Class of 2016
Anyone who is a fan of the blues and jazz will certainly know Duke Robillard.
Guitarist, bandleader, songwriter, singer, producer, session musician. They all describe Duke Robillard.
Duke was born and raised in Woonsocket. He has been thrilling audiences world-wide for over three decades.
From his conception of Roomful of Blues in 1967…to his current Duke Robillard Band…he continues touring and still plays as many as 250 dates a year. He has performed on nearly 60 albums over those three decades. Two of them, Guitar Groove-a-Rama and Stomp the Blues Tonight were nominated for Grammy Awards.
The Blues Music Awards have named Duke Best Blues Guitarist four out of five years, making him the second most honored guitarist for that award.
He received three Canadian Maple Blues Awards for Best International Blues Artist, the Blues Foundation’s Producer of the Year Award, and the French Blues Association Album of the Year Award and Guitarist of the Year Awards.
BB King called Duke one of the greatest guitarists. The Houston Post called him one of God’s guitarists. The New York Times said Robillard is a soloist of stunning force and originality.
