MARK HUMMEL was born in New Haven, CT but moved to Los Angeles as a newborn. Hummel became interested in blues harp & rock-blues music in high school but soon discovered the originators like Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson & Little Walter. Soon after, Hummel frequented the Ash Grove club on Melrose Ave. in LA where he saw three blues legends he would later work with regularly; Charlie Musselwhite, Brownie McGhee (w/Sonny Terry) & James Cotton.
By 1985 Mark Hummel's Blues Survivors hit the road full time & continue till the present (Hummel's memoir, "Big Road Blues: 12 Bars on I-80" recounts many road exploits). Hummel's been featured on over thirty recordings since 1985 including his 2014 Blind Pig Records, Remembering Little Walter (a recording of a Hummel Blues Harp Blowout.) The CD was nominated for a Grammy Award and won two Blues Music Awards. Hummel's most recent release, Harpbreaker (September 2018/Electro-Fi), is an all-instrumental harmonica album that redefines the scope and beauty of what the instrument is capable of in the right hands.
Harmonica giant Little Walter is considered the standard torch bearer by which all others are judged. In Walter’s short life, 1930-1968 he had more top ten hits than any other Chess Records blues artists. Walter’s amplified harmonica sound ignited the Chicago scene for harp in blues in the early fifties with his hit record Juke, a must-learn song for all players then and now.
Grammy-nominated Blues Award-winning harp blower, singer, bandleader, author, producer Mark Hummel, and guitarist Anson Funderburgh have been touring and recording with Jerry McCain, Otis Rush, Elvin Bishop, Sam Myers, Anson and the Rockets, Snooks Eaglin, Jimmy Rogers, Jimmy Vaughn, Snooky Pryor, Kim Wilson, Delbert McClinton, Brownie McGhee, Charlie Musselwhite, Charles Brown, Eddie Taylor, Luther Tucker and many more.
Anson Funderburgh undeniably remains best known in the blues field for his extraordinarily concise lead guitar attack. In addition to anchoring his latest iteration of The Rockets, he’s been touring since 2010 with Bay Area-based harmonica player Mark Hummel as a prime factor in the Golden State-Lone Star Revue. Another frequent musical cohort is New Orleans multi-instrumentalist Eric Lindell; they’ve recorded and toured together regularly, including six appearances at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Funderburgh’s unmistakable style, tone, and sensibility have made him one of contemporary blues music’s most important guitar players. Once a clean-cut up-and-comer on the national blues scene whose crisp, biting guitar licks belied his soft-spoken manner, Anson has developed into a legacy artist, and his influence on countless guitarists is immeasurable.
Drummer Wes Starr has impeccable credentials: Asleep At The Wheel, Delbert McClinton, Marcia Ball, Omar & The Howlers, Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets, Hal Katcham, Jimmy Vaughn, Willie Nelson, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, everyone!!
Pianist Clay Swafford is an Alabama player with a rich history performing with James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis & Dr John in a movie called “ Falsifyn”!
Upright bassist Bill Stuve is a longtime Rod Piazza & Mighty Flyers player for 29 years. Bill has recorded Jimmy Rogers, Little Milton, William Clarke, and many more.
DOORS: 5:30PM SHOWTIME: 7PM
HOUSE RULES:
- The 443 has a $15 per person/seat required minimum purchase for our shows, which can be any combination of food and drink. If your party (or part of it) does not show up, the ticket buyer is responsible for the minimum purchase.
- The 443 is an 18+ venue
- No outside food or drink allowed.
- Please respect the performer on stage - put your phone away and limit conversation during the show.
- Ticket limit: 3 tables for two or 6 single seats
TICKET OPTIONS:
We have 3 tiers of ticket options:
Tier 1 – (YELLOW) – Most expensive tickets. Regular height ables for two and single barstools at the bar.
Tier 2 – (BLUE) – Mid-priced tickets. High and low tables for two with excellent sight lines – particularly the high tables.
Tier 3 – (LAVENDER) – Least expensive tickets. Two low tables for two (15 & 16), plus (potentially shared) high tables for single attendees (25, 26, 27)
Green squares/circles on the floor plan are bar-height tables, orange squares are regular-height tables.
* If anyone in your party needs special seating arrangements - walker, cane, service animal, wheelchair, or low table requirement - please email us after you place your order. *
