Geva Theatre Center to Present JOURNEY TO THE SON: A CELEBRATION OF SON HOUSE

Geva Theatre Center presents "Journey to the Son: A Celebration of Son House" from August 26 - August 29, 2015. This once-in-a-lifetime, four-day festival weaves together music, theatre, film, audio recordings, storytelling and lectures to celebrate Rochester's adopted son, Eddie "Son" House.

Eddie "Son" House was born in 1902 in the Mississippi River Delta and, as the son of a preacher, was raised to believe that secular music was the work of the devil. In 1927, he was introduced to the slide guitar and was so captivated by this new style that he bought a used guitar and developed his own blues style, a rhythmic drive with emotionally powerful vocals reminiscent of the field hollers of chain gangs. He was twice recorded by Alan Lomax for inclusion in the Library of Congress, and by Paramount Records in 1930. In 1943 he abandoned the music scene and moved to Rochester to find work. In 1964, a trio of music enthusiasts began a cross country search and found Son living in relative obscurity with no guitar in the Corn Hill neighborhood of Rochester. With their encouragement, Son picked up a guitar once again and played his unique style of music. This re-launched the next decade of Son's career as an internationally recognized folk blues artist, performing around the world and recording several albums for Columbia Records. He was a Rochester presence, often playing at local venues and jamming with young musicians. His style influenced an entire generation of musicians including Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Elvis Presley, John Hammond, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger and Jack White among others.

In 1976, Son House moved to Detroit where he died in 1988. In 1980, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of fame. In 2009, he was posthumously given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Detroit Blues Society and in 2013, he was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame.

In December 2013, Geva was selected as the recipient of a prestigious grant from The Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation to create, in collaboration with other artists, organizations and businesses, a multimedia celebration of the life and work of legendary blues musician Son House. "Journey to the Son: A Celebration of Son House" is the culmination of this 18-month project.

Theatre, film, storytelling, lectures, and of course, music (both workshops and performances) make up this 4-day festival celebration. A variety of performers, blues musicians and artists from all over the country will gather in Rochester to salute one of the world's great musicians. The majority of events are free of charge to the public. Most of the events will be held in and around Geva Theatre Center, with hands-on guitar workshops at the Eastman School of Music, outdoor performances in Washington Square Park (weather permitting), and related blues performances at area bars/restaurants.

Geva Theatre Center is pleased to announce that Grammy Award-winner John Hammond, John Mooney and Friends, and pioneer of rap/blues fusion, Chris Thomas King (feature film Oh, Brother Where Art Thou?) will headline the Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights of the festival, respectively.

Another highlight of the celebration will be the dedication of an official Mississippi Blues Trail marker on Friday, August 28 near the site where Son House resided in the Corn Hill Neighborhood of Rochester. This is the first marker of its kind in New York State and will be a lasting legacy from this event that will attract blues lovers from all over the world to Rochester for decades to come.

A limited number of festival passes for the entire four days, guaranteeing seats for all events, will be available for $100 and will go on sale on June 15. For those who do not hold the 4-Day pass and wish to reserve tickets to individual events, all events, with the exception of the unveiling of the Mississippi Blues Trail Marker and "Blues in the Park," will be ticketed and seats may be reserved/purchased in advance beginning July 1. Geva Subscribers may reserve tickets to events and purchase tickets to headliner concerts beginning June 24.

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