Singer

Guitarist

American blues harmonica player and bandleader who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the Chicago Blues movement of the 1960s, Musselwhite has often been called a “white bluesman.” He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010. At the 40th Blues Music Awards ceremony in 2019, Musselwhite’s joint composition with Ben Harper, “No Mercy In This Land,” was named as Song of the Year. In 2023, he won another Blues Music Award, Acoustic Album of the Year, for his LP, “Mississippi Son.” Don’t miss hearing this legend in our own backyard!

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Charlie Musselwhite

Mendocino Music Festival

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Elvin Bishop has been performing his rollicking brand of front porch blues for over 50 years. Grammy-winner and Blues Music Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Musselwhite is one of music’s most important active blues musicians. Together, they’ll share the stage for a stripped-down set of American roots music—a journey through rock, blues, and folk from two of music’s most engaging band leaders.

Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite

Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo

Two generations of electric blues luminaries share this soul-drenched double bill, Blues Hall of Famer Charlie Musselwhite and the bracingly charismatic singer and songwriter Eli “Paperboy” Reed. 

ABOUT CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE
Rising to prominence as part of the explosive blues scene of the early 1960s, Mississippi-born harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite paid his dues on Chicago’s storied South Side, working the clubs with the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Big Joe Williams and John Lee Hooker. His 1966 Vanguard Records debut, Stand Back!, was a critical and commercial triumph that helped bridge the gap between Chicago blues and rock and roll, establishing him as a major musical figure. Now a treasured part of the Bay Area music community, the GRAMMY winner has worked with artists ranging from Tom Waits and Eddie Vedder to Gov’t Mule and the KODO drummers of Japan.

Eli “Paperboy” Reed / Charlie Musselwhite

SFJAZZ Center

Two living icons of the blues, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Elvin Bishop and Blues Hall of Famer Charlie Musselwhite, team up for this exclusive double bill.

Known for his muscular guitar style and weathered, evocative voice, Elvin Bishop was a founding member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and was inducted into the Rock and Hall Hall of Fame in 2015 as a member of the pioneering band. He blazed a trail as a solo artist, leading hit own Elvin Bishop Group and sharing the stage and studio with the likes of the Grateful Dead, Al Kooper, B.B. King, the Allman Brothers, John Lee Hooker, George Thorogood, and Clifton Chenier. Bishop achieved pop stardom when his 1976 single “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2016.

War Memorial and Performing Arts Center

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Elvin Bishop has been performing his rollicking brand of front porch blues for over 50 years (his first professional gig was as guitarist for Junior Wells’ band in 1962). Grammy Award-winner and Blues Music Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Musselwhite is one of music’s most important active blues musicians. Together, they’ll share the stage for a stripped-down set of American roots music – a journey through rock, blues, and folk from two of music’s most engaging band leaders.

Singer, Guitarist

Charlie Musselwhite

Events

Past events

Jul 24, 2025

Charlie Musselwhite · Mendocino Music Festival

May 23, 2025

Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite · Cal Poly Arts

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