Upcoming Shows!

2026-2027 Tour Dates

NOVEMBER

November 3: The Vogel, Red Bank, NJ - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

November 4: The Kate, Old Saybrook, CT - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

November 5: Squire Center, Plymouth, MA - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

November 7: TBA, Frankfort, KY - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

November 8: City Winery, Nashville, TN - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

November 13: The Token Lounge, Detroit, MI - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

November 14: The Thrasher Opera House, Greenlake, WI - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

November 15: Arcade Theater, St. Charles, IL - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

DECEMBER

December 4: Empress Theater, Vallejo, CA - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

December 6: Club Fox, Redwood City, CA - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

December 11: Biscuits & Blues, San Francisco, CA - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

December 17: Mystic Theater, Petaluma, CA - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

December 18: Uptown Theatre, Napa, CA - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

December 19: Golden State Theatre, Monterey, CA - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

2027 Tour Dates

JANUARY

January 15: Triple Door, Seattle, WA - Elvin Bishop

January 16: Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR - Elvin Bishop

FEBRUARY

February 18: The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

February 19: The Canyon, Agoura Hills, CA - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

February 20: World Records, Bakersfield, CA - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

February 21: Performing Arts Center, Redondo Beach, CA - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

MARCH TBA

APRIL

April 2: Knight Concert Hall, Miami, FL - Elvin Bishop + Charlie Musselwhite featuring Bob Welsh

April 9: Lyric Theatre, Stuart, FL - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

April 22: Yoshi's, Oakland, CA  - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

April 23: Center for the Arts, Grass Valley, CA  - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

April 24: Arena Theater, Point Arena, CA  - Elvin Bishop & His Raisin' Hell Revue

MAY

May 13: Chiari Music Festival, Italy - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

May 15: London Union Chapel, London, UK - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

May 16: London Union Chapel, London, UK - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

May 17: Trinity Centre, Bristol, UK - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

May 18: The Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne, UK - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

May 20: Metronome, Nottingham, UK - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

May 21: Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, UK - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

May 22: Band on the Wall, Manchester, UK - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

May 23: The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Aki Kumar + Bob Welsh blues piano tribute

 

2025 Grammy Nominations

The Fabulous Thunderbirds are proud to announce that Struck Down is nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album and the song "Nothing In Rambling," featuring Bonnie Raitt, Keb' Mo', Taj Mahal, & Mick Fleetwood, is nominated for Best American Roots Performance!

Stay tuned for the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards show on February 2, 2025!

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

L to R: Steve Kirsty (bass), Johnny Moeller (guitar), Kim Wilson (lead vocals, harmonica), Bob Welsh  (piano / guitar), Rudy Albin (drums)

Blues Blast Magazine Featured Interview

 

Cover photo © 2023 Bob Hakins

It was a privilege talking to Mark Thompson, who interviewed me for this issue of Blues Blast Magazine.  I hope you enjoy it!

"I am lucky to be playing with Elvin, and with Kim Wilson, who is a force of nature on stage.  I am playing on all cylinders with him.  He shoots from the hip.  There is no set list.  He just calls out a tune, maybe a slow blues in the key of G, and he starts playing.  So we are doing a slow blues, and you don't have time to think about sounding like B.B. King or Robert Lockwood Jr.  You just have to play and make it work right off the cuff.  Half way through, you realize you are doing a B.B. King tune, but playing it like Buddy Guy.  It is too late to go back, so you have to finish it out.  You just have to play, and consequently you sound like yourself."

2022 Grammy nominations

I am honored to have played on two of this year's Grammy nominated albums.    

Best Traditional Blues Album

• 100 Years Of Blues — Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite 
• Traveler's Blues — Blues Traveler
• I Be Trying — Cedric Burnside 
• Be Ready When I Call You — Guy Davis
• Take Me Back — Kim Wilson

2021 Blues Music Award winners

I'm proud to have played on 100 Years of Blues with Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite.  

