MARK HUMMEL AND ANSON FUNDERBURGH - THE BLUES SURVIVORS

“This is a super line up!!!I enjoy everyone of these great musicians and having them all together at the same time would be an over the top treat for any music fan. This could be historic!”
                                                                      -Charlie Musselwhite

“Mark Hummel is simply one of the best harmonica players working today.”
                                                                       -Huey Lewis

“The spirit of Little Walter lives on! If you miss the sound of those great early Chess records, this one's for you. Mark blows harp like no one else I know.”
                                                                       -John Mayall

“Any album produced by Kid Andersen is a mini-masterpiece. Hook him up with Mark Hummel, who’s no stranger to perfect efforts himself, and you’ve got a winner on all counts. Buy this one today. You won’t be disappointed.”
                                                                       -Blues Blast Magazine

“Death and taxes are the only certain things in life, some say. But there's a third: every few years, Mark Hummel will release a new album. And each and every time, that album will be great.”
                                                                        -Roger Gachet - Living Blues Magazine

“Whether live or on record, Mark Hummel will rattle your bones, A slam-bang heller of a harpist, Hummel's sound is inhabited with the spirits of bygone reed benders: Hummel ghosts Little Walter so well that Walter's ghost haunts his performance, sulking in the background as this guy brings his essence back to life as good as the in the flesh originator used to.”
                                                                          -Blues Music Magazine

Mark Hummel started playing harmonica in 1970 and is considered one of the premier blues harmonica players of his generation. Thanks to over thirty recordings since 1985, including the Grammy nominated 2013 release Blind Pig recording Remembering Little Walter (part of the Blues Harmonica Blowout CD series). Mark Hummel's Blues Harmonica Blowout™ started in 1991 and have featured every major legend (Mayall, Musselwhite, Cotton, etc.) on blues harp as well as almost every player of note on the instrument - a who's who of players.

Anson Funderburgh became a professional musician at age 15, playing in a variety of local bands including Sound Cloud Reunion and the Bee’s Knees. “Because of a dance that was popular called the Texas Push, we always played shuffles,” notes Anson. “You had to do a bit of different styles of music for different things. Honestly, it was mostly blues. That’s the truth.”

Along the way, he listened to the greats of the genre, absorbing all he could. His biggest influences stylistically were Freddie King and B.B. King but Funderburgh also embraced the West Side sounds of Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Magic Sam. “I like all the guys that played behind the harmonicas, too – Luther Tucker and Robert Jr. Lockwood, Louis and David Meyers. I love all those old Jimmy Reed things with Eddie Taylor. There’s just so many.” Jazz greats Kenny Burrell and Barney Kessel also had an impact.

Anson’s first big break came in 1978 when he teamed up with harmonica player and vocalist Darrell Nulisch to form the initial incarnation of The Rockets. Introduced through a mutual friend, they started gigging every Monday night together in October of that year and by January of 1979 they were making music together full-time at Poor David’s Pub in Dallas. “It was such a fun thing, and we enjoyed the same kind of music, so it just kind of stuck.”

Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets were the inaugural artists on Hammond and Nauman Scott’s New Orleans-based Black Top Records, one of the leading contemporary blues labels throughout the 1980s and ‘90s. Kicking off the label in 1981 with their acclaimed debut release, Talk To You By Hand, the band encored in 1983 with She Knocks Me Out!. “Those records with Darrell, I think those were good records,” says Anson. “We did a lot of covers at that particular point.”

The Fallout Shelter is an all ages performance venue welcoming worldwide, world class music in an intimate setting. Our studio audience attends to watch the creation and production of the music television series The Extended Play Sessions. The Fallout Shelter events are immersive experiences for both audience and performers alike...a live music experience like no other. We are fully ADA compliant and have wheelchair access. We have a wide selection of beer and wine for your adult beverage pleasures and each show comes with a free commemorative event poster. Our doors open at 6PM. Seating is General Admission. We recommend you arrive at the time the doors open.