The historic Jane Pickens Film and Events Center is hosting a special concert this Friday, May 24, a benefit show for two local causes with headliner and hometown hero James Montgomery. The concert benefits Newport’s Broadway Streer Fair as well as Operation Stand Down RI, an organization dedicated to supporting local veterans.
The singer/harmonica player is widely known for his original work in the James Montgomery Blues Band and his 50+ year career playing with rock legends, including Bruce Springsteen, Janis Joplin, J. Geils, and The Allman Brothers, whom he toured with in the 1970s.
We caught up with Montgomery earlier this week and learned more about his charitable work. Among other things, he has been working to support veterans for over 50 years.
“I started working with veterans in 1972; I was playing a show at the Orpheum in Boston, and a Vietnam vet came and asked me if I would consider working with Vietnam vets,” he explained. “I said, well, I don’t know. He said, well, ‘follow me.’ We went down to Tremont Street, by the time we got to Boylston Street, there were at least 12 of them sitting on the street with paper cups. It was pretty moving. That’s how I started.”
Montgomery noted that at the time, it was quite unfashionable to offer support to soldiers returning from the unpopular war. “I was just trying to support the people who were living on the street,” he said. “Veterans have always been important for me to work with. Operation Stand Down really rolls up their sleeve and helps people out with the day-to-day stuff.”
Montgomery is excited about doing some hometown shows. “My band, we really like to get the audience involved in every show. We put on a high-energy show – every band I’ve ever put together, I’ve modeled after the Paul Butterfield Band or the James Cotton Band, high-energy bands with extended solos. If that’s your format, it’s pretty easy for the audience to get involved,” he said.
“We’re really excited to be back to full-time touring. We’ve got David Hull, of Joe Perry’s band, who has played substitute bass with Aerosmith on four tours, Marty Richards, one of the best drummers around, and George McCann, who played with the Blues Brothers. My band is in tremendous shape; we’re playing the best we’ve ever played,” he said. The band will also be backed by the Uptown Horns, who have recorded with everyone from James Brown, the B-52’s and Joan Jett and have toured with the J. Geils Band and The Rolling Stones.
“We did a holiday show there with a similar lineup, when you combine everybody on the stage, we’ve probably played like 50,000 performances. All of us came off the stage and said it was one of the best shows we’ve ever been a part of. We hope to duplicate that. We’re looking forward to getting in there and doing it again,” he added.
In addition to performing regularly, Montgomery recently co-produced a documentary about noted blues great James Cotton, Bonnie Blue: James Cotton’s Life in the Blues. The film evolved from a partnership with the Woods Hole Film Festival, who Montgomery worked with to set up the Real Blues Fest, which provided free health care to New England blues musicians.
“We were one of the five finalists for the Library of Congress Ken Burns Prize for Film, which is a pretty big award. We’ve shown it all over the world, including Tel Aviv, London, and Romania.” Montgomery expects the film to be released on a streaming service soon. “We’re getting it to a distributor,” he noted. “It’s gotten unbelievable critical reviews, and we do a live performance when we show it,” he added.
Arrive early for opener Dopey Lopes and the Up All Night Band. Click here for tickets.
More Details: Tickets are $40 with a limited offering of VIP Meet & Greet packages with Reserved Front Seating for $70.
For VIP Meet & Greet Tickets please click 5:45 ticketing link, For General Admission Tickets please click 7:30 ticketing link. VIP Doors Open @ 5:45, General Admission Doors Open @ 6:30, Concert Starts @ 7:30.