Date and Time
Saturday, October 18th, 2025
7:00 pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm)
About the Show & Album
We’re very pleased to introduce you to a truly prolific American blues talent and exceptional song craftsman. Blues-based Songwriter George Gritzbach has released a new album of original songs titled Full Circle.
Full Circle is Gritzbach’s sixth studio release and showcases his first-rate songwriting talents coupled with a range of roots-blues musical styles he describes as roots rhythm & blues. Gritzbach’s expressive vocal style infuses the ten songs on the album with grit and honesty.
Gritzbach is supported throughout by a seasoned rhythm section featuring Scott Lariviere on bass, Christian McCarthy on drums, Johnny Menezes on keyboards with Peter Murray on saxophone. Funky horn lines add flavor, spice and texture throughout the album. The album also features guest appearances by critically acclaimed harmonica great Jerry Portnoy. Portnoy was a fixture in the Muddy Waters Band and also toured with Eric Clapton.
Stylistically, the songs on Full Circle, as the title implies, are written from a wide range of perspectives and moods. The songs lyrically range from the deeply personal ‘Never Far Away’ to the topical ‘One Race Many Faces’. ‘All About Now’ sets a hooky groove that just won’t quit while the lyric reminds us to stay in the moment. ‘Sweet Misery’, set to a smoky blues feel, effectively relates the stages and spiral of addiction to a love relationship. Among the most challenging songs for the listener is the swamp blues ‘Black Rose’. ‘Black Rose’ takes the listener on a Bayou journey with a young man in search of purpose during which he encounters a voodoo priestess.
The lyrics throughout the album all bare Gritzbach’s unique and often surprising poetic twists and turns of phrase.
About the Band
The George Gritzbach Band plays inventive takes on classics and a healthy helping of innovative originals offering a great mix of blues, roots, and R&B. The band has appeared at a wide variety of venues and Festivals across North America, including opening for B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray and many others as well as local nightclubs and Performing Arts Centers. They also have the versatility to play unplugged acoustic sets for a more intimate experience. The band, lead by George, a serious blues devotee who caused a sensation when he first debuted on the New England blues scene, is now backed by a seasoned rhythm section featuring Scott Lariviere on bass and backing vocals and Johnny Menezes on keyboards and Christian McCarthy on drums, percussion and backing vocals. Rounding out the group is Peter Murray laying it down on the sax. The ensemble, featuring Gritzbach originals, continues to be in demand as a high energy R&B dance band strongly rooted in blues, funk and New Orleans styles.
”"An exceptional songwriter" [and described a recent CD] "as good and surprising as he is in person, with wonderful original material and knock-out slide guitar work.
The Washington Post
”Exquisitely gritty and gravely on one cut, mellow and clear on the next...excellent vocal style.
Frets Magazine
”sizzling hot, no-holds barred bluesman.
The Boston Globe
”I have respected George Gritzbach for a long time. He is a keep-the-faith artist with an honest, no-frills voice that sounds equally at home on blues, soul and funk, as his new "Full Circle" album suggests. George can be playful and rock with a Friday night, just-got-paid frenzy, but also has a serious streak, as heard in the affecting message song, "One Race, Many Faces," where he urges "color-blind human kindness." His band is top-notch and he also assembles some great guest musicians such as harmonica ace Jerry Portnoy, who has toured with Eric Clapton. A fine effort all around for the Cape Cod-based Gritzbach, whose devotion to his craft continues.
Steve MorseFormer staff music critic for the Boston Globe for 28 years
