It's Texas Blues, by way of Ohio. Ohio?!? Not exactly the first place you think of when you hear the Blues, but for Hadden Sayers, the Buckeye State was his salvation.

Sayers' tribulations weren't the results of drink or drugs, bad relationships, or any of the rest. Sometimes, shit just happens. In 2004, Sayers was a successful musician in Houston. He had a powerful agent and record label executives jostled for space at his gigs. His calendar was full of shows and his albums got attention.

The record labels disappeared in a haze of bad business deals, excuses, and rip-offs. One company locked the doors and disappeared a day after the ceremonial handshake. Another outfit guaranteed success, as long as they could keep one hundred percent of the profits. Sayers plowed on. He released his own records independently and lugged a battered ’57 Strat all over the world as he performed 200 shows annually. Band members rotated in and out.

Sayers moved to central Ohio when his scientist wife got the opportunity to work with a world-renowned cancer researcher. He tried to make a go with family members and northeast pros, but the gigs dried up and he took to rebuilding an old fishing shack with a retired stonemason that oddly enough after two years, inspired the musician to do what he does best.

It also helped that Grammy-nominated singer/guitarist Ruthie Foster called looking for a guitarist. Sayers and Foster shared a love of the Brazos Valley brand of Texas music, blending blues, Tejano, country, soul, gospel and reggae. What came was the critically acclaimed "Hard Dollar" CD in 2011 with the Sayers/Foster duet on "Back To The Blues".

On February 26th, the Hadden Sayers Band will release "Rolling Soul", a CD we'll get a preview of this Saturday night at the Sioux Falls Orpheum Theatre. part of Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society's concert series. You can find out more and order your tickets through this link.

Sayers and the band will be my in studio guests this Saturday afternoon at 4:30 before heading to the Orpheum for the show.

I got a chance to meet Hadden a couple summer's ago when they came through Sioux Falls to play at the Sioux Empire Fair. It's still one of my favorite live performances that we've been fortunate enough to have. You can check it all out below. Come on out to the Orpheum this Saturday night for an evening of storytelling and great music.

~Crash

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