Vince Esquire and Aloha Growers present the 1st Annual
"Vince Esquire Rock + Blues Festival"
Featuring: Texas Bluesman Chris Duarte - The Vince Esquire Band - The Danyel Alana Trio - Justin Morris + Mat Del Olmo - Kanoa Kukaua Band
Doors Open at 4:30 and show starts at 5:30. limited seating available on first come basis.
Chris Duarte emerged on the scene out of Austin, Texas in the early 90’s and gained notoriety after wowing a packed room of industry insiders at the South X Southwest convention. In the wake of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s passing, Duarte quickly gained a National reputation as young man imbued with a playing style comparable at times to the late guitarist. After fielding interest from a number of labels, Duarte signed to Silvertone Records and his debut album “Texas Sugar/Strat Magik” reportedly sold in excess of 100,000 units in the United States, no small feat for a blues/rock guitarist. This coupled with Duarte’s strong commitment to touring, was the impetus for Chris’ winning the “Best New Talent” in Guitar Player’s 1995 Reader’s Poll. He also finished fourth in the magazine’s “Best Blues Guitarist” category that year behind legends Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and B.B. King.
Hailing from Wailuku, Maui, Vince Esquire is an explosive and versatile guitar and ukulele virtuoso, with a sound and energy all his own. Vince is the vocalist and lead guitarist with his band, “The Vince Esquire Band” and plays lead ukulele for Maui ukulele jam band, “Kanekoa”.
The Vince Esquire Band has been amazing fans for close to two decades now. Quite possibly Hawaii’s most explosive Rock - Blues - Funk band. Catching the ear of some of the great blues players, Vince and his band have toured with the Gregg Allman Band, the Derek Trucks Band, Little Feat and have even opened for Aerosmith. A highlight in Vince’s career was being personally invited by Gregg Allman to join the Allman Brothers Band on stage in New York at one of their famous Beacon Theater shows.
Vince handles all the guitars and lead vocals and is joined by long time musical partner Josh Greenbaum on drums. Josh is one of Hawaii’s most respected drummers and his resume reads similar to Vince’s as he has played with a who’s who of greats such as John Fruciante & Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), T-Bone Burnett, Jerry Scheff (Elvis Costello & Elvis Presley) and was the runner up to become Lenny Kravitz’s drummer. The latest members to this band are Jason Ganis on Bass, who compliments these guys with his solid tight grooves, and Hammond B3 player Matt Novotney, who brings some funky textures that compliment Vince’s leads. “This is the best band I’ve ever played with”, says Vince of his new configuration, and “Having the B-3 in the band really opens up a lot of musical possibilities.”
