FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 21, 2016

Stephen Stills, Kenney Wayne Shepherd & Barry Goldberg: THE RIDES
Friday, May 13 at 8pm at UPAC in Kingston

Stephen Stills calls THE RIDES "the blues band of my dreams!"

(Kingston, NY) Bardavon and Radio Woodstock WDST present at the Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC) in Kingston: Stephen Stills, Kenney Wayne Shepherd, Barry Goldberg: THE RIDES on Friday, May 13 at 8pm.

Breaking more fresh new blues-rock ground than ever on their raucous and soulful new album Pierced Arrow, The Rides are letting their growing legion of fans know they’re in this for the long haul. Their ongoing freewheeling journey is all there in the name. When they came up with that clever moniker for what Stephen Stills calls “the blues band of my dreams,” the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, five time Grammy nominated guitar great Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Chicago rock/blues keyboardist Barry Goldberg knew it was more than just a one time, multi-generational fusion of legendary musical souls. They envisioned – and have since set out upon – a dynamic, wide open road ahead.

The trio laid the simmering groundwork for all this by calling their debut album Can’t Get Enough – because once they started writing, recording and jamming together, they couldn’t. Just before its release, Stills said, “As good as I think The RIDES are now, we can’t wait to get some live gigs under our belt.” Goldberg echoed, “As proud as we are of the album, fans are going to see something even more exciting from us when we start playing these songs live.” And they did. Those few wild months of touring the U.S. – combined with hitting the Top 40 on the Billboard 200, and a nomination for Best Rock Blues Album at the 2014 Blues Music Awards – sealed the deal. They were in it for the long haul.

From NYC to Austin, rockin’ L.A. and many other cities, their high-energy performances transcended individual star power to create a deep and rejuvenating chemistry, which in turn inspired them to reconvene not long after the tour was over to start work on songs that would collectively become Pierced Arrow. Onstage and in the studio, the groundwork for the trio’s multi-dimensional creativity is laid by the explosive rhythm section bassist Kevin McCormick (a co-producer on Pierced Arrow) and Shepherd’s long time drummer Chris Layton, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee himself, as a member of the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble.

Stills, who penned the era defining “For What It’s Worth” with Buffalo Springfield before cementing his legend with Crosby, Stills & Nash, sums it up crisply: “We had so much fun playing on stage, we had to do it more. Lots of freedom. Kenny and I found a wonderfully exciting knack for playing lead at the same time without a real ‘arrangement,’ just sort of instinctive guessing, from watching each other’s hands. Neil Young and I used to do this with Buffalo Springfield. And the grooves are always right on the money, never rushed or jittery.”

Shepherd, whose two decades of accolades include two Billboard Music Awards, two Orville H. Gibson Awards, the Blues Foundation’s Keeping The Blues Alive Awards, two Blues Music Awards, six #1 blues albums and a recent tour with Van Halen, adds, “It’s a pretty impressive group of musicians having a genuinely good time making raw, heartfelt music together. There are no egos. We’re just in it for the music and we’re having a ball. Because we’re a new band and there’s not this major history or big catalog to live up to, we can just go out and play and see where the moment takes us. For me, it’s a liberating dynamic that’s different from my live solo band because I’m sharing the vocals and guitar playing with Stephen. I love being part of a unit where everyone weighs in with thoughts and opinions.”

A formidable blues/rock force in his own right, Goldberg earned a Grammy nomination for producing and playing on Percy Sledge’s Blue Night and has had his songs recorded by Rod Stewart, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Joe Cocker, Steve Miller and Gram Parsons. Before the Rides, he toured with the Chicago Blues Reunion Band. As a teenager growing up in Chicago, he sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush and Howlin’ Wolf. He’s played with the greats – Hendrix, Duane Allman, Mike Bloomfield – but was in complete awe of the guitar interaction between Shepherd and Stills.

Perfectly summarizing the RIDES continuing journey and what the making of the new album has meant to the trio, Goldberg says, “It’s so great to be back recording and playing live on this high level again with Stephen and Kenny Wayne, and we’re really excited about the music on Pierced Arrow. Adding to that eloquence, Stills has just one thing to ask: “Can we PLEASE get this new stuff in front of a live audience soon?” They may not be driving a Pierce-Arrow, but no doubt they’ll be out there.

Tickets for Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd & Barry Goldberg: THE RIDES are: $64-$94 based on location and may be purchased at: at the UPAC Box Office, 601 Broadway Kingston, 845.339.6088 or Bardavon Box Office, 35 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, 845.473.2072 or online at Ticketmaster: 800.745.3000. Please note that Bardavon Member benefits are not available through Ticketmaster

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