BIO
Robbie Laws is one of the most decorated and in demand blues guitarists in the Pacific Northwest. He has been honored with 21 Portland Cascade Blues Association Muddy Awards, nine of which were for ‘Best Electric Guitarist", the ‘Best Blues Act 2010' award from the Seattle based Washington Blues Society and most recently, the 'Outstanding Achievement in Blues' award from the Portland Music Association in 2011. The Robbie Laws Band won the prestigious 'Journey to Memphis' competition in Portland, Oregon on July 4, 2011 as the top regional act and will go on to represent the Cascade Blues Association and the Pacific Northwest at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee the first week of February 2012.
Having played with guitar legends from Albert Collins to Ronnie Earl, Robbie is an internationally recognized Blues Guitar Master who has thrilled festival and concert audiences for over 15 years with his sheer technical prowess on the guitar, his soulful voice, impressive stage presence and likeable personality. Laws possesses the inherent ability to authentically convey styles such as nineteen forties, jump swing, traditional country blues, Piedmont, Delta, early Texas and Chicago, yet is comfortable playing uptown jazz as well as progressive rock.
Robbie has shared the stage with a long list of great legends and has performed at many notable blues festivals as well as being a regular favorite at argueably the best and second largest blues festival in the United States, the Portland Waterfront Blues Festival. Throughout his career, Laws has released five recordings including the most recent ‘Robbie Laws Live' which has been receiving rave reviews and notable airplay up and down the West Coast, including Alaska. All of his previous recordings have been awarded "Best Recording of the Year" in the Pacific Northwest.
He has taught private and group lessons to hundreds of satisfied students over the years, and enjoys putting together special guitar workshops, although performing is truly where his heart is. His mission is to keep the blues alive and available for generations to come. "Each generation leaves a fingerprint on the music" says Laws. "It's about keeping the music fresh and viable for the next one".
REVIEWS
"The white Buddy Guy"
Albert Collins, Blues Legend
"The man's got it all...tone, taste, and a ‘T-Bone' mentality that not many can duplicate or
understand. It's a treat to see Robbie cut other guitarists alive onstage."
Steve Pringle - Portland's top radio personality - KINK/KMHD - Portland, Oregon
"A multi-genre guitar virtuoso, singer, songwriter from Portland, Oregon. Highly recommended!"
Blues Review Magazine
"Whenever I have friends in town from back east, he is always on the "must see" list like Multnomah Falls and Timberline Lodge...you just can't say you've seen Oregon and miss Robbie Laws."
Local Blues Fan - Portland, Oregon
PRESS
"He channels his heroes - vocalist Bobby Bland and guitar slinger Albert Collins are among them - into a performance of what modern has become; electric, loud when appropriate but soft when necessary, and an in-concert showcase for instrumental mastery".
The Anchorage Press - News Article - Anchorage, Alaska
"There is a reason why Robbie Laws has held such demand with audiences in the Northwest. His vocals are spot on and his guitar work is crisp, tasty and quite often simply jaw-dropping amazing".
Greg Johnson - President, Cascade Blues Association - Portland, Oregon
