Hailing from the small community of Sulphur Well in south central Kentucky, the four-piece band Otis takes its influences from a wide-range of electric Blues legends, from early artists like Muddy Waters to ’60s/’70s Blues exploders like Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin to Southern Blues Rock greats like The Allman Brothers Band. None other than ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons has called Otis’ powerhouse Blues Rock sound “stunning.” The band paid tribute to one of Kentucky’s own Blues pioneers with its well-received 2014 album, Tough Times: A Tribute to John Brim. The Kentucky-born Brim became a Chicago Blues staple who recorded for the Chess label (among others) and wrote “Ice Cream Man,” a song Van Halen introduced to a new generation on its debut album.
8 p.m. Friday. $20; $25 day of show. Madison Live, 734 Madison Ave., Covington, Ky., madisontheateronline.com.
This article appears in Jan 20-27, 2016.
