Last night at Space in Evanston, I had the honor of performing in a tribute band to honor the talent and memory and to raise funds for the family of my long-time friend and legendary blues piano player, Barrelhouse Chuck, who passed away last month at the age of 58.

The emotional evening included performances by Erwin Helfer, John Primer, Mud Morganfield, Billy Flynn, Bob Stroger, Oscar Wilson, Joe Nosek, Nick and Kate Moss, Gerry Hundt, Little Frank, Dave Specter, Scott Grube,  Jimmy Voegeli, Rick Kreher, Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith on vocals and drums and others.

”One of the first performances I did and got paid for was with Barrelhouse Chuck in about 1993 at a remarkable venue in Libertyville, IL, Since then we’ve played hundreds of gigs and sessions together and I was honored to have Chuck perform on my latest CD. He has also played with and idolized my father, the late Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and has performed all over the world with all of the big names in the business, and was honored with numerous industry awards, including a Grammy in 2010.”