2025 Artists
Henri Herbert, a piano playing phenomenon, has played all over the globe at major festivals and given private concerts for royalty. He performs regularly at his hometown of Austin, Texas. Born in France and raised in the UK, at an early age Henri was drawn to records by Jerry Lee Lewis and Albert Ammons. Fast-forward to today and Henri's video of "Henri’s Boogie" has racked up 22 million YouTube hits. After performing in bands, in 2014 Henri launched a solo career. Following successful tours of the U.K., U.S, Canada, Holland, Spain, and France, showcases at SXSW, two critically acclaimed EPs, live sessions on BBC Radio 6 Music and Jazz FM, he is now one of the most sought-after boogie-woogie/blues piano players in the world.
This year Bloomington Boogies will present Henri in concert on Sunday, Oct. 19. A relatively young man who is dedicated to keeping alive the boogie-woogie and blues of piano pioneers from the early and mid 20th Century, Henri is as happy to be here as we are to have him.
Creole-born C.J. Chenier, raised in an indigenous American culture with its distinctive language, cuisine, and music, delivers soulful vocals and masterful accordion-driven Zydeco and blues. A GRAMMY-nominated, world-renowned musician and recording artist, he has performed with other internationally recognized artists including his GRAMMY-awarded father, Clifton Chenier (“The King of Zydeco”), Paul Simon, Joe Sample, and Ray Parker, Jr., among others.
C. J. has exhibited his musicianship around the world at large festivals and venues, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Chicago Blues Festival, Austin’s SXSW Music Conference, and Bloomington Boogies.
In addition to his GRAMMY nomination for Best Regional Roots Music Album, C.J. has received many major awards, including the Living Blues Critics’ Poll Award, Indie Award (from AFIM) for Best Zydeco Album, Coups de Coeur (Blows of Heart), Blues Category Award from l'Académie Charles Cros (France) and Best of the Beat Best Zydeco Album (Offbeat Magazine).
Blues lady Eden Brent is a piano-pounding, juke-joint hollering powerhouse of American music. A renowned songwriter, performer, and recording artist, Eden has received numerous awards and nominations, most recently winning the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player award at the 2025 Blues Music Awards, where she was also nominated for Song of the Year, Traditional Blues Album, and Traditional Blues Female Artist. In 2009 Eden previously won for Acoustic Blues Album and Acoustic Blues Artist, and in 2010 for Instrumentalist - Piano. With a dozen nominations in the Living Blues and Blues Blast Music Awards, she won the International Blues Challenge in 2006.
Born into a family of riverboat captains and guitar pickers in the river port of Greenville, MS, the largest town in the Mississippi Delta, Eden’s hometown hosts The Mississippi Delta Blues & Heritage Festival, the oldest blues festival in the world, which she first attended as a youngster and at which she often performs. Eden studied jazz, was classically trained in piano and voice at the University of North Texas, earning a degree in music theory, and apprenticed with Boogaloo Ames. A Yellow Dog Records recording artist with six solo albums, her most recent recording is Getaway Blues (2024).
Ben Toury is a pianist, singer, composer, and harmonica player who leads a rhythm & blues band in Paris, FR. A performer since age 11, Ben has a 25-year career and has participated in more than 2000 concerts. A very energetic pianist, he is known for his showmanship and the strength and speed of his playing.
With a voice sometimes compared to Harry Connick, Jr. and virtuoso playing similar to Jerry Lee Lewis, Ben often takes concert venues by storm. He reaches a wide and varied audience and his performances are always met with great enthusiasm. Ben Toury is helping introduce boogie-woogie and blues piano to young people in France and throughout Europe. He is one of the new generation of European musicians who venerate and perform music which originated in the early 20th Century in the US. When in Bloomington Ben has always received a rousing response from Bloomington Boogies audiences!
Brian Holland Is an internationally renowned pianist, composer, recording artist, and entertainer with a music career spanning more than four decades. From across the U.S. to as far away as Rwanda, he has shared his love of all forms of early American music.
Brian has performed with hot jazz bands in the US – Sierra Stompers, Holland-Coots Jazz Quintet, Big B.A.D. Rhythm, Groovus, Swingin' West, and others – promoting his unique and creative jazz, ragtime, stride, swing, boogie, and blues. His newest quartet, Brian Holland & The Ragabonds, released their first album on Rivermont Records. Brian earned a Grammy nomination for his work with Bud Dresser on their 2006 album, "Ragtime-Goodtime-Jazz". This album, plus other releases, sheet music, and digital recordings, are available at shanesmohawk.com.
Behind the scenes, Brian has helped organize ragtime & jazz festivals, served as Artistic Director for the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival from 2015-2020, and since 2018 has been Co-Creative Consultant for the Monterey Jazz Bash by the Bay (Monterey, CA). When not on the road, Brian enjoys all life has to offer in Nashville, TN, with his wife Amy, and their two golden doodles, Phoebe and Charlie.
