Halo Rider – 3/13

Halo Rider is a collaboration between critically acclaimed California-based Alt-Blues singer/songwriter Markus James, and Anne Harris – a Chicago-based, internationally known Blues/American Roots fiddle player and singer/songwriter. Their music is a kaleidoscope of deep grooves, atmospheric instrumental passages, harmonies, and poetic flashes in a musical terrain that ranges from acoustic old-time, to amped-up Hill Country, to electrified trance Blues rock.

“Between them, they make heavily Blues-infused music which is edgy, haunting, cinematic, compelling, soulful, and deeply rooted… Thoughtful, exploratory, and evocative music with a memorable presentation, this is an alliance not to be missed.” -Richard Shurman, Blues producer and historian

“The music of Halo Rider is refreshingly new, yet feels very familiar. Anne Harris and Markus have created hauntingly beautiful music…This is truly music to be savored.” -Jesse Finkelstein, Managing Director, Blues Radio International

ANNE HARRIS:

Chicago-based fiddle player and singer/songwriter Anne Harris has been a favorite performer in the Blues festival scene for over a decade. A few of her notable festival appearances include
The Chicago Blues Fest, Telluride Blues and Brews, North Atlantic Blues Fest, The Big Blues Bender, Portland Blues Fest, Bristol Rhythm and Roots. Her collaborations, live and in-studio,
span a large and diverse group of artists, including multi-Blues Music Award nominee JP Soars, multiple BMA winner and Grammy nominated Guy Davis, Otis Taylor, Anders Osborne, Living
Color, Los Lobos, and occasional stints with hippie legends Jefferson Starship.

“Once you have witnessed Anne Harris play the violin, you aren’t likely to forget the experience any time soon. It’s not just the wondrous music she makes drawing her bow across the strings, it’s also the spirit of the music that emanates from her physically. She inhabits the music, or maybe the music inhabits her, but it is impossible not to be drawn under her spell.” – (Blues Wax)

Anne scored and starred in the indie short film ‘The Musician’ by director Mark Schimmel, which garnered high critical praise, including earning her an award for Best Actor in a short film by the
She is also embarking on a historic violin commission with violin maker Amanda Ewing, becoming the first officially recognized commission made between two Black American women-violinist
and luthier.

MARKUS JAMES:

Singer/songwriter Markus James recorded 5 critically acclaimed albums of original Blues-based music with traditional musicians in Mali, West Africa.

“ ‘Nightbird’ is one of the deepest listening experiences that will hit the US market this year.” – Billboard

His award-winning documentary film about his album ‘Timbuktoubab’ was seen on many PBS stations around the US. His latest album ‘Head For the Hills’, recorded in North Mississippi’s Hill
Country featuring drummers Calvin Jackson and Kinney Kimbrough received rave reviews.

“ ‘Head for the Hills’ is undoubtedly one of the finest releases of recent years, both within the
genre and beyond.” – Blues Matters, (UK)

He has performed on Elwood’s House of Blues Radio Hour, and on countless festival stages, including Montreal International Jazz Festival, The Big Blues Bender, Fest and Telluride Blues.
His song ‘On a Mississippi Porch’ appears in the Oprah Winfrey film ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.”