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  4. Victor Wainwright

Victor Wainwright

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    Victor Wainwright is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and piano player.

    Victor Lawton Wainwright, Jr. (born February 4, 1981) is an American blues and boogie-woogie singer, songwriter, and pianist. Wainwright was born in Savannah, Georgia. Both his father and grandfather were blues musicians and became Wainwright's early mentors.

    Wainwright's musical style was described by the American Blues Scene magazine in 2013 as "honky-tonk and boogie, with a dose of rolling thunder. Wainwright's playing is simply beautiful madness." Living Blues magazine noted that "Wainwright serves as an electrifying guide to a good time – spinning tales, telling his listeners how to beat the blues, and meticulously conjuring raw soul and energy out of his acoustic piano."

    Wainwright currently tours both nationally and internationally, performing with two bands: Victor Wainwright and the Train, and Southern Hospitality. Wainwright formerly toured as Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots.

    In 2004, Wainwright met Florida native Stephen Dees in Ormond Beach, who was part of Novo Combo in the early 1980s. The meeting led to Dees co-writing and producing Wainwright's debut album, "Piana from Savannah" (2005). In 2008, Wainwright played alongside the Reverend Billy C. Wirtz on Wirtz's live album "Pianist Envy – Group Therapy."

    After the release of "Piana from Savannah", Wainwright and Dees joined forces under the name of Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots. Wainwright and Dees shared vocal duties. In September 2009, they released "Beale Street to the Bayou" on WildRoots Records.

    In June 2011, "Lit Up!" was released, again credited to Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots. The album reached the number one spot on Sirius/XM's B.B. King's Bluesville channel's "Pick To Click," number 2 on the Collectif des Radio Blues Charts, and number 13 on the Living Blues Radio Chart.

    In 2012, Wainwright was nominated for the first time for a Blues Music Award. In July 2015, Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots released "Boom Town" on Blind Pig Records.

    Following an impromptu jam session in July 2011 in Florida, Wainwright teamed up with Damon Fowler, J.P. Soars, Chuck Riley, and Chris Peet to form the band that would eventually become Southern Hospitality. Their first gig was supporting Buddy Guy in August the same year at the Heritage Music Blues Fest in Wheeling, West Virginia. Their debut album, "Easy Livin'," (2013) was produced by Tab Benoit and released by Blind Pig Records. It peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard Top Blues Album chart. In 2014, Wainwright won the 'Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year' award at the Blues Music Awards for the second consecutive year.

    Wainwright teamed up with friend, engineer, and producer Dave Gross in 2017 to form "The Train," to begin work on what would become the 2018 Grammy-nominated self-titled album, "Victor Wainwright and The Train." For touring and recording, Wainwright kept longtime bandmates, Billy Dean, on drums and Terrence Grayson on bass. For guitar, Wainwright added Pat Harrington. He also added the horn players Doug Woolverton and Mark Earley from Roomful of Blues, and Wainwright wrote all 12 original songs. It went on to garner a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album of the Year.

    Victor Wainwright Honors:

    2020: Blues Music Award Winner for Instrumentalist - Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player)
    2018: Grammy Award Nominee (Best Contemporary Blues Album)
    2018: No. 1 Most played contemporary blues album of the year
    2018: No. 2 Most played blues album of the year
    2018: No. 1 Billboard Blues Albums Chart
    2018: Blues Music Award Winner for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year
    2017: Blues Music Award Winner for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year
    2016: Blues Music Award Winner for the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year
    2016: Band of the Year
    2016: Blues Blast Award Winner for Contemporary Album of the Year

    Discography:

    YearTitleRecord label    Billed as
    2005     Piana from Savannah WildRoots Victor Wainwright
    2009 Beale Street to the Bayou WildRoots Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots
    2011 Lit Up! WildRoots Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots   
    2013 Easy Livin' Blind Pig Southern Hospitality
    2015 Boom Town Blind Pig Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots
    2018 Victor Wainwright and the Train     Ruf Victor Wainwright and the Train
    2020 Memphis Loud Ruf Victor Wainwright and the Train

     

    (Victor Wainwright at the 24th annual Pocono's Blues Festival in 2015)

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