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Guitarist/songwriter Ben Rice fronts this group of five teenage blues devotees from Newberg, performing originals as well as classic blues-rock. Ben Rice has been playing around Portland and Seattle since he was 9, as a member of his older brother's heavy metal band, Minor Effects. When that band broke up five years ago, Ben rounded up a handful of musicians from Newberg's highschool jazz band to form this rocking blues group: Jessie Nagler, on bass; Ben's brother, Daniel, who was in the 6th grade when he joined, on sax and harmonica; keyboardist Seth Williams; and drummer Lea Weber, who without doubt is already one of the most powerful female blues drummers in the Pacific Northwest (she's also a 4.0 student and hockey player). The band has opened for Dave Mason and Curtis Salgado, has played the Rose Festival the past two years, serves as the backing band for Portland's Blues in the Schools program, has played Seattle peace concerts, Walla Walla Hot August Blues Festival, St. Helens American Music Festival, and numerous local breweries, pubs and weddings. This summer the group has been invited to perform at the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival in north central Washington.

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Recorded from KBOO FM, a local all volunteer radio station. There is some inherent reception problems scattered throughout these recordings. The station is not very powerful and the team had some problems on the first day of the festival getting everything "plugged in". All in all some great music with a few tolerable "blurps". FM > MD > HDD > CDWav (for splitting) > FLAC No set lists or art. Ben Rice & Youth of the Blues Guitarist/songwriter Ben Rice fronts this group of five teenage blues devotees from Newberg, performing originals as well as classic blues-rock. Ben Rice has been playing around Portland and Seattle since he was 9, as a member of his older brother's heavy metal band, Minor Effects. When that band broke up five years ago, Ben rounded up a handful of musicians from Newberg's highschool jazz band to form this rocking blues group: Jessie Nagler, on bass; Ben's brother, Daniel, who was in the 6th grade when he joined, on sax and harmonica; keyboardist Seth Williams; and drummer Lea Weber, who without doubt is already one of the most powerful female blues drummers in the Pacific Northwest (she's also a 4.0 student and hockey player). The band has opened for Dave Mason and Curtis Salgado, has played the Rose Festival the past two years, serves as the backing band for Portland's Blues in the Schools program, has played Seattle peace concerts, Walla Walla Hot August Blues Festival, St. Helens American Music Festival, and numerous local breweries, pubs and weddings. This summer the group has been invited to perform at the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival in north central Washington.

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