michael packer: News

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE COUNTRY FOR MAKING BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENT. YOU GAVE ME HOPE!!!!!

MICHAEL PACKER & ED JACKSON ARE HEADED TO MEMPHIS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE IN FEBRUARY 2009!

" EVE OF DESTRUCTION " WHICH WAS A HUGE HIT IN 1965 FOR BARRY McGUIRE. THE SONG WAS A KIND OF MIDDLE OF THE ROAD PROTEST SONG WRITTEN BY STEVE BARI & PF SLOAN. YOU CAN SEE AND HEAR THE ADAPTED VERSION PERFORMED BY THE MICHAEL PACKER BLUES BAND BY GOING TO THE LINKS PAGE AND CLICKING ON YOUTUBE. THE VIDEO IS FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR UPCOMING CD!
" Well it's just a great piece of art and it's new lyrics are exactly what's happening now. You've done a phenomenal piece of work and your vocal interpretation comes from the heart. Thank you" - BARRY McGUIRE

The song 'Jimmy's Blues' from the live @ Lucilles NYC CD featuring Jimmy Vivino on vocals is #1 on the blues top 50 @ Telmore Musik a Danish website.Live @ Lucilles is also #72 on the emusic Texas Blues Charts and The Michael Packer Blues Band is #53 on the Rhapsody Country Blues charts.
Some Free Beer news: The Free Beer song 'Coupe de Ville' by Sandy Allen will be featured in the DVD movie 'Joyride 2 Dead Ahead' to be released October 6th by 20th Century Fox Home Video.

The Michael Packer Anthology was released today by the Iris Music Group produced by Alan Lorber. It contains recordings from the Papa Nebo Atlantic Records years (1969-72) including some Columbia demo sessions with John Hammond Sr., Free Beer Buddah and RCA records (1974-78) the LA sessions (1979) with Van Morrison keyboard player Mark Jordan.Home studio recording Westerly Rhode Island (1991)with Sandy Allen and Bob Potter of Free Beer.Tracks from Bleecker Bowery,Halt' Music Co.(Austin TX (2004) No use running from the blues (2002)and live session @ BB King's NYC 2007. Available @ Amazon,Itunes and Emusic...

The Michael Packer - Sandy Allen Reunion CD is # 43 on the New York Roots Radio Charts with artists such as John Mayer and Billy Joel. The new Michael Packer single " Back in Albany" is also being promoted to radio stations in upstate New York! We will keep you posted....

The blues was alive and well this past weekend @ the Warwick Valley Blues Festival in Warwick N.Y. We had a great time jamming with our friends " Breakaway" an excellent band from Long Island N.Y and we look forward to doing more shows with them. We also had a great night @ the Greenwich Village jazz club, The 55 Bar and let us not forget the 50th Aniversary of Washington Square Park in NYC where we played for over 700 people on the first day of the summer. It was incredible.
In September we will be back @ BB King's in NYC and will also be launching the Muddy Cup tour up the Hudson River starting in Poughkeepsie NY.Check the calendar for a list of venues..

I FIRST MET HIRAM @ SEVENTH AVENUE SOUTH A NOW DEFUNCT JAZZ CLUB OWNED BY THE BRECKER BROTHERS IN THE 80'S. HIRAM BEFRIENDED ME. AT THE TIME I WAS HOMELESS AND HE WOULD PUT ME UP ON HIS COUCH..THE GUITARIST FOR LETTERMAN'S MOST DANGEROUS BAND WAS ALWAYS THERE WITH A HELPING HAND FOR ME. REST IN PEACE, MAN, I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU......MICHAEL PACKER

We did some great shows this past weekend opening for Melvin Taylor,great guy and hell of a guitar player @ Mexicali Blues in New`Jersey on Friday night.Then on Saturday @ the Waterside Plaza in the city but the best gig of the weekend and fair to say one of the all time best gigs was Washington Square Music festival in Greenwich Village.There were hundreds of people cheering us on and we didn't disappoint them.Go to the links page to youtube and check out Bob Dylan's classic All Along The Watchtower.Very appropiate for the 50th anniversary of the Washington Square Music Festival.Thank you to all.

My friend singer-songwriter and story teller Utah Phillips has died.The golden voice of the great southwest as he was known was a total gentleman and a true gift to humanity.The world needs more people like him.He will surely be missed.....

THE LIVE @ LUCILLE'S CD HIT # 41 TODAY ON THE ROOTS MUSIC REPORT BLUES RADIO CHARTS. THE CD HAS BEEN ON THE CHARTS FOR THE LAST 16 WEEKS. THE SONG "CORINNA,CORINNA" FROM THE CD WILL BE AIRED THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE ON THE SYNDICATED BLUES SHOW "BLUES DELUXE" ON OVER 106 RADIO STATIONS ACROSS THE USA AND CANADA.

