Award-Winning Blues Guitarist Gabe Stillman Set For Performance At Spire Center

On Friday, Feb. 28th, award-winning national blues artist and Blues Music Award nominee Gabe Stillman and his band will return to the Spire Center for Performing Arts. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m.

Those who have experienced the Gabe Stillman band realize they are a “machine” that runs at full tilt for every performance! While their sound is unmistakably rooted in the blues, the band draws from the deep well of all American roots music, gaining new fans and nurturing existing fans at every stop. Stillman formed his band in 2015, shortly after graduating from Boston's Berklee College of Music. Still, it was the outcome of the 35th International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN, which landed the band in the finals after the week-long elimination process. Stillman walked away as the recipient of the esteemed Gibson Guitar Award, which set his musical career in motion.

The band's most recent release, “Just Say the Word” (Vizztone Label Group), debut charted on Billboard Blues and is still receiving far-reaching acclaim.  The release provided the path for a Blues Music Award nomination in the Best Emerging Artist Album category and charting on Living Blues and Roots Music Radio for several weeks, along with three self-penned singles.  Gabe received multiple Independent Music Award nominations in multiple categories for guitar, creative writing, and performance.  Blues Blast Magazine awarded two nominations, The Sean Costello Rising Star Award and Best Slide Guitar.  

The release holds 15 tracks, but the thirteen originals have given Gabe notice as a serious songwriter honing that unique skill of speaking to his audience through his songs with passion, meaning, and clarity. 

Anson Funderburgh, producer of “Just Say the Word,” came away from the session saying, “Gabe is somebody who has it all.  His songs move me; he has a way with words.  He is an amazing singer, a great songwriter, and a wonderful musician. 

He has an unbelievable knowledge of music. Great musicians are special; they have something different that sets them apart from the others. They are born with it; it just comes easy. Gabe Stillman is one of them.” Gabe's first two releases, “The Grind” and “Flying High” (which features legendary blues band The Nighthawks), are out of print but available via streaming and digital purchasing services.

Gabe's most recent honors include invitations to support ZZ Top, Eric Gales, Blues Traveler, George Thorogood, and more. Also, the Gabe Stillman Band was selected as the Best Blues Band at the 3rd Annual Central PA Music Awards and has been nominated in the category in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. The upcoming year looks to be the most exciting yet, with great shows and festival slots on the horizon. In his free time from his own band, Gabe also has the honor and privilege of playing guitar with the legendary blues band, John Nemeth and The Blue Dreamers.

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