Michael Lee Ammons and The Water Street Hot Shots: Home
Welcome to the official Water Street Hot Shots' website! Thanks for your interest.
The Water Street Hot Shots are a hard working traditional blues string band. Their recording "This Will Bring You Back" is now available on PERKATONE RECORDS. Drawing from acoustic musical styles of the 1920's and 30's, The Hot Shots' repertoire includes old-time blues, ragtime, novelty, and "hokum" party music. Listeners can expect to hear slide-guitar in the style of masters like Son House and Tampa Red, jug band tunes, and string band blues. Take a moment to check out what they do!
Some selected performances have included opening for Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Bob Stroger, and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, playing the Henry Townsend Benefit Concert, 2007 Paramount Blues Festival, The 24th Annual Minneapolis Jug Band Battle, and an opening for guitar legend Leo Kottke. Other favorites for the band include Fred's Annual Corn Roast and of course The Water Street Pub.
Blues Review Magazine's David Freeland calls Ammons "An appealing performer with a keen awareness of early blues styles.."
Bob Buckingham wrote in The Old-Time Herald that "These guys have the blues and it is our good fortune that they do... The Hot Shots are a talented bunch of fellows who bring a depth of musicality to the proceedings...Recommended listening."
Blues researcher, author and musician David Evans says, "Michael Lee Ammons and The Water Street Hot Shots have a great repertoire of classic tunes from the blues, hokum, string band, and jug band traditions, plus some solid originals. What I like about them is their strong vocals and collective groove. They sound like a real band, not just a collection of individual talents, though there's plenty of the latter to appreciate as well. Their CD 'This Will Bring You Back' makes me want to visit Sheboygan!"
Please help us stay in touch with an email address that we can use to notify you of any special Hot Shot news. Direct inquiries and comments about booking, CD sales and other related topics are easy to make with the CONTACT information. The GUESTBOOK posts to the web, and the Hot Shots welcome comments and related web links.
Thank you to all fans who have come out for performances, buy CDs, and who help spread the news about Michael Lee Ammons and The Water Street Hot Shots.