Coco Montoya performing this Saturday in Grass Valley

For ticket information to this Paul Emery production, go to www.thecenterforthearts.org or call 530-274-8384.

What follows is a biography from Coco Montoya's web site.

Over the course of his 30-year career, guitarist and vocalist Coco Montoya's
explosive guitar playing and soul-driven voice have propelled him to the
upper reaches of the blues-rock world. From his early days as a drummer to
his current status as one of the top-drawing guitarists and vocalists on the
blues-rock scene, Montoya has forged his reputation through years of hard
work and constant touring.

It all started with a chance meeting in the mid-1970s with legendary
bluesman Albert Collins, who offered Montoya a gig as his drummer. Albert
took an immediate liking to Montoya, becoming his mentor and teaching his
new protégé secrets of the Collins "icy hot" style of blues guitar. Five
years later, John Mayall happened to catch Montoya at a jam session and was blown away. This led to Montoya's touring the world for ten years with the legendary Bluesbreakers.  Since stepping out as a bandleader in 1993,
Montoya has released four solo albums and has performed non-stop at clubs,
concert halls and major festivals all over the world.

By the early 1990s, Montoya had been with the Bluesbreakers for ten years
and felt ready for a change. His friend Albert Collins had been diagnosed
with cancer, and during one visit, Collins told Coco to move on and do his
own thing. Montoya talked to Mayall, who understood the time was right.
"Both Albert and John pushed me out of the nest nice and easy," says Coco.
Although he was nervous about the move, Montoya put a band together and hit the road, proving himself night after night. His debut as a leader, 1995's
Gotta Mind To Travel (originally on Silvertone Records in England and later
issued in the USA on Blind Pig Records), became an instant favorite with
blues fans, radio programmers and critics. The album introduced Montoya as a bandleader who immediately ranked among the best players on the contemporary blues scene. In 1996, he was nominated for four W.C. Handy Awards and walked away with the award for Best New Blues Artist.

Montoya's follow-up, 1996's Ya Think I'd Know Better (Blind Pig), showcased a feral blues rocker with vocal skills matched only by his ferocious guitar playing. The album stayed on the Billboard Blues Chart for 14 weeks, reaching the number 10 position. The Washington Post called the CD, "One of the year's strongest blues-rock albums." 1997's Just Let Go (Blind Pig) continued to highlight Montoya's steely guitar licks and intense vocals, earning him legions of new fans everywhere he played. "He sings and plays with passionate abandon," shouted the Boston Globe.

In 2000, Coco's Alligator debut, Suspicion, quickly became the best-selling
album of his career. "Powerhouse blues," exclaimed Guitar Player, "searing
tone, emotional soloing, and energetic, unforced vocals…stunning." With
regular radio airplay on over 120 stations nationwide, Montoya's fan base
exploded. The record held the number one position on the Living Blues radio chart for three straight months. And it landed on the Billboard Blues Chart for 11 weeks in a row, peaking at number 11. Features and reviews ran in Billboard, Guitar Player, The New York Times, Blues Revue, JazzTimes, The Chicago Tribune, and countless other national and regional publications.

Averaging over 200 tour dates a year, Montoya packs clubs and theaters
around the world. He has played major festivals, including the New Orleans
Jazz & Heritage Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, The San Francisco
Blues Festival and Canada's Inter-national Jazz Festival. It's no
coincidence that publications from The Philadelphia Daily News to Blues
Revue to Living Blues to The Village Voice all rank Coco among the best
guitarists and singers on the blues scene. "Montoya is at the forefront of
the contemporary blues world," declared Guitar World. "He is one of the
truly gifted blues artists