The James Montgomery Blues Band!

During his junior year at Boston University, JAMES MONTGOMERY was hired by the Colwell-Winfield Blues Band to play harmonica and tour with Janis Joplin. By the time he graduated from college his band was on the cover of the , heralded along with J. Geils and Aerosmith as the city's great contributions to the music world. Though he said "he loved the academic life, when offered a $15,000 job at Boston University, Montgomery instead took a $250,000 offer to record and tour with the Allman Brothers, and never looked back".

In 1970, Montgomery formed The James Montgomery Band. His harmonica playing, singing and energetic stage show led to his band gaining a reputation as one of the hottest bands on the New England music scene. Montgomery was signed by Capricorn Records to a multi-album deal, and released his first album titled First Time Out (1973). The original LP recordings were remastered and released as an Audio CD in October 20, 1998, by Capricorn / Umgd. Track 9 off his first album titled "Train" was a fan favorite and became the number one song on WBCN (FM). They played it every day at noon-time for over a year. In 2011, Montgomery used "Train" as part of his encore at shows.

Montgomery has toured with many artists, including Aerosmith, The J. Geils Band, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, The Allman Brothers, The Steve Miller Band, The Johnny Winter Band, The Blues Brothers with (Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) and others.

Montgomery has performed on stage with musicians including B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Bonnie Raitt, Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford, Charlie Daniels, Gregg Allman, LaVern Baker, Patti LaBelle, Jonathan Edwards, Jerome Geils, Peter Wolf, Magic Dick, Danny Klein, Huey Lewis, Kim Wilson, Elliot Easton, Johnny A., Rick Derringer, Ricky Byrd, Rob Kogut, Barry Goudreau, Fran Sheehan, Sib Hashian, Chad Smith, Billy Squier, Michael Carabello, Jon Butcher, Bruce Marshall, Dennis "Fly" Amero, Duke Robillard, Jon Pousette-Dart, Kate Taylor, Christine Ohlman, Mike Finnigan, Grace Kelly, The Uptown Horns, James Brown, The Rolling Stones, and Joe Cocker.

Montgomery recalls the night he played with Muddy Waters at Paul's Mall in Boston, Massachusetts. "I couldn't believe it. Here I was on stage with Muddy Waters," Montgomery recalls with a smile. "It was such a great feeling".

He had his own syndicated radio show for five years called Backstage With the Blues on multiple radio stations. The show combined blues music along with the stories behind the music, told by the musicians themselves. Some of his special guests were John Lee Hooker, James Cotton, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Koko Taylor, Ruth Brown, Otis Clay, Son Seals, Duke Robillard, Rod Piazza, and many more.

James brings his four-piece group to The River Room for an unforgettable night of Blues and stories!

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