The soul-blues powerhouse Sugaray Rayford is coming to the Triangle for a special Sunday show – and he’s promising a party.
“A lot of musicians, the blues notwithstanding, have forgotten how to entertain people,” he tells Blues Blast magazine. “Think about groups like Earth Wind and Fire. You loved the songs you heard on the radio, but when you went to see them live, they couldn’t just play the song like the record. They needed to kick it up a bit and entertain. Otherwise, it is no different than sitting at home listening to the radio, CD or vinyl. I believe strongly that a lot of that entertainment factor has been lost. The songs mean a lot to me, and so does my performance.”
Rayford gets going at at 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 14, 2024, at the Blue Note Grill in Durham. He arrives with a truckload of accolades.
Rayford’s 2020 album Somebody Save Me was nominated for a Grammy just before he claimed B.B. King Entertainer of the Year honors at the Blues Music Awards. The follow-up, 2022’s In Too Deep, was named Soul Blues Album of the Year at the Blues Music Awards. Rayford’s newest release is titled Human Decency and features guitarist Rick Holmstrom and singer Saundra Williams from Mavis Staples’s band.
Ironically, he almost gave up music for good. “I was a Marine for 10 years and then I was raising my son with my ex-girlfriend and there wasn’t time for music,” Rayford told the Gaston Gazette. “I was a bouncer for a long time at a club in California that played live music and that rekindled me. I would go across the street and sit in with a blues band across the street. Now I can’t imagine living my life without my son, my wife and my music.”
The title track from Human Decency has already become a Top 10 hit on the blues chart. As for his new album’s name, Rayford has said: “Human decency is something we were taught by our parents and grandparents, but it seems to have been forgotten in the last few generations. I thought it was time to talk about it and put it back on the table, just like manners used to be a common thing. I’m trying to bring it back.”
Tickets for the local Sugaray Rayford show are $25 seated and $20 standing. Call the Blue Note Grill at (919) 401-1979 for more information.