The Blues Beatles with Roots Redemption

Blues Beatles is a Blues band that mixes the melodies of the Beatles with traditional Blues arrangements, a mix that has been winning in Brazil (their home country), the USA and Europe. And they always become an instant sensation everywhere they go and play worldwide. The Blues Beatles is now that band that you need to know!

Simply put, this is not just another Beatles cover band. This is a world-renowned band that performs Beatles songs, but in a Blues style and performed with excellent musicianship and showmanship.

It took one band member’s love of The Beatles and the rest of the band’s love of the Blues to formulate one of the most entertaining Blues bands in the world today. Their sound is intimately appeasing but at the same time powerful and infectious. Often world-traveled, they have a clear direction and understand where it all originated, how the project was developed and why they are relevant andunique. This eccentric outfit has soaked up the musical ingredients of days long gone and has given it all the spice of today. Their magical musical gumbo can only be achieved when a band is so in tune with each other that the back-and-forth interaction and instrumentation becomes a transcendent musical conversation that is forever engaging.

Blues Beatles started during the breaks of the rehearsals of Today – an original band that Marcos Viana, Flavio Naves, Lancaster Ferreira, Bruno Falcão and Fred Barley started in 2010. Marcos, the singer, would invariably pick up his acoustic guitar and start playing Beatles songs. The other members of the band were amazed at how natural the songs sounded, as if he had written them himself. The reason for this was that Marcos really identified with the songs and never imitated John or Paul. He simply sang with his own voice and from his heart. Being Blues players, the rest of the band started adding their Blues twist to these “break songs”. One day Lancaster said: “why don’t we mix these two things we love to play? We could call this Blues Beatles!” Everyone loved the idea and together they started the Blues Beatles in 2013. The rest is history.

The band has worked and reworked many different songs since it was formed, but only the ones that sound natural to their ears stay in the repertoire. Most of the vocal melodies are kept in their original form, but interpreted with Marcos Viana’s unique voice, in an unpretentious and heart-felt way.  The arrangements combine Blues and soul grooves that suit the vocals of the songs while adding a different feel to them. Instrumental solos and improvisation, typical elements of the Blues, are an integral part of the Blues Beatles style. Their fiery live performances showcase their individual and collective skills as soloists.

Root Redemption is a roots-based Blues band that plays Delta and Chicago Blues along with original material that stands easily alongside the standards. Root Redemption’s lineup is Alan Yeatter (vocals, guitar), Gus Olmos (harmonica), Mark Armbrecht (bass), and Rick Wagner (drums). All band members have represented the North Central Florida region in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.