The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents a twin bill pairing Marquise Knox and Seth Walker for a double dose of deep blues, roots, and rhythm.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Marquise Knox hails from a musical family deeply rooted in the Blues. He learned to play guitar from his grandmother Lillie, and also played with his uncle Clifford, who was a major influence in Marquise’s life. For Marquise, Blues is his heritage and a way of life. He spent his early teenage years in St. Louis mentoring under the late great Blues legend, NEA Heritage Fellowship recipient, and Grammy Award winner Henry James Townsend. Marquise’s talents have earned him performing rights with some of America’s most notable blues performers, including blues legends B.B. King, Pinetop Perkins, and David “Honeyboy” Edwards (the latter two also NEA Heritage Fellows). He has performed at dozens of festivals, and toured throughout Europe.

During a visit to Clarksdale, Mississippi, Marquise was introduced to Sam Lay. Like many other statesmen of the Blues, Sam took an immediate liking to Marquise, and took it upon himself to help boost Marquise’s career by insisting that Chad Kassem book him on the celebrated Blues series “Bluesmasters at the Crossroads,” which over the years has showcased a virtual Who’s-Who of the Blues at Blue Heaven Studios in Salina, Kansas. Marquise was a crowd favorite, and was adopted by all of the elders of the Blues in attendance that year. His evident talent, along with his deep knowledge of the Blues and vast respect for his elders, made it clear that Marquise had something special, and Kassem signed him to a three-album deal.

Knox’s debut album MANCHILD was nominated for a Blues Music Award for Best New Artist Debut. The album was recorded when he was 16, with world-renowned guitarist Michael Burks and his band. The release received worldwide acclaim, receiving a Living Blues’ Best Debut Artist Award and a Blues Music Award nomination for Best Debut Artist. Marquise subsequently recorded a direct-to-disc album while in town for the next year’s Crossroads. His second album, Here I Am, was once again recorded at the legendary Blue Heaven Studios in Salina, Kansas. It features Marquise and his band, with a little help from Wayne Sharp of Michael Burk’s band sitting in on B-3 and piano. The tracks include nine originals and three reverent covers of Marquise’s favorite Muddy Waters tunes.

Over the last decade, Seth Walker has become recognized as one of the most revered Americana artists in the United States; a three dimensional talent who combines a gift for melody and lyric alongside a rich, Gospel-drenched, Southern-inflected voice with a true blue knack for getting around on the guitar.

In 2022, Walker will release, ‘I Hope I Know,’ his eleventh studio album. Produced by Jano Rix of The Wood Brothers, the collection is a beacon of light, written and recorded during the dark times of the pandemic. Each song burns bright with what fans have come to love about Walker: stylistically diverse influences, pure soul in his delivery, contemplative lyrics, and musical movement both geographic and spiritual.

Currently residing in Asheville after stints living in Nashville, New Orleans and Austin, Walker has used those experiences wisely, soaking up the sounds and absorbing the musical lineage of these varied places. With a bluesman’s respect for roots and tradition, coupled with an appreciation for—and successful melding of—contemporary songwriting, Seth sublimely incorporates a range of styles with warmth and grace.

All Music declares, "Walker is deft and elegant, weaving together sounds and stories in a way that has a quiet, lasting impact,” but perhaps Country Standard Time said it best: “If you subscribe to the Big Tent theory of Americana, then Seth Walker –with his blend of blues, gospel, pop, R&B, rock, and a dash country—just might be your poster boy.”

The Bandwagon Summer Series is a family-friendly outdoor cultural performance series running from early May through mid-October, at venues throughout Windham County.