Rising blues star Diana Rein brings her 2020 “Queen Of My Castle” Tour (named for her most recent album) to Arcadia, performing locally at Arcadia Blues Club, 16 E. Huntington Dr., Friday, February 21. Showtime: 8:00pm. Tickets: $10. (advance), $15. (door). Info: (626) 447-9349 or visit http://arcadiabluesclub.com.
Rein – also called the ‘Six String Siren’ – embarks on her first full U.S. Tour this March, including a headlining performance at the Woodystock Blues & Rock Festival in Bullhead City, AZ in May. She is the first female artist signed to musician Mike Zito’s new Gulf Coast Records label. The guitarist-vocalist recently performed on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise in the Mexican Riviera with many of today’s biggest names in the Blues world. Prior to that, Diana was part of the Gulf Coast Records Fest (along with other artists on the label) who played at renowned live music venue Knuckleheads in Kansas City, MO.
The Southern California-based musician celebrated the release of Queen Of My Castle with a sold-out concert at The Historic Merc in Temecula, CA last August. “From the soulful, toe-tapping “Yes I Sing The Blues” to the hard-rocking, “Heat,” Rein showed a versatile voice and sharper-than-sharp songwriting skills with some meaty guitar licks thrown in for good measure,” writes the Valley News in their review of her show, which can be read in its entirety, here. This past July Rein performed in front of thousands of music lovers at the Open Air Blues Festival in Romania, where she was born.
Queen Of My Castle, the follow-up to Rein’s critically-acclaimed 2016 album Long Road, was released last June. The fifteen-song disc is co-produced by Michael Leasure (drummer for the Walter Trout Band) and is mixed by Lincoln Clapp, who previously mixed Texas Flood by the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan, one of Diana’s biggest influences.
What The Press Is Saying About…Diana Rein Queen Of My Castle
“Rein’s vocals contrast nicely with her down-and-dirty guitar work. Her soloing shows a great command of the modern blues vocabulary: fat, nasty tone with little special effects or frills. Queen Of My Castle is a compelling listen. The band is solid throughout the album and lends strong support from the first track to the last but there’s no doubt who is the queen of THIS castle!”
“Diana Rein gifts us her third full length effort in Queen of My Castle. She has already proved herself an accomplished singer songwriter steeped in the sounds and licks of Chicago blues. If you were to confuse “Yes I Sing the Blues” with Buddy Guy’s “Damn Right I Got the Blues,” you wouldn’t be faulted. She’s channeling blues legends in the best of ways.”
“Queen Of My Castle by Diana Rein is all the proof you need that women can play the blues as well as anyone. A constant throughout the album is the guitar work. “Time’s Ticking Away” features some links that bring Eric Clapton to mind. With the soulful vocals and rocking blues melodies, one can’t help but enjoy all of the songs that Rein pours her soul into.”
“As much as I like Rein on guitar, it’s her vocals that tantalize me the most, especially on the light-hearted romp “Get Down” where she shouts out powerful vocals over wah wah guitar riffs. It’s worth noting that all 15 cuts on Queen Of My Castle are original compositions, making Rein a triple threat — guitarist, singer AND creative songwriter.”
There’s nothing traditional about Blues artist Diana Rein. Diana’s parents escaped communist Romania in 1981 when she was three years old. They arrived in Chicago with only Fifty dollars in their pocket and a dream for a better life. Diana brought her family’s strong Romanian work ethic to performing arts school, where her talents flourished, eventually leading her to a role in the classic American 90’s comedy “Home Alone”. Diana’s love of the Blues started at age eight, when her parents brought her to a Chicago Blues Club, arranging to have her perform some songs with the band. This was a defining moment. A blues artist was born. Over the years, Diana’s music heroes and influences emerged: SRV, Prince, and Phillip Sayce to name a few. But it all started back in Chicago, the home of amazing Blues legends like Buddy Guy.
Diana followed her heart to California, where it would be broken repeatedly and made stronger each time. With experience came strength, self-reliance and plenty of songwriting material. At one point when hope was slipping away, Rein promised to make music her life’s work, grabbing the reins (no pun intended) on her songwriting and guitar playing. Music never stopped knocking and Diana is glad she finally swung the door wide open and let it in. So are her fans. Today Diana calls Southern California home, where she continues to release original music and play what feels good for anyone who will listen. Her promise to her fans is that she will never stop making music and growing as an artist.
“When you want something so bad it feels like a curse…Heading down a narrow path. Don’t let them make you feel small and question your Worth.” ~ lyrics from the song “Worth” off Diana’s new album “Queen of My Castle.”
Diana Rein 2020 Queen Of My Castle Tour – Live Shows Itinerary
Feb. 21 (Fri.) ARCADIA BLUES CLUB Arcadia, CA
Feb. 29 (Sat.) DAN ELECTRO’S Houston, TX
March 2 (Mon.) SEVILLE QUARTER Pensacola, FL
March 6 (Fri.) CULTURAL CTR./CHARLOTTE COUNTY Port Charlotte, FL
March 7 (Sat.) ART’S GARAGE Delray Beach, FL
March 12 (Thur.) NASH ST. TAVERN Hillsborough, NC
March 13 (Fri.) MADAM’S ORGAN Washington, DC
March 14 (Sat.) BONEFIRE SMOKEHOUSE BBQ Abingdon, VA
March 15 (Sun.) JV’S RESTAURANT Falls Church, VA
March 17 (Tues.) TIN PAN Richmond, VA
March 19 (Thur.) FOGARTYVILLE Sarasota, FL
March 20 (Fri.) BLUES BASH AT THE RANCH Brooksville, FL
March 21 (Sat.) THE LITTLE BAR Marco Island, FL
March 27 (Fri.) BOXCAR Santa Fe, NM
March 28 (Sat.) MAIN STAGE Cottonwood, AZ
April 3 (Fri.) OLD TOWN BLUES CLUB Temecula, CA
April 25 (Sat.) OLD TOWN TEMECULA THEATER Temecula, CA
April 30 (Thur.) RHYTHM ROOM Phoenix, AZ
May 1/2 (Fri./Sat.) BIRDCAGE SALOON Prescott, AZ
May 15 (Fri.) OLD TOWN BLUES CLUB Temecula, CA
May 16 (Sat.) WOODYSTOCK BLUES FESTIVAL Bullhead City, AZ
June 27 (Sat.) WILD GOOSE WINERY Okanagan Falls, BC
July 17 (Fri.) TOP OF THE ROCKIES RALLY Paonia, CO
July 19 (Sun.) LINCOLN’S ROADHOUSE Denver, CO
Aug. 27 (Thur.) BOULDER STATION CASINO Las Vegas, NV
Sept. 12 (Sat.) LAWNDALE BLUES FESTIVAL Lawndale, CA
(Arcadia, CA) – dougdeutschPR