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Acoustic and electric guitars, vocals, and Porchboard bass

Whether Sonny is deftly fingerpicking his Zeiler acoustic guitar, or playing sinewy slide on his Oahu lap guitar and Dobro resophonic guitar, this is classic Blues -- played and sung the way it was supposed to be. The Real Deal! -- SonicBids

SONNY MOORMAN CHOSEN AS "BLUES ARTIST ON THE RISE 2008" BY BLUES FESTIVAL GUIDE MAGAZINE!

SONNY MOORMAN TAKES SECOND PLACE AT THE 2007 INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE  (SOLO/DUO) IN MEMPHIS!!!

"Sonny Moorman - Live at the Cincy Blues Fest" is a semi-finalist in the 2007 International Blues Challenge "Best Self-Produced CD" competition


Take the advice of the late Bill Ector of Hittin The Note Magazine: "Sonny Moorman's award-winning blues is something you need to hear."

 
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  "I came to play" says Sonny Moorman. "I was raised in the bars my folks owned in and around Hamilton, OH and got to hear world class artists Lonnie Mack, Cal Collins, Dumpy Rice, Troy Seals, Wayne Perry, and a score of others up close and personal and learned one thing – all the hype in the world doesn't mean a thing unless you can back it up!" Those are words Sonny has lived by through the decades of roadhouses, bars, and juke joints from coast to coast. He backed it up gig after gig, night after night, and year after year until his own "hype" got too big to go unnoticed any longer. After a decade of playing rock bars in Michigan with a variety of bands and a five year "visit" to LA during which he graduated from Musician's Institute and played with "Z Deluxe" (Warren Zevon's 1982 tour band), Moorman returned to Ohio – and to the Blues.
  When Cincinnati Blues icon Big Ed Thompson suffered his debilitating stroke, Sonny was brought in to handle the guitar and vocal chores in Big Ed's band – the Cincinnati Blues All-Stars. The CBA's ETH Records release – Live at Burbank's chronicled the band during this period, and Living Blues Magazine was effusive in it's praise for Moorman's playing and singing. Not satisfied with the stylistic limitations of the All-Stars, Sonny moved on – to the Blues/Rock power trio format that is his vehicle to date.
  In 1994, Moorman and his band played the Memphis Cross-Cultural Music Exposition and got a recording deal with Sun Studio's 706 Records imprint. "Gary Hardy (then Sun Studio manager) came up to me before I walked off of the stage at Blues City and offered us a deal", says Sonny. Two 706 Records releases followed – L*I*V*E and Telegraph Road. At that point Moorman started what became a four-year tour with Easyriders Magazine playing their events and became a client of manager William Perkins (Allman Bros., SRV, Tinsley Ellis). Sonny recorded his next releases on Perkins' Atlas Records label, including the 2009 Just Plain Folks, Best Blues Album / Best Blues Song nominee – Crossroads Motel and Sonny's current release Live as Hell.
  In addition to the critical acclaim from these releases, Sonny is the 2007 International Blues Challenge Solo/Duo 2nd place, 2008 Solo/Duo "Blues Artist on the Rise" – Blues Festival Guide Magazine, and he and his band were finalists in the 2010 International Blues Challenge.
  Noted music Journalist Randy McNutt may have said it best, "He can flat-out play—and sing... Sounds have been passed from blues giant Freddy King to Lonnie Mack to Sonny Moorman."

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*
The Sonny Moorman Group won the 2009 Columbus Blues Alliance Blues Challenge and represented the Columbus Blues Alliance in the 2010 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, and their Atlas Records release "Live as Hell" was chosen by the Columbus Blues Alliance as "Best Self Produced CD" and as such was entered in the International Blues Challenge "Best Self Produced CD" competition at the 2010 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. The band had a great time making it to the FINALS, and were well received by those who attended.
* The Sonny Moorman Group's CD -- "Crossroads Motel" and song "Crossroads Motel" nominated for 2009 Just Plain Folks Award for Blues Album and Blues Song of the Year!
* THE SONNY MOORMAN GROUP WINS THE 2007 & 2008 CINCINNATI
ENTERTAINMENT AWARD FOR BLUES.
* Eastside Vibe Magazine Best Blues Band 2008 & 2009 -- the Sonny Moorman Group

The Sonny Moorman Group Facebook page and ReverbNation are now connected!

