THE PORTLAND SOUL ALL-STARS
(aka "The Portland Blues Revue")
"Saturday night's tribute to 'the Wicked Pickett' was a smash hit, doing turn-away business at Jimmy Mak's." --The Oregonian, July 8, 2006
"James Brown might be gone, but his spirit remains." --The Oregonian, March 12, 2007
"As heavy as [Memphis soul's] impact has been, don't forget how flat-out good the music was. The Portland Soul All-Stars will remind you." --The Oregonian, February 2, 2008
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Louis Pain was a founding member of the NW Ray Charles Tribute, writing the rhythm section charts and playing B-3 on the award-winning initial gig at the Safeway Waterfront Festival and for the first few performances thereafter. Later, when soul music giants Wilson Pickett, James Brown & Etta James passed, Louis organized musical tributes to them as well, not simply performing their hits, but putting the music into the context of the artists' remarkable lives and careers.
That tribute band, the Portland Soul All-Stars--made up of some of Portland's top vocalists & musicians--has subsequently come together to reprise the Pickett & JB shows, as well as to stage tributes to Memphis Soul, to Romantic Soul, and, most recently, to Philly Soul. Each and every one these shows--whether at the blues festival or at Portland's Jimmy Mak's, has been hugely successful, both artistically and in terms of audience turnout and response.
Below is a review of the first Portland Soul All-Stars show--a heartfelt tribute to the recently deceased soul music great "Wicked" Wilson Pickett.
Poster designed by Micah Kassell
"The Portland Blues Revue, put together by Louis Pain and featuring vocalists Curtis Salgado and LaRhonda Steele, provided our 2012 Jazz At The Oxford Series with a rousing opening weekend. Three incredible shows. Three oversold houses. Louis was wonderful to work with and the shows were sizzling hot!" --Marshall Glickman, CEO, G2 Strategic, LLC
