Ruf's Blues 2018 Caravan Tour Comes to The Stanhope House

The celebrated Blues Caravan 2018 Tour featuring stellar Ruf Records' guitarists Mike Zito, Ally Venable, and Bernard Allison gets underway in the U.S., with a local performance at The Stanhope House, 45 Main St., Thursday, October 4. Showtime: 9:00pm. Tickets: $20., $25., $30. Info: (973) 347-7777 or visit http://stanhopehousenj.com.

This is no ordinary club tour. This is the Blues Caravan 2018. If you've followed Ruf's rolling review since it began in 2005, you already know that these shows are must-see events, assembling three stellar artists on one bill - then, letting their combined musical chemistry do the rest.

Traditionally, the Blues Caravan lineup has showcased the label's breaking talent - from Ansyley Lister to Samantha Fish - while giving fans a chance to catch the blues titans of tomorrow before they go 'boom'. But in 2018, it's time to mix things up. On this year's Blues Caravan you'll find not only one young gun with a dazzling career ahead of her (Ally Venable), but also two guitar heavyweights (Mike Zito, Bernard Allison) with sky-high reputations.

Ruf's tireless dedication to the Blues means in hunts far beyond borders for it's new signings. The label has struck gold with Lone Star State powerhouse, Ally Venable. She started singing at an early age in church, and in recent years picked up the guitar and found her passion, establishing herself as a Texas Guitar Blues Slinger, all at the very young current age of 19. "Venable pulls off a stunner of gritty and/or sultry blues-rock tunes embellished with lots of tasty guitar solos" - GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE.

Some surnames command instant respect on the Blues scene. As the son of the mighty Luther Allison - the late Chicago blues titan who was Ruf's first signing back in 1994 - Bernard Allison has added to the family legend while carving own his own mythology as a world-class songwriter and performer. For this year's Blues Caravan, he'll be drawing from an acclaimed back catalog that includes his 1997 U.S. debut Keepin' the Blues Alive all the way up to 2018's Let It Go, while slipping between genres as only a guitar master can.

If you're remotely serious about modern blues, it's highly likely you've followed the twists and turn of Mike Zito's fascinating career. The Missouri-born bandleader overcame his early addictions to become one of modern America's sharpest songwriters. Few artists have written with such eloquence as Zito did on 2018's First Class Life album, which in turn earned him "Blues Rock Artist of the Year" this year at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis. In 2012 Zito threw us a curve-ball, lining up alongside Devon Allman and Cyril Neville as a key member of blues 'super-group' Royal Southern Brotherhood - continuing to record with them for two critically-lauded albums.

Ruf Records' Blues Caravan 2018 Tour ~ Itinerary

Oct. 4 (Thur.) THE STANHOPE HOUSE Stanhope, NJ

Oct. 5 (Fri.) BOULTON CENTER/PERFORMING ARTS Bayshore, NY

Oct. 6 (Sat.) NARROW CENTER FOR THE ARTS Fall River, MA

Oct. 7 (Sun.) PENNS PEAK Jim Thorpe, PA

Oct. 10 (Wed.) IRON HORSE Northampton, MA

Oct. 11 (Thur.) BULL RUN Shirley, MA

Oct. 12 (Fri.) INFINITY MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT Norfolk, CT

Oct. 15 (Mon.) THE IRIDIUM New York, NY

Oct. 16 (Tues.) MOONDOG'S Pittsburgh, PA

Oct. 18 (Thur.) FITZGERALD'S NIGHTCLUB Berwyn, IL

Oct. 19 (Fri.) THE OLD ROCK HOUSE St. Louis, MO

Oct. 20 (Sat.) KNUCKLEHEADS SALOON Kansas City, MO

Oct. 21 (Sun.) LEFTY'S Des Moines, IA

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