Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States (6 November 1949)
Bio
Rory Block (born as 'Aurora Block', November 6, 1949) is an American female blues guitarist and singer, a notable exponent of the country blues style. Rory Block was born in Princeton, New Jersey and grew up in Manhattan. Her father, Allan Block, ran a sandal shop in Greenwich Village in the 1960s, and the constant presence of members of the Greenwich V…
Has Performed With
Critic Concert Reviews
Nippertown (USA)
August 20, 2024
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In the 42 years I’ve known Rory Block. she has always been way ahead of the curve. From the first note I ever heard from her on acoustic blues guitar in 1972 she could match the prowess of the legendary delta blues artists she emulates including Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Bukka White — the list goes on.
This living legend who plays festivals and concert halls around the world had to travel only three and a half miles from her home in Chatham to play this tiny theater in the center of the village of Valatie.
Imagine a Steven King short story with a happy ending, Alice in Wonderland for adults, a Ken Burns documentary about somewhere over the rainbow where blacks and whites sit together in church, Martin Luther King's dream come true.
Both blues and gospel share an ability to bleed emotion all over the stage and pierce an audience's collective heart. The catharsis for both the audience and the performer becomes an intimate exchange commonly referred to as call and response.
If any of those reporters had attended Block's astonishing appearance at the Eighth Step's latest Proctors production‚ they'd never ask anything that stupid again - not to Block‚ anyway.
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