Legenday artist to perform at new downtown venue

Legendary artist B.B. King, the King of the Blues, comes to the Reno Ballroom on June 28 at 8 p.m. Whenever King carries his venerable guitar Lucille onto any stage, the performance becomes an instant classic and his upcoming show will not disappoint.

Tickets
• On sale April 3 at 10 a.m.

• $80, $70, $60.

888-288-1833

downtownreno.com ticketmaster.com

• Circus Circus
Main Cashier’s Cage
500 N. Sierra St.

• Eldorado
Showroom Box Office
345 N. Virginia St.

• Silver Legacy
Box Office
407 N. Virginia St.

Ticket prices are $80, $70, $60.

About King's legendary career
It’s estimated that King has performed more than 10,000 shows in a career spanning nearly 60 years. King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, becoming one of the first artists so honored. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked him third among the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

The year 2006 was a banner one for King: he was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest honor awarded to a civilian; his 1964 album Live at The Regal was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and he won his 14th Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album for B.B. King & Friends: 80, which celebrated his 80th birthday the previous year. King has won eight previous Grammy Awards in that category, along with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The Thrill is Gone is also in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

For more than half a century, King has reigned as the “King of the Blues” and shows no signs of slowing down. Since he started recording in the 1940’s, he has released more than 50 albums, many of them classics. Even after more than five decades defining the blues for an international audience, King is still light on his feet, singing and playing the Blues with tireless passion. Time has no apparent effect on King, other than to make him even more popular and more cherished than ever before. King isn’t looking to retire anytime soon – he’s still on the road, playing for people, showing up in a variety of TV commercials or laying down tracks for his next album.

King’s first break came in 1948 when he performed on Sonny Boy Williamson’s radio program on KWEM out of West Memphis. This led to a steady stream of engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis, and later to a 10-minute spot on Memphis radio station WDIA. “King’s Spot” became so popular, it was expanded and became the “Sepia Swing Club”. King, born Riley B. King, realized he needed a catchier stage name. He was often called Beale Street Blues Boy, which was shortened to Blues Boy King, and eventually became B.B. King.

Over the years, King has developed one of the world’s most identifiable guitar styles. He cites Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others as his influences for shaping his sound and technique of integrating his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left-hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarist’s vocabulary. That style has become a model for thousands of players, including legendary artists such as Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Jeff Beck.

King continues to tour extensively, averaging more than 250 concerts a year around the world. Concert staples include classics and fan favorites alike, such as “Payin’ the Cost to Be the Boss”, “The Thrill is Gone”, “How Blue Can You Get”, Everyday I Have the Blues” and “Why I Sing the Blues”.