Eureka Springs Blues Weekend 2012
May 31 through June 3, 2012
Artist Bios

Michael Burks- Barefoot Ballroom
Web Site

Guitarist and vocalist Michael “Iron Man” Burks stands tall as a major contemporary blues figure. With a nickname earned by his hours-long, intensely physical performances, fearsome guitar attack, tough, smoky vocals and the thousands of miles logged behind the wheel of his touring van, Burks is a modern blues hero. Nobody in today’s blues world successfully bridges searing electric guitar blues with unbridled rock and roll energy like Burks. Michael first held a guitar when he was two years old. By the time he was five, he was learning songs by listening to his father's records. When his father realized his sons talents, he urged Michael on with a promise of a dollar for every song Michael learned. After Michael started learning song after song, his father gave him one last record, saying if he learned that one, he'd get a licking instead of a dollar! But Michael kept practicing, and by the time he was six, he played his first gig during a trip to his family’s hometown in Arkansas. The fledgling guitarist took the stage with his cousin’s band and thrilled an unsuspecting audience.

Michael went on to play at his father's club, backing touring legends as well as fronting his own band. Working day jobs, he toured and played festival on the weekend, and eventually went full time, playing clubs and festivals around the US. Signed to Alligator Records in 2001, Michael and his band started touring in Europe, South America and Australia as well as across the US and Canada. He has since played every major blues festival, and has been honored with nine Blues Music Award nominations, including this year's Gibson Guitar Player of the Year award. He has also been honored by Living Blues magazine as Most Outstanding Musician on Guitar.

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