Blues legend James Montgomery will perform Jan. 11 at the Westfield Woman’s Club. (Photo submitted)
WESTFIELD – Blues musician James Montgomery is celebrating 50 years in the music business in 2020 and last week kicked-off a year of concerts, including one right here in Westfield.
Montgomery will perform Jan. 11 at the Westfield Woman’s Club as part of Gaslight Entertainment’s Westfield Concerts series.
Montgomery, a Rhode Island resident for the past 25 years, considers himself a Boston musician, although he got his start in his hometown of Detroit.
“I had a band in high school that was fairly successful,” Montgomery said last week during a phone interview. “We even opened for Iggy Pop.”
Montgomery went on to Boston University where he formed another successful band. This one really took off and put Montgomery on the map.
“We played with Aerosmith, we toured with The Allman Brothers, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Miller Band – we got off to a good start,” he said.
They developed a following by playing the New England college circuit.
“I’m pretty sure we played every college in Massachusetts at that time,” he said.
Montgomery said in the early years of his band, people were craving live music.
“Today people don’t often go to a show unless it’s a bigger name or venue, but then, people just wanted live music and we were the biggest band on the college circuit in Boston.”
In fact, when Montgomery first met Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Tyler was just starting out and asked Montgomery if Aerosmith could play with him.
Montgomery said over the years, those college fans stayed loyal and still come out to see his band today.
“There was a lot of diversity on college campuses, and there still is,” Montgomery said of his fan base. “They want to hear something a little edgier and more creative.”
That’s where Montgomery excels.
JAMES MONTGOMERY
The blues have always spoken to him, he said. Fast-forward 50 years and Montgomery still finds the music exciting. He is a firm believer that most genres of music started with the blues, which he said has its roots in African music.
“The blues became rock and roll,” he said. “It was the next step. The blues became pop. The blues became jazz. Blues became everything, so it’s easy to stay in love with it.”
Montgomery said he still remembers the first time he heard blues music.
“We all have that moment where we heard live blues for the first time,” he said. “It struck a chord with me – all blues performers have that moment.”
Fifty years later, Montgomery still feels it.
“Every time I’m on stage I reconnect with the music,” he said.
Montgomery said he is excited to perform in Westfield’s intimate setting at the Westfield Woman’s Club and added that the audience is in for a great show.
“I cannot stress enough how good this band is,” he said of the musicians who will join him on stage. “It’s a high energy show.”
Montgomery will spend much of the year playing small venues throughout New England and is working on a 50th anniversary show with guest performers he has worked with in the past. Although Montgomery said the show is in the planning stages, he did mention Billy Squier and Huey Lewis as potential performers. Perhaps Steven Tyler will join him on stage.
In the meantime, local fans can hear the blues legend at his Westfield concert. The show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are available at westfieldconcerts.com and at the door.