At the 2021 Blues Music Awards the album won in both the Traditional Blues Album category and Album of the Year!

From American Blues Scene:

This entire 12-track release is just two good-old-blues-boys sitting together and jamming. It’s absolutely brilliant. Most of the songs on 100 Years of Blues were written by either Bishop or Musselwhite, and they teamed up to write the title track. Along the way they also pay homage to Roosevelt Sykes with “West Helena Blues,” an appropriate song given the amount of times each artist has played at the King Biscuit Blues Festival. The duo also cover Leroy Carr’s “Midnight Hour Blues,” and Willie Dixon’s “Help Me.”

The album was produced, recorded, mixed, mastered, chopped, scattered, and smothered by Christoffer “Kid” Andersen at his Greaseland Studios in San Jose, and at Bishop’s Hog Heaven Studio in Lagunitas. Kid also plays upright bass on four tracks. The only other artist on the record is none other than Bob Welsh who is part of Bishop’s Big Fun Trio as well as playing and recording with a truckload of blues luminaries. Welsh provides guitar on seven songs and piano on the other five.

New Single "Universal Rock"

Hey friends!

Hope everyone is keeping well out there! Can’t wait to see everyone at live gigs in the future but until then, please check out my first single, my version of Earl Hooker's “Universal Rock” which is the A side of my upcoming 45!

Hope you’ll enjoy this special tune featuring myself on guitar & keys, Kid Andersen on bass, Rusty Zinn on guitar, Big Jon Atkinson on harmonica, Eric Spaulding on sax & Marty Dodson on drums, recorded at Greaseland! 

Please stay tuned... in a couple of weeks I will release the B side on my Facebook page.

Tips are encouraged, but not a necessity.  PayPal: BLWELSH30@HOTMAIL.COM / Venmo: Robert-Welsh-42

New Song & Video: Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio Plus! Lockdown!

Message from Elvin Bishop:
Well, we’re all kind of stuck at home in “lockdown” because of the pandemic and this crazy virus. Usually I bounce ideas off my band to see what they think. So I had an idea for a groove…with social distancing and all, I passed it along to my pal Bob Welsh…in the lo-tech way I operate 😀.
Next thing I knew Kid was in the loop and it just kept rolling on from there! Come on and join us for our “Lockdown” jam. Thanks of course to my band mates, Bob Welsh and Willy Jordan, and to Kid Andersen and D’Mar for joining in on the big fun!

White Mountain Boogie N' Blues Festival

2019 Grammy Awards

Right Now is the Hour - Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio

Can't Stand the Rain - Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio

With Bonnie Raitt at Sweetwater Music Hall

The Elvin Bishop Band at A Prairie Home Companion

Recording with Fillmore Slim at Greaseland Studios

At Jazz Fest, New Orleans

Bob's Boogie Number One in the World on the Blues Song Charts!

Listen to Bob's Boogie, written and performed by Bob Welsh - anywhere you listen to your music.  It's track #6 on the album Something Smells Funky 'Round Here by Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio. 

Winner for Best Band at the 2015 Blues Music Awards!

The Elvin Bishop Band took home the winning trophy for Best Band as well as the winning trophy for Best Album, Can't Even Do Wrong Right.  What an honor!

Photos by Marilyn Stringer

Reggae With Rusty Zinn

photo credit: Britt Halquist
l to r: Etienne Franc, Rusty Zinn, Bob Welsh

I'm enjoying playing the guitar with Rusty Zinn now and again. The music sounds sweet and we always have a good time. Lee Hildebrand did a nice write-up of a recent show for the East Bay Express.

Recording Session with Finis Tasby at Greaseland Studios

It's always great recording at Greaseland Studios. Working with Finis Tasby was definitely a highlight of the month. Thanks to Rachel Kumar for capturing the session.

Rusty Zinn and Hux Brown