Sunset Concert Series

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY originated when Fowler, Soars and Wainwright, who were performing with their respective bands at a festival in Florida in July of 2011, decided on an impromptu jam together at a post festival party. After witnessing the performance, the South Florida Blues Society approached the trio about playing for the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Pre-Cruise Party. Fowler had already been thinking about doing a project with other musicians and contacted his pal JP Soars. Like Fowler, Soars lives in Florida and traces his family roots back to Arkansas. "I thought it was great idea as soon as Damon called," Soars said from his home in Boca Raton. "I had jammed with him a few times on stage and was totally excited because there was a natural chemistry that seems to happen whenever we play together." The two guitar-slingers with the singular singing voices immediately decided they wanted pianist-frontman Wainwright to round out their aggregation. Soars added, "I had played with Wainwright before, as well, and he has a lot of soul, and we just feed off each other." Dubbing themselves Southern Hospitality, the three musicians added bassist Chuck Riley from Fowler's band and Soars' drummer Chris Peet to the lineup and made their official debut opening for Buddy Guy in August 2011 at the Heritage Music Blues Fest in Wheeling, West Virginia. Each frontman sang a couple tunes and the Band jammed them to a thunderous conclusion. Fowler said, "It was cool to have two guitars and piano, it really added to the overall texture." By the time the performance ended the crowd exploded with cheers and applause. "We were all ecstatic about the reaction," Soars said. "I knew it would be good but not that good. The response was overwhelming. Walking around, people kept coming up and telling us how great it was. It felt good." "It was a super magical experience and excellent response right from the first number," Wainwright said. "That was something I've only experienced a few times after many years of playing. The reaction was amazing." BluesWax said of the show, "Southern Hospitality, after a single gig, has significant players in the blues world taking notice. Fowler, Wainwright and Soars share much love for the songs of the South. The hot jazz and funk of New Orleans, classic country, gospel, soul, and blues that became rock 'n' roll in Memphis and went global by way of a trucker named Elvis." Since then Southern Hospitality has performed at a handful of select dates and been generating even more buzz and a growing fan base.  Fowler sees the association as not unlike the Traveling Wilburys, where each member brings his owns songs to the table, and then everybody works on them together, creating a vibrant collaboration of original American roots music.  "We are representing the South," he said of the project. "We wanted to put together a package of where we're from that represents the music we grew up listening to and that we're making our own today."