Craig Brenner explores the jazzy side of blues and boogie-woogie piano as a performer, composer, and teacher. Leader of Craig & The Crawdads and member of The Ragin' Texans, he has released seven albums, the most recent being Passages (2020). Craig began Bloomington Boogies after playing at the festival in Laroquebrou, FR, in 2014. He studied with Big Joe Duskin and Bob Seeley, and helps keep boogie-woogie and similar non-classical styles alive through concerts, compositions, recordings, and hands-on music education activities, including workshops and in-school performances.
In the late 1970s, while a student at the IU School of Music, Craig attended the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and saw Professor Longhair, James Booker, Tuts Washington, Dr. John, Fats Domino, and others who were exploring the rhythmic and barrelhouse aspects of piano. Exposure to these "Piano Professors" and subsequent visits to New Orleans during which he studied and performed with Alfred “Uganda” Roberts caused Craig to reevaluate his musical direction and style.
Craig enjoyed a career in public service which included teaching school, serving as a VISTA Volunteer and helping establish the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, supervising VISTAs, and working for the City of Bloomington. When asked his thoughts about the return of the festival, Craig is enthusiastic. “We're excited to bring back Bloomington Boogies and musicians who share their love for this music! Although we'll miss friends and long-time performers Bob Seeley and Uganda Roberts, our compact lineup this year packs a punch, and allows folks to see why the festival is rated one of the top 10 in Indiana.”
Gordon Bonham brings a mix of styles from the Mississippi Delta to the back alleys of Chicago, from Texas shuffles to West Coast swing. After several years on the road, Bonham brings it all together in Indiana, the Crossroads of America.
Gordon performed several times with pianist Pinetop Perkins, notably in Cleveland with Robert Lockwood, Jr. at the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Gordon often played with blues mandolinist “Yank” Rachell, and Chicago piano man Jimmy Walker; handled guitar for harmonica ace Gary Primich in Austin, TX; worked with Bo Diddley as band leader; and rang in the 2000 New Year at the Slippery Noodle with Blues Brother Matt “Guitar” Murphy. Bonham has opened for Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, B.B.King, and others. Locally, Bonham was a founding member of the Cooler Kings, followed by the Gordon Bonham Blues Band. The CD “Low Down and Blue” was chosen by David Lindquist of the Indianapolis Star as #3 in the Top Ten of 1999. He plays regularly with Craig & The Crawdads and the Ragin' Texans, hosts the blues jam at the Slippery Noodle, and is a regular at the Indy Jazz Fest. You may have recently enjoyed Gordon playing while Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks sat in at the Slippery Noodle. With tours of Europe, the list of gigs and credentials grows, making Gordon a must have for those who appreciate blues.
DAN HOSTETLER
Dan Hostetler is an active percussion educator, performer, and composer in Columbus Ohio. At Indiana University, he earned a BM and a Performer’s Certificate.
Dan's later experiences offer a study in contrasts: he’s opened for Dizzy Gillespie and the Funky Meters; he’s played alongside the Memphis Horns and the Imani Winds; he’s performed in Carnegie Hall and at Camp Randall Stadium, as well as at the Avignon Festival in France, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and for Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood. He’s played behind Earl King, Ben E. King, King Floyd, Thunderbird Davis, C.J. Chenier, Marcia Ball, and many others.
Dan was the first section leader in the Star of Indiana Drum & Bugle Corps as well as a member and instructor of the Indiana University Marching Hundred. He was a member of the Dallas Brass and is in the Minnesota Percussion Association Hall of Fame. He’s the drummer for the Boston Brass when they need one, and is in the Brass Band of Columbus and the Newark-Granville Symphony. Dan is a Pacific drumset and Sabian cymbal artist. His Snare Drum and Multi-Percussion solo book “Modern Rudimental Groove Solos” is published by Row-Loff Productions. Dan has played at all Bloomington Boogies festivals, backing all the guest artists because of his tremendous versatility.
Since graduation from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, bassist Ron Kadish’s musical journey has taken him down many roads: from touring and backing up John Denver and the Moody Blues to rhythm sections backing up jazz legends David Baker and Gene Bertoncini; from jamming in a hotel room with the Master Musicians of Jajouka to jamming on stage during the 1997 Lillith Festival with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sarah McLachlan, and Paula Cole; from the bass section of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra to cutting demos with John Mellencamp. In the process he has played in concert halls, arenas, historic theaters, outside amphitheaters, university student buildings, public school auditoriums, private golf courses, public downtowns, bars, and countless other venues and recording studios throughout the United States and Europe.
Ron tours, records, and performs nationally with a variety of acts in many genres of music. He’s currently Principal Double Bass of the Danville, IL Symphony, and regularly plays with the Carmel Symphony, Lafayette Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, “Gypsy jazz” band Bleu Django, jazz/world fusioneers Pangaea Sky, and many others. Ron has been house bassist for Bloomington Boogies since its inception, backing blues and boogie-woogie legends Marcia Ball, Judy Carmichael, C.J. Chenier, and other amazing artists. Ron holds Bachelor of Music (1989) and Master of Jazz Studies (2009) degrees from the IU Jacobs School of Music. While not on the road, he resides in Bloomington, IN.