Today, Austin's own venerable blues piano legend Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins turns 95 years of age. Born on the Honey Island Plantation in Belzoni, Mississippi in the summer of 1913, Perkins went on to play with famed musicians like Robert Nighthawk and Sonny Boy Williamson II, as well as a long tenure as the pianist in Muddy Waters' band. At 95, Pinetop continues to make milestones in his long and successful solo career. He had two albums that were nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award, one of which one in the Best Traditional Blues Album category. That record, the fantastic "The Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen - Live in Dallas", features fellow legends David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Henry Townsend, and Robert Lockwood, Jr. (check it out at www.blueshoeproject.org). Perkins just released a new studio album, "Pinetop & Friends", on Telarc Records.
Perkins will be joined this evening by friends and special guests for a birthday celebration at Antone's, Austin's Home of the Blues. Doors open at 7:00 and the show starts at 8. Antone's is located in downtown Austin at the corner of 5th and Lavaca.
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