Credit: Eric Sassaman
Credit: Eric Sassaman
Joining Rayford and his band on the bill is the Primetime Blues Band featuring Tony Houston, and Chicago blues legend Snapper Mitchum.
The Primetime Blues Band also jams Chicago-style, with one foot in the past and the other in the future of blues music, playing originals and covering obscure blues injected with Primetime’s DNA.
Snapper Mitchum, a Chicago bluesman living in Dayton, has performed with many blues icons, including Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor and Buddy Guy. He also played bass for the late great Junior Wells for over ten years.
Sugaray Rayford has crafted a dynamo sound and catalog that combines classic soul melodies and funky R&B grooves informed by raw blues power and gospel. His impressive output has garnered acclaim from audiences and music institutions alike.
Rayford’s fifth album, “Somebody Save Me” (2019), was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. At the 40th Blues Music Awards, Rayford was named as Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year. He was awarded the same award the following year, as well as B.B. King Entertainer of the Year on top of that.
His 2022 album “In Too Deep” took home the Soul Blues Album of the Year award at the 2023 Blues Music Awards.
But despite the numerous accolades, Rayford has more than shiny trophies on his mind.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to win awards,” Rayford said. “But I get more joy when I go somewhere and play and I see people shakin’ what their momma gave them to my music.”
Eric Corne, a two-time Grammy-nominated producer and founder of Forty Below Records, worked with Rayford on his last three records: “Somebody Save Me,” “In Too Deep” and his latest “Human Decency” which came out in June.
All three of these albums have been poignant platforms for Rayford, acting as personal pushes to combat the in-fighting, biases and isolationism of these tumultuous times with some soulful and righteous blues.
“I’m always about bringing people together,” Rayford said. “We’re just humans. We may not agree, but can we just sit at the same table? That’s what I’m trying to accomplish. And that’s a lofty goal and I may never get there. But as long as I’m breathing I’m trying to push unity as much as I can.”
The titular title track on “Human Decency” presents simple opposites, like wrong or right and rain or shine, as reminders that our similarities are stronger than our differences.”
“Out of the darkness / into the light,” there is no black or white, only hearts and minds. It’s a genuine plea for nothing more than human decency, backed by a tight band and a sweet horn section.
An all-star cast of musicians lent their talents to his latest album, including guitarist Rick Holmstrom and singer Saundra Williams — current members of Mavis Staples’ band — along with bassist Taras Prodaniuk, who has played alongside Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello.
Rayford and his band are only starting to tour on “Human Decency,” but he says the album is already rising on the soul-blues charts. Additionally, the band just signed a nearly three-week deal to tour the United Kingdom.
When asked what keeps the soulful bluesman going after everything he’s achieved so far — the albums, the awards, the honors — Rayford said:
“We don’t have immortality yet, so my version of immortality is the work. I recently realized that all together, I’ve either done or I am on something like 37 albums. I’ve achieved a bit of immortality because I think hopefully, if I’m blessed, 50 or 100 years from now people will know the name Sugaray because there’s gonna be people out there listening to my music. And that alone is enough to keep me rolling.”
Sugaray Rayford is an honest man with a message, and he won’t stop until we all hear it.
Brandon Berry writes “Local Music Scene” for the Dayton Daily News.
How to go
What: Summer Blues Festival with Sugaray Rayford, the Primetime Blues Band (featuring Tony Houston) and Snapper Mitchum
When: Saturday, Aug. 10. Doors at 6 p.m. Showtime at 8 p.m.
Where: The Hidden Gem Music Club, 507 Miamisburg Centerville Road, Dayton
Tickets: hiddengemdayton.com; $20 advance, $25 day of show
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