Ohio Winter Blues Festival with Sean Carney, Ben Levin and Ricky Nye

Warm up with the Ohio Winter Blues festival starring Sean Carney (International Blues Challenge winner), Ben Levin (Blues Foundation award nominee) and Ricky Nye  (legendary boogie woogie king of the organ and New Orleans piano) with special guests: The Ohio Horns – presented by Crazy Mama’s Concerts and WCBE.

About Ricky Nye:

Traditional blues, boogie woogie, and classic New Orleans jazz and R&B all come flying from the fingers of Cincinnati, OH pianist and vocalist RICKY NYE. The driving force behind the annual BLUES & BOOGIE PIANO SUMMIT held in Greater Cincinnati from 1999 to 2017, Ricky has been inducted into the International Boogie Woogie Hall Of Fame in 2013, voted “Blues Artist Of The Year 2019” in Cincinnati’s CEA Awards, and “Best Local Musician” by CityBeat Magazine’s “Best Of Cincinnati 2018” reader’s poll.

​Ricky began his performing career at age twelve with his family’s band, and in his twenties and thirties established working relationships and friendships with artist such as world renowned jazz guitarist Wilbert Longmire, Cincinnati blues icons Big Ed Thompson, H-Bomb Ferguson and fellow pianists Big Joe Duskin and Pigmeat Jarrett.

​For over twenty years Ricky has maintained notoriety on an international level, performing his infectious blend of American roots music in solo, duo and combo settings in locales such as France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Vienna, England, and Switzerland. Ricky also celebrates a long-time performing and recording collaboration with “The Paris Blues Band”, the very finest purveyors of swingin’ blues and boogie in Paris, France.

“Known for its rollicking, foot-stomping jubilance, the boogie-woogie sound erupted from the American South during the late 1920s. This piano-centric subgenre of the jazz tradition drew its structural elements from the blues and spirituals, but introduced an intoxicating rhythmic complexity that inspired generations of young dancers. Ricky Nye is one of the nation’s leading players and preservationists of boogie-woogie, stunning audiences with unmatched authenticity, virtuosic speed and playful arrangements”- Vail Jazz

About Ben Levin:

At only 24 years old, Ben Levin is already making his mark as a blues pianist, vocalist, and songwriter. Ben has been nominated for two Blues Music Awards (BMA), in 2020 and 2023. Based in Cincinnati, OH, Ben has been playing professionally since he was 15 years old, embracing the authentic sound of his heroes such as Professor Longhair, Pinetop Perkins, Otis Spann, and Ray Charles. Ben’s CD debuted in the top 50 blues CDs in a variety of radio-based charts around the world: Living Blues, Roots Music Report, Independent Blues Broadcasters Association, and Australian Blues and Roots. Ben’s mentors and heroes Bob Margolin (guitar), Bob Corritore (harmonica) and Philip Paul (drums) contribute to the CD with an authenticity that only decades of playing and recording can bring. Before Me, was nominated for a Blues Music Award, “Best Emerging Artist Album”.

About Sean Carney: 

Award winning guitarist Sean Carney is Ohio’s only International Blues Challenge first place winner. He and his band will focus on their original material and salute Carney’s mentors such as Christine Kittrell and Joe Weaver. 

Sean and his bands have won numerous awards throughout the world, and his reputation as a talent, a respecter of tradition and a humble and gracious person has become deservedly widespread. Sean is also the host of “Inside Blues”, a weekly music program airing on public radio station WCBE every Sunday night from 6 till 9 pm. 

Food & Bar: Our full food and drink menu will be available before and during the show.