*
ALL of Sonny's music is now in digital format at CD Baby, Amazon, & iTunes!

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Mp3 tracks here are from the
LIVE AS HELL CD, CROSSROADS MOTEL,
and previous recordings.

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Most tracks here available on:
iPod/iTunes

Sonny's 2011 Festival & Concert Schedule

MARCH

18TH
SMG @
 

27TH
SMG @
B. B. King's
152 2nd Ave. N
Nashville, TN 37201
7 PM - 11 PM
615-351-0485

31ST
SMG @
Southland Ballroom
614 N. West St.
Raleigh, NC

MAY

4TH
SMG @
Mr. Handy's Blues Hall
(next to Rum Boogie)
174 Beale Street
Memphis, TN 38103
8 PM - 12 AM
901-528-0150
Opening Act:
Lightnin' Malcolm
Click HERE
for info

6TH
SMG @
Rooster's Blues House
114 Courthouse Sq
Oxford, MS 38655
JULY

22nd
SMG @
West Virginia Power Baseball Park
w/ John Nemeth
Charleston, WV

SEPTEMBER

16TH
SMG @
The Livery
Benton Harbor, MI
www.liverybrew.com

17TH
SMG @
The Slippery Noodle
Indianapolis, IN

24TH
SMG @
Turtle Creek Casino
Traverse City, MI

NOVEMBER
3RD
Sonny Moorman Group
Black Swamp Blues Society
Maumee - BG Elks
137 W. Wayne St.
Maumee, Ohio
Tickets At door $10
$8 for BSBS Members
7 PM


APRIL

2ND
SMG @
Springing the Blues Festival
Jacksonville, FL 

3RD
SMG @
The Beach Shack Blues Bar
1 Minutemen Cswy,
Cocoa Beach, FL 32931
(321) 783-2250

8TH
No Saints-No Saviors
The Redmoor
3187 Linwood Avenue
Mt. Lookout Square
Cincinnati, Ohio
With special guest:
Noah Wotherspoon - 8 PM
No Saints-No Saviors - 9 PM
$10 at Door

JUNE

2ND
SMG @
Jackson Blues Festival
Jackson, MI 
(south of Lansing, west of Ann Arbor)
Jackson County Airport
$2 Admission
SMG 8:40 - 9:45 PM

19TH
No Saints-No Saviors
Gahanna Creekside Blues Festival
Gahannah, OH
AUGUST
5,6, 7th
SMG @
Uncle Bo's
420 E. 6th
Topeka, KS 66607
785-234-4317
12th
SMG @
B.B. King's
Nashville, TN

5:30 PM
13th
SMG @
Daze Festival
Devou Park Band Shell
Covington, KY
3 - 4:30 PM
31ST
SMG @
Canal House w/ Walter Trout
108 S Main (State Rte 416)
Tuscarawas OH 44682
OCTOBER
19TH
SMG @
KClinger’s
304 Poplar Street
Hanover, PA 17331

717-633-9197
8 PM
www.kclingers.com
20TH
SMG @
Moondog’s
378 Freeport Rd.,
Blawnox, PA 15238

412-828-2040
9 PM
www.moondogs.us

21ST
SMG @
Sportsmen’s Tavern
w/ Lil’ Ed
&
the Blues Imperials
326 Amherst
Buffalo, NY 14207
9 PM
www.sportsmenstavern.com
22ND
SMG @
Canal Bank Shuffle
35 Queen St.
Thorold, ON Canada
5 PM
www.canalbankshuffle.com
DECEMBER

15TH
SMG @
BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups
700 S. Broad St.
St. Louis, MO 63102
314-436-5222
9:30 PM - 1:30 AM

16TH
SMG @
Nathan P. Murphy's
218 S. Campbell Ave.
Springfield, MO 65806
417-863-1909
8 PM

17TH
SMG @
Uncle Bo's
420 SE Ave.
Topeka, KS 66607
8 PM

30TH
SMG @
C & C Loft & Lounge
223 E Spring St.
St. Marys, OH 45885
8 PM - 11 PM
419-394-3975

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