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Southside Denny
Blues artist, singer-songwriter, slide guitar specialist , solo acoustic fingerstyle and blues
About Southside Denny
Our Story
Born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, Southside Denny is an American born Chicago style bluesrocker and acoustic soloist with eleven albums to his credit. He began growing his reputation in the early 1980's being often associated with and seen regularly on stage with many of his Chicago musical heroes and influences such as Luther Allison, Sugar Blue, and Pinetop Perkins. Denny performed as opening act for these and many other stellar acts such as Ray Charles, Lonnie Mack, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins and what resembles a who's who list of Chicago blues acts. He also answered the call to share the stage with many legendary rockers such as John Fogerty, Edgar Winter, BTO and Styxx.
In 1984 he and his band, Southside Denny and the Skintones, scored a regional hit with a protest song called 'Ethanol Stinks'. Before disbanding in 1989 the trio recorded two albums, including one with Sugar Blue on harp. They also played blues club circuits throughout several Midwestern states and into the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
In the 1990's he had earned a regular spot at the prestigious Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago. During that time, Denny's music was referred to as sounding somewhere between Buddy Guy and Johnny Winter. His style is now one of his own, concocted of rapid-fire melodic, soulful playing and lots of open-tuning-slide guitar. His talents as both a guitarist and singer are recognized by fans and fellow musicians alike.
In 1999 Denny was chosen as the 2nd recipient of the Ole Harv Award for lifetime promotion of blues music in the Michiana area. A year later he represented his home state of Indiana in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and captured third place at the Montréal Grand Prix de la Guitare. He has performed at the International festival du Jazz du Montréal, International Festival du blues de Mont Tremblant, Trois Rivières en Blues, l'October blues, Blues de Farnham, Lachute en Blues and many more.
Denny spent the bulk of his years in his native state of Indiana but has been living in Montreal since 2007.
What we have to offer
The Bluesrocker
Southside Denny has been tearing it up in bars, festivals, concert and halls for over 40 years. Usually in a three piece power trio format, he always surrounds himself with the finest supporting cast that can be found. The amount of players who have been part of the Southside Denny Band over the years is staggering and can't possibly be mentioned here. The sure thing is that when you invite Denny to play your event you are guaranteed to enjoy some high octane rockin' blues that rates with the best.
Hailing from blues country of the United States, Denny has played in 20 different states, 7 Canadian Provnces and has also graced stages in Germany and in Italy. His music has been played on the radio world-wide. He has opened the show for a list of Chicago Blues artists and stellar rock acts that is longer than your arm. To date, he has recorded and released 11 albums of primarily original material and shows no signs of slowing down.
''He plays with good air between the notes and restraint, even when he plays with abandon'' - Steve Jones, Blues Blast Magazine
" If you listen to Southside Denny, you'll dig deep down to the roots of the blues. He took the blues from the past, gave it some new modern clothes and let it live right between us, where it should be, like a long - time missed friend." Erhard Albrech, Radio Weser, TV 90.7 MHz, Bremerhaven, Germany.
‘The original songs, outstanding blues rock guitar and top vocals make Southside Denny’s 'Rollin’ Home' a very enjoyable release…Eric Schuurmans, rootstime.be, Belgium
‘Good energy, nice raw guitar…the kind of distortion I like…’ Bruce Iglauer, President of Alligator Records, Chicago
Solo Acoustic
Southside Denny's solo acoustic guitar performances are legendary. He has performed solo at the Montréal Jazz Festival, the Mont Tremblant International Blues Festival, Wild Rose Moon in Plymouth, IN , Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago, The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tenn., and many, many more. He has released two different solo acoustic discs. 2003's 'Eclectic' is a collection of instrumental finger style guitar pieces covering many different moods and styles. In 2006 he released 'Roots and Branches', which was a blend of half vocal and half instrumental tracks of his blues and fingerstyle pieces. Denny is currently writing and recording more music.
Therapeutic Troubadour
Comforting those who need it the most
Denny enjoys performing therapeutic music for clients with special needs. Music is an incredibly moving, stimulating and powerful force. It brings happiness, peace and reminiscence to the people who need it the most. Many of Denny's instrumental pieces are soothing and comforting to the people he visits living in assisted living facilities or hospitals. Some enjoy hearing soft, inspiring sounds. Some enjoy Blues pieces, and even like to improvise vocally or on other instruments to what he plays.
Guitar studies with Southside Denny
Personal coaching/Workshops
Denny has been a guitar educator for most of his musical life. He has students ranging from beginners wanting to develop and learn good habits to professionals who are looking for new ideas. Guitarists curious about musical theory, increasing chord vocabulary, learning slide guitar, using alternate tunings and improvisation. Denny has 30 years of coaching experience and has been very successful at communicating his approach to all levels of players. If you are serious and would like to study with him, either in person or online, please let us know through our Contact Page on this site.
Denny has been conducting guitar workshops for years. Over the years he has gathered a lot of information, experience and insight that he enjoys sharing. A workshop can be about many different subjects including but not limited to Improvisation, Slide guitar, Alternate Tunings, Blues Riffs and Tricks, or more than one subject. His workshops include participation, jamming and experimentation. A workshop can be a lot of fun at a party or an event, or a nice addition to a performance. You can reach us through the Contact Page on this site to book a workshop!
Having fun with some old friends
