Doña Oxford

Well, this is a treat. US born-and-raised singer/pianist Doña Oxford will be taking a break from touring with the legendary Albert Lee, as part of his Hogan's Heroes backing band, to appear here at the Club with her very own 4-piece group. Born in New York City to a trumpet-playing Episcopal Priest and an ex-cabaret singer mother Doña was destined to become a musician. After studying classical piano through her school years in upstate New York she began singing and acting extensively in both regional and Off-Broadway plays, and at 17 she applied and was accepted to New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied drama. While in college Doña began working as a waitress at the now-defunct Lone Star Café, a legendary New York City meeting ground for the blues and roots music elite, and was soon sitting in at the open-mic nights there. It was at one of those sessions that Doña met Arthur Neilson, a veteran guitarist who had played with everyone from Cyndi Lauper to Otis Rush, forming a band with him called Oxford Blues that was formative in developing her love of "Roots", Soul and Boogie Woogie music that she performs so effectively today. They toured the Northeast regularly, eventually releasing a self-produced CD which garnered impressive reviews. In addition to performing with her own band Doña's reputation as an impressive sideman was rapidly growing, and it wasn't long before she was being asked to work as a singer/pianist with some of the finest musicians around. Her CV these days reads like a who's who of popular music, including work with the likes of Keith Richards, Van Morrison, Buddy Guy, Levon Helm, Lonnie Brooks, Shirley Dixon and her idol, former Chuck Berry sideman and father of rock & roll piano, Johnnie Johnson. Now based in LA, California, as well as extensive touring around her native USA Doña's impressive playing and singing has been heard worldwide, including Canada, Europe and Japan. She has produced five albums under her own name, the most recent of which, “Soul Quest”, was received with considerable critical acclaim. A high-energy performer with a powerful delivery and stunning piano technique Doña imbues every song, from ballad to rip roaring classic, with a unique style and delivery. She is promising to bring to the Club this evening a show that is a mixture of "Roots", R&B, Soul and some of the most remarkable Boogie Woogie piano playing you are ever likely to see! A rare chance to see this terrific performer with her own band that also features James Beck on guitar & vocals, Ellen O'Reilly on bass & vocals and Mikey Ciancio on drums.

" ...Carole King meets The Rolling Stones" Fortune Magazine;
"The next big thing in music" Ewan McGregor;
"If she's not coming near you, you need to move" Joe Bonamassa, "Musician's Cooler"