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LTD Presents Spotlight Series at The Spar:PIPER & THE HARD TIMES
High-energy, feel good romp through blues rock, funk & soul from Music City - Nashville, TN. 2025 Blues Music Award - Best Emerging Artist Album for Revelation. 2024 International Blues Challenge 1st place winner. Hop on the bus with us!
"…Piper & the Hard Times combine the sensibility and flair of vintage blues bands with the entertainment savvy and edge of modern rockers...one of America's premier new blues groups." (Ron Wynn/Nashville Scene)
Since winning the prestigious International Blues Challenge in January 2024 held in Memphis, Tennessee, the Nashville-based roots rock group, Piper & The Hard Times, has had an unforgettable run. The band assembled a grass-roots team and worked tirelessly to create a name for themselves internationally. On August 16th, 2024 the band released their debut album, “Revelation”, to critical acclaim. The week of August 26, 2024 “Revelation” placed #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart and finished the year on numerous “best of” lists. Their album has played on radio worldwide since being released. On January 10, 2025 the Blues Foundation recognized “Revelation” as the top independent album at the 2025 International Blues Challenge.
On May 8, 2025 the 46th Blues Music Awards was held in Memphis, Tennessee’s Renasant Convention Center and brought the world’s greatest blues artists and musicians together for an evening of celebration and recognition. Piper & The Hard Times was honored as the Best Emerging Artist for their album, Revelation. The band says, "We're honored and humbled to receive this award which was voted on by the international Blues Foundation community. We want to thank everyone who has supported us this past year -- all the DJs who play our music, the promoters who took a chance on us and all the fans who came out to hear us play. We can't thank everyone enough!"
Awards aside, their intense and dynamic music translates into an unforgettable live show in which standing ovations are common. Piper & The Hard Times toured throughout a large part of the United States in 2024, including the WC Handy Fest, Big Blues Bender, Telluride Blues and Brews Fest, and numerous others high profile shows. And 2025 promises to be a continuation of this rapid exposure given the January 2025 signing with booking and management agency Peach Music Group and Blues Pros, LLC.
The core of the band, Al “Piper” Green, Steve “The Conductor” Eagon, and Dave “Sexy Boy” Colella have been playing and writing together for over 20 years while establishing themselves as a premier live act on the roots rock music scene. Joined by Amy “The Professor” Frederick on keyboards and Parker “Funk Stick” Hawkins on bass, Piper & The Hard Times is the true embodiment of a “band.” They read each other’s minds and are able to improvise with flair and a sense of adventure. As one reviewer put it, “This band is unbelievably tight, and is not afraid to take chances which takes the audience on quite the journey!”
As the band’s frontman, Al "Piper" Green's lead vocals and showmanship combine the flamboyance and earthiness of blues with the power and authority of gospel which represent the two biggest influences in his life. He takes the band and audience on a wild journey every show and does his best to turn the room upside down come showtime. Growing up in a musically inclined family in Bolivar, Tennessee, he sang in a gospel choir while also hearing the best of soul, pop and rock on the radio. Green contributes to the band's original songs with lyrics based on personal stories and experience which he sings with authority.
Guitarist Steve Eagon grew up in Northern Ohio and has been playing guitar since his teen years. Unlike Green, Eagon did not grow up in a musical family but was drawn to the guitar because of its “cool factor.” A multitude of artists have served as influences from Muddy Waters' blend of electrified Delta blues to B.B. King's more urban stylings and the dynamic, powerful approaches of Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Stevie Ray Vaughan. As the band's principal composer, his writing style meshes multiple elements into an engaging and captivating personal group sound. That collective firepower is also indicative of the closeness shared by Eagon, Piper, and drummer Dave Colella.
Dave Colella shares arranging duties on the original songs and brings a percussive edge and energy to the group's performances. A drummer since age seven, Colella's prior associations include studies with the great jazz drummer Joe Morello, best known for his years with Dave Brubeck. Colella says that it taught him "how" to play as opposed to "what." His playing also reflects a widespread knowledge and love of multiple idioms, as well as a thorough knowledge of vintage and contemporary blues. With Colella driving the band’s engine, a foundation is created for each band member to add their own flair.
In addition to touring, the Piper & the Hard Times finished recording their second album in March 2025 and they have planned a release for early 2026 with a few singles to be released in the fall of 2025. The band has been delighting audiences across the South for many years. When you hear them, you're getting a lot more than just inspired covers or retooled bar band material. Instead, you're hearing poignant, inspired "from the soul" music from these talented guys who love playing, and they bring that energy and vitality to the bandstand each and every night.
www.piperandthehardtimes.com
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The LTD Presents Spotlight Series at The Spar is sponsored in part by Kat McNeill & Lance Bowman
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LTD Presents - "Bringing World-Class Blues & Jazz to the Pacific Northwest"
www.LTDPresentsLIVE.com
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The Spar Tavern is Old Tacoma's spot for the best burgers and fish n' chips in town! Always community-minded, The Spar has been a popular destination to hear great live music coupled with delicious food, beverage and a view of Commencement Bay that can't be beat!
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Spar, 2121 N 30th St,Tacoma, Washington, United States
