Jon Shain & FJ Ventre

Jon Shain and FJ Ventre will perform at Music on Malphrus, 110 Malphrus Road, in Bluffton, on Friday, January 5, at 7 pm.  General Admission is $25. Doors open at 6:15 pm.

Durham, NC’s Jon Shain is a veteran singer-songwriter who’s been turning heads for years with his words and his fiery acoustic guitar work, and his evolved musical style – combining improvised piedmont blues with bluegrass, swing, and ragtime. Shain had the good fortune to learn directly from a number of North Carolina’s  older blues players, and became a member of Big Boy Henry’s backing band. He is the 2019 winner of the International Blues Challenge in the solo/duo category.  In addition, Shain was a finalist (along with FJ Ventre) in the 2009 International Blues Challenge, he won both the 2008 and 2018 Triangle Blues Society’s Blues Challenge and was the 2006 winner of NC’s Indy award for Best Folk Act. Shain’s most recent solo disc, Gettin’ Handy with the Blues: A Tribute to the Legacy of WC Handy, was released in January, 2018. Shain’s newest album, Never Found A Way to Tame the Blues, recorded along with long-time collaborator FJ Ventre was released 2021.

FJ Ventre and Jon Shain began playing music together in 1982 when they met in high school. FJ went on to University of Massachusetts-Lowell, earning a B.A. in Music Performance and Sound Recording. He remained in the Boston area, performing in the city’s vibrant music scene. Since relocating to Chapel Hill, NC in 2000, Ventre has performed with his own group The Swang Brothers, as well as most of the Triangle’s roots acts. In addition to performing as a sought-after sideman, he spends his time behind the mixing board, engineering at his own Good Luck Studio. With Jon, they have become sought-after producers in the folk/Americana genre, producing several charting Folk and Blues albums in the last few years. https://jonshain.com/jon-shain-and-fj-ventre/

Scott Woody of Isis Music Hall writes, “Intricate fingerstyle acoustic blues guitar weaving around upright bass lines, alternatively melodic and thumping. Vocal harmonies and story songs. Modern folk-blues at its best.”

For more information call 843-837-3330.