The Alexis P Suter Band is a six piece group that moves easily between blues, soul, and rock, first breaking out through regular performances at Levon Helm’s Midnight Rambles in Woodstock and building a following that has stuck with them for more than two decades.
A three time Blues Music Award nominee, Suter grew up in Brooklyn in a musical family and started singing in church, grounding her approach in something emotional and lived in rather than polished. Her voice can roar or settle into something softer without losing its weight. The core band of Ray Grappone on drums, Jimmy Bennett on guitar, Daniel Weiss on keyboard, Peter Bennett on bass, and Vicki Bell on vocals and percussion has been playing together for nearly 30 years.
Grappone and Bell, who run Hipbone Records, first worked with Suter in the 1990s when she was performing house, funk, and R&B and signed to Epic Sony Records Japan, a collaboration that turned into a long term musical partnership. Today, the band tours steadily across the US and into Europe, including France and the Netherlands, carrying that same Hudson Valley rooted sound with them.
In 2011 at The Falcon in Marlboro, Brooklyn native Alexis P. Suter did what she did best, filled the room with her one-of-a-kind voice, rooted in soul, blues, and gospel sounds. She was joined with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Garth Hudson of The Band. Suter is now releasing a new concert album for that concert, titled Just Stay Live.
The album, recorded live over ten years ago, will be released March 17 on NOLA Blue Records.
The record opens with “John the Revelator,” and proceeds through a mix of gospel, blues, and classic rock staples. Suter gives a charismatic performance of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door,” digs deep into “Turn On Your Love Light,” and delivers a stripped down, emotional take on George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity.” Meanwhile Hudson’s performance reminds listeners why he is considered one of the greats.
Suter, who spent time in Brooklyn and Hudson Valley, began singing in church, inspired by Ruth Brown. She has been at the top of her field for decades. A three-time Blues Music Award nominee, she has opened for B.B. King, Etta James, Allen Toussaint, and Emmylou Harris. B.B. King himself said, “It’s a rare thing to share the stage with great talent like that young lady.”
Since then, Suter has built up a serious resume, defying categories, but always being guided by her powerful and bewitching voice. The Alexis P. Suter Band has become a staple of the Hudson Valley and beyond, with the core band together for decades; Just Stay Live captures that energy in full, preserving a night where two deeply connected corners of American music came together on one stage.
New York audiences will have several chances to catch Suter and the band coming up. She returns to The Falcon in Marlboro, New York on April 4, the same venue where Just Stay Live was recorded, and heads to Meadow Blues in Chester, New York on April 25 and West Falls Center for the Arts on October 17. The Hudson Valley shows will bring Suter’s powerful voice back to the communities that have been a core part of her sound for decades.
Alexis P Suter Band Tour Dates
April 3 – Milford, CT – The Milford Arts Council
April 4 – Marlboro, NY – The Falcon
April 25 – Chester, NY – Meadow Blues
July 23 – Ridgefield, CT – Ballard Park
October 17 – West Falls, NY – West Falls Center for the Arts
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