Since it debuted in 2011, the Boogie Woogie Blues Piano Stomp, has been a hit show, drawing full houses and the best players from around the world.
The guy who closed the show for at least 10 years was a former Detroit pianist named Bob Seeley, who had retired to Florida. Seeley was a diminutive guy, in a pimp’s black pinstripe suit and white fedora, who liked to close the show by duckwalking across the stage. He was a legend in the boogie woogie world, having learned from some of the pioneers of the genre.
Sadly, Bob left the piano and the planet in 2024, after a good run of 96 years.
At this year’s Boogie Stomp, coming this Saturday night, March 7 at 8 p.m., we will honor Bob’s memory. We’ll show a couple of clips of his best Palladium performances and Liz Pennock, who brought me the idea of the Stomp, and Rob Rio, one of our original pianists, will share some memories of Bob.
Tickets for this Stomp are going fast. Get yours now by following this link.
During the show, our MC Larry Lisk (WMNF’s Mo Blues Monday) and I will also take a moment to honor another great blues player. Roy Book Binder was in the audience for some of those first Stomps. He was famous for his acoustic blues, a picking style he learned from masters like The Rev. Gary Davis and Pink Anderson.
Roy completed his “full go-round” earlier this week. Just a couple of days after what would have been his annual show in the Side Door. Roy cancelled for the first time ever, when illness caught up with him a few months ago. He was 82.
Neither of these musical legends were somber, serious types. Celebrating them at a vibrant, fun-filled show like the Stomp is something they’d approve of.
For the 2026 Stomp, we’re bringing back an all-star lineup led by Victor Wainwright, the six-time Blues Award-winner and GRAMMY nominee known as “The Piana from Savannah.” Joining him are three Stomp favorites:
- Rob Rio, the “Boss of Boogie,” and member of the Boogie Woogie Piano Hall of Fame, returning for his fifth Stomp appearance;
- Henri Herbert, back by popular demand following last year’s Stomp and his sold-out Side Door solo performance this summer.
- Liz Pennock & Dr. Blues, longtime hosts of the Boogie Woogie Piano Stomp and members of the Boogie Woogie Hall of Fame.
As usual, there will be two grand pianos on stage and we’ll be projecting images of the keyboards as these musical masters play it eight-to-the-bar.
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