Black History Month – Johnny Mars, the ‘Hendrix of the Harmonica’

A Musical Journey with Johnny Mars – Johnny Mars will be sharing his talent for music and telling us about his life and long career. He has worked with Magic Sam, Earl Hooker, B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Jesse Fuller, Spencer Davis, Ian Gillan, Do-Re-Mi, Bananarama and Michael Roach. Johnny Mars was raised in a sharecropping family. He was given his first harmonica at age nine. His family lived in various places around the South, including North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. When Mars’ mother died in 1958, the older family members settled in Florida, while Johnny and his younger brother went to live in New Paltz, N.Y. After he graduated from high school, he played club shows around New York and recorded with his band ‘Burning Bush’ for Mercury Records. Doors open 7:00 pm.