called 'Ethanol Stinks'. Before disbanding in 1989 the trio recorded two albums (including one with Sugar Blue on harp) and played blues club circuits throughout several Midwestern states and into the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
In the 1990's Denny was chosen for a regular spot at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago by catching the eye of the owner at a jam night. During that time, club manager (Eric Maxen) referred to Denny's music as being somewhere between Buddy Guy and Johnny Winter. A style concocted of rapid-fire melodic and soulful playing and lots of open tuning slide guitar, his talents of both guitarist and singer are heralded by fans and fellow players alike.
A musician always in search of new inspiration, Denny spent the bulk of his years in his native state of Indiana, and has lived in areas as diverse as Phoenix, Chicago and now since 2007 in Montréal. In 1999 he was chosen as the 2nd recipient of the Ole Harv Award for lifetime promotion of blues music in the Michiana area, and a year later represented his home state of Indiana in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. On arriving in Montréal in 2007 he captured third place at the Montréal Grand Prix du Guitare. In Québec he has performed at the International festival du Jazz du Montréal (Salon de Guitare), and the International Festival du blues de Mont Tremblant, Trois Rivières en Blues, L'October blues, Blues de Farnham, Lachute en Blues and many others.
"Good energy, nice raw guitar…the kind of distortion I like…’" Bruce Iglauer, President of Alligator Records, Chicago
“It is music and musicians like Denny that feed the souls of music lovers around the world." Jukebox Jack Lyles - WWOZ New Orleans
“South Bend native Denny Snyder is a blues guitar sensation now based in Montreal. He packs a wallop!”
" Elkhart Jazz Festival
“The very jazzy “Paging Dr. Cory” proves how versatile this guitarist really is, as he takes melodic runs up and down the fretboard with confidence and ease. ” Nick Washburn - West Michigan Blues Society
Bookings: gregpasenko@blujazz.com www.blujazz.com