Lionel Young at the Somers Point Beach

"On the Way to Memphis," the Lionel Young Band puts into the Somers Point (NJ) Beach for a free concert under the stars. 

Nancy and Carmen note: - "Bring a beach chair and a jacket." 

Don't miss Lionel Young appearing at the opening of the Somers Point Beach Concerts on Friday, June 15th @7PM!!

Violin meets the Blues. Winner of the 2008 International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, TN for solo performer, Lionel Young has won numerous other awards including: The Young Artist Award -Pittsburgh Symphony, and Westword's Best of Denver 1989 for his band the Last Fair Deal. In 1992 he won a position with the Denver Chamber Orchestra and premiered a solo piece by William Hill.  

Lionel also won another award for Best Blues Band in  Westword's Best of Denver in 1996 and 1997 for his current incarnation -  The Lionel Young Band.  Releasing their first CD - As the Sun Goes Down - in December 1997, the disc has received excellent reviews regionally & nationally. Lionel has played in concerts with Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Paige/Robert Plant, James Taylor, Doc Severenson, Linda Ronstadt, Living Color, Billy Taylor, Woodie Herman, Stanley Turrentine, Homesick James, Homer Brown, Hamlet Bluiett, Chief Bae, and Johnny Long.  If world class and refined are keywords in your opinion – The Lionel Young Band has the Midas touch.

Lionel Young is a high energy performer with a bent for the blues. His LIONEL YOUNG BAND, winners of numerous awards for best in and around the Colorado region, have won the 2011 International Blues Challenge (IBC) band competition. 

Added to his victory at the 2008 IBC in the solo-duo catagory, that makes Lionel Young the first double champion in the history of the IBC.

Fans of the driven, classically trained Young, love his distinctive brand of blues on the electric violin. His show features not only Young originals but interpretations of blues classics by Willie Dixon, Leadbelly and Stevie Ray Vaughan, features the strength and passion of Young’s playing, as well as his smooth vocals and unique translations. The songs, which include his award-winning composition ” Brown Cloud Over Denver” and “Hey, O.J.,” a controversial little gem, alternately stir up social concerns and soothe the weary soul. It’s prime. It’s fun. It’s Lionel Young.

Born in Rochester, New York, Lionel Young began taking violin lessons at the age of six with Anastasia Jempelis at the Eastman School of Music. He was a member of the Pittsburgh Opera-Ballet Orchestra and the National Repertory Orchestra which commissioned him to play bluegrass and blues for their summer festival and on a tour of Japan, Taiwan, and Korea during the 1988 Summer Olympic Music Festival.

Throughout his career, Mr. Young has won numerous awards including: The Young Artist Award (Pittsburgh Symphony); The Concerto Contest (Carnegie-Mellon); The Passamenic Award (Branchwood String Quartet); and the award for the Best Blues Band in Westword’s Best of Denver. He’s also won a position with The Denver Chamber Orchestra and premiered a solo piece by William Hill.