John Rutherford Interview

John Rutherford is a singer/songwriter, broadcaster, and bluesman based in Calgary, Alberta. He was first exposed to blues music growing up in Toronto, Ontario, and when he moved to Calgary in the late ‘80s, Rutherford fell in love with the city’s east-end blues bar, the King Edward Hotel. He met and played with many of the legends that graced the stage, first as a “King Eddy Brat” and later as a founding member of the King Eddy house band. Rutherford hosted several programs for local Alberta radio stations CJSW and CKUA—including Blues Experiment, a weekly radio show that ran from 1983-1990 on CJSW, and Deuces Wild, a contemporary folk music program on CKUA. Today, his work encompasses several facets of the music industry in Canada. He tours and records with several different bands and has written and produced music for film and television. Rutherford remains an integral part of Calgary’s blues and roots community both as a musician, and as a historian and blues connoisseur.

Career Highlights

During his time at the King Edward Hotel, Rutherford shared the stage with Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Buddy Guy, Eddie Shaw, Billy Branch, Phillip Walker and Jr. Wells.

Rutherford has opened shows for John Hammond, David Wilcox, Johnny Winter, The Neville Brothers, Charlie Musslewhite, and Omar and the Howlers.

Today, he performs and records with several artists and bands including the Hoodoo Sons, the Highwater Jug Band, NO GUFF, Ronnie Hayward, Front Porch Roots Revue, the Legislative Assembly, The Big Blue Trio, Bill Dowey, and John Wort Hannam.

In 2002, Rutherford released the album, They’re Red Hot, as half of the duo NO GUFF with Dan Tapanillo, and collaborated on the albums Too Many Chiefs (2002), and The Lonely One In Town (2003) as part of Ronnie Hayward’s band.

Rutherford released his debut solo recording, Echo Broadcast in 2010, which reached Number One on the Alberta-wide CKUA Radio Network’s Top 30 Music Chart.

Source: https://johnrmusic.com/bio