The Blues Project

NOTE: This performance is postponed due to band members testing positive for COVID-19.

Suffolk Theater in Riverhead presents The Blues Project on Friday, October 28, at 8 p.m. Arguably the greatest relatively unsung American rock band of the swinging 1960s, The Blues Project, has reunited and is back on the scene continuing its musical revolution in the American blues heritage.

As the band’s leader, Danny Kalb, declared in 1966, “We’re not reviving the blues, we’re looking to interpret what’s happening today.” The Blues Project sound has evolved to include a bit of rock and roll, a touch of rhythm and blues, some soul, and a dash of jazz.

Straight out of New York, The Blues Project dominated the epicenters of the new age of rock and roll in San Francisco and Los Angeles while touring all over North America. In 1967, at the peak of their success and after the release of their third album, Live at Town Hall, the band appeared at one of their last gigs — the legendary Monterey International Pop Festival which featured Otis Redding, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix and many other soon-to-be legends. The Blues Project then split up in two different directions, with Kooper and Katz forming Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Kulberg and Blumenfeld keeping The Blues Project name and carrying on for another year and for another album, Planned Obsolescence, before changing the name of the group to Seatrain.

After a few sporadic reunion concerts through the 1980s and 1990s, the “original” Blues Project disbanded for good despite maintaining a die-hard fan base of old and new fans. Today, The Blues Project is alive and well again, with Katz and Blumenfeld leading a new powerful lineup that also includes three young and talented “pupils” — Chris Morrison on lead guitar, Scott Petito on bass, and Ken Clark on keyboards and vocals.

Tickets for The Blues Project are $45 to $55 at suffolktheater.com. Suffolk Theater is at 118 East Main Street, Riverhead.