Coming home after a great gig in Philadelphia (Moon Saloon) Eddie Jackson and Michael Packer survived a severe traffic accident on the Jersey turnpike. Eddie's car was totaled but fortunately no one was hurt. Thank God! So needless to say it was a nice reunion of the band @ the Turning Point this past Saturday. Great crowd, great venue and great to be alive! The show must go on......

The Michael Packer Blues Band Live @ Lucille's NYC CD is now being promoted to radio stations by the highly regarded radio promoter Todd Glazer Promotions.Expect to hear some Michael Packer blues on a radio station near you.

RANDOM CHANCE RECORDS WILL BE PRESENTING A CD RELEASE PARTY ON TUESDAY MARCH 11 @ 8PM @ BB KINGS (LUCILLES) 237 WEST 42ND STREET NYC IN SUPPORT OF THE NEW RELEASE ' BLEECKER-BOWERY ' SPECIAL GUESTS INCLUDE PINETOP PERKINS PIANO PLAYER OF THE YEAR NOMINEE ' DAVID MAXWELL '. THIS A FREE EVENT SO COME OUT AND HAVE SOME FUN.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DID FOR ME. I AM GOING TO MISS YOU.GOD BLESS YOU! REST IN PEACE AND I AM GLAD YOUR FINALLY GOING HOME TO BOSTON....I LOVE YOU......MICHAEL PACKER

LIVE @ LUCILLES NEW YORK CITY IS # 47 ON THE ROOTS MUSIC REPORT BLUES CHARTS. THE CD IS RECEIVING NATIONAL AIRPLAY AND ' CORINNA, CORINNA TRACK #2 FROM THE CD WILL BE FEATURED ON ' BLUES DELUXE ' SYNDICATED BLUES SHOW TO OVER 100 STATIONS ACROSS AMERICA.

THE REISSUE OF THE HIGHLY ACCLAIMED BLEECKER-BOWERY CD (RANDOM CHANCE RECORDS) IS AVAILABLE @ FINE RECORD STORES EVERYWHERE TODAY JAN.22. DISTRIBUTED BY CITY HALL RECORDS IN THE U.S AND CANADA, IT IS ALSO DISTRIBUTED IN 6 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND MEXICO. DIGITALLY DISTRIBUTED WORLDWIDE BY IODA.

WELL 2007 IS GONE BUT WE HAD A GOOD YEAR. LAST NIGHT WE PLAYED @ THE DOCK SIDE PUB IN LAKE MAHOPAC, NY TO A REALLY FUN AND APPRECIATIVE AUDIENCE TO BRING THE NEW YEAR IN. THE CHRISTMAS DAY GIG @ BB KINGS IN NYC WAS A BLAST. IT WAS SO CROWDED WE COULDN'T STOP PLAYING. OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR WAS OUR ANNUAL MINI-TOUR WITH PETE BEST ( THE ORIGINAL BEATLE) AND ' THE SUNNY SIDE OF ME ' RELEASE PARTY ' LAST SUMMER @ BB KINGS WITH DAVID MAXWELL JIMMY VIVINO AND SANDY ALLEN . ALSO THE BLUES FESTIVAL IN WARWICK, NY WAS MOST ENJOYABLE WE LOOK FORWARD TO 2008 WITH THE RELEASES OF BLEECKER-BOWERY ON RANDOM CHANCE RECORDS, LIVE @ LUCILLE'S NYC ON IRIS MUSIC GROUP RECORDS AND THE LIVE @ SWEET RHYTHM ON WOODSTOCK RECORDS. WE ARE ALREADY STARTING THE NEW YEAR ON THE GOOD FOOT. LIVE @ LUCILLES NYC IS #8 ON THE EMUSIC TEXAS BLUES CHARTS ALONG WITH SUCH LEGENDS AS ROBERT JOHNSON AND JOHN LEE HOOKER. WE ARE ALSO GETTING NATIONAL AIRPLAY COAST TO COAST. WE LOOK FORWARD TO AN EXCITING 2008 AND WE WANT TO THANK YOU ALL BECAUSE YOU ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT. WE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! --- MICHAEL PACKER

MICHAEL PACKER BLUES ON YOU TUBE. FROM THE ARCHIVES,FILMED @ CHICAGO BLUES (NYC) IN 1999. GO TO THE LINKS SECTION OF THE WEBSITE AND OPEN YOUTUBE.ENJOY!

THE MICHAEL PACKER BLUES BAND WOULD LIKE TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY, SAFE AND PEACEFUL HOLIDAY. WE WILL BE CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS DAY @ BB KINGS (LUCILLES), 237 WEST 42ND STREET, NYC @ 8PM. GOT THE HOLIDAY BLUES COME DOWN AND WILL FIX THAT FOR YOU. IT'S FREE TO GET IN. PEACE & LOVE!!!