Guitarist, singer and songwriter Joanna Connor has been called the “Queen of Chicago Blues Rock,” and Worcester can claim her as a blues sovereign as well.
Connor, who grew up in Worcester and left on a Greyhound bus at 22 for Chicago in 1984 with a suitcase, guitar and amplifier, makes her latest return here to be a part of “A Spectacular Night of Blues” at Mechanics Hall on Aug. 28.
The program will feature Connor and her band, as well as 2024 Bay Area Black Music Awards blues winner JC Smith, and Worcester’s the Metrons along with Steve LaClair and the Brass Angels. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Be Like Brit Foundation.
Worcester roots
“Worcester was my start,” Connor reflected while talking on the phone recently. “My mom basically exposed me to every type of music, but blues captured my heart and soul. The passion of it. The honesty of it.”…