BIO
The Bad Blues Quartet was formed in summer 2014 from the meeting between Federico Valenti, Eleonora Usala, Frank Stara and Simone Arca.
The band started its activity playing the tunes of the masters as well as the most modern sounds (from Elmore James to John Mayer, from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Susan Tedeschi, from Ray Charles to Muddy Waters).
After a few months of activity around Sardinia, the quartet felt the necessity of composing original pieces as well, beginning to insert them gradually into their repertoire until they became the central pillar of their performances and their creative work. Some of these tracks
were presented in summer 2015 at the "Sulle Strade del Blues" Festival in Cagliari. The various musical influences of the members of the group, absolutely heterogeneous, they reflect on their songs, mixing blues with funk and modern black music.
In summer 2016, the Bad Blues Quartet has participated in the "Obiettivo BluesIn" contest hosted by the historic "Pistoia Blues" Festival. The band won the competition with two other bands (among over 700 in the contest) after passing the selections held at Ora (BZ) and Pistoia, and had the opportunity to perform on the Main Stage of the Festival on July 9, 2016. In August, Bad Blues Quartet has taken part in Nureci's "Mammablues" Festival as opening act for Sarah Jane Morris.
On June 1st 2017 the band published its debut album simply called "Bad Blues Quartet". The tracks were recorded at the Metropolitan Studio of Monserrato with the Sardinian guitarist and producer Massimo Satta, established for years in the Italian music scene. The album contains eight original songs and a cover of an old work song, recorded by Alan Lomax in the 30's, and has the partecipation of several guest musicians, well known in the Italian and Sardinian blues scene.
The album has been very well greeted with ratings and reviews from radios, magazines and industry experts.
In summer 2017, the Bad Blues Quartet has taken part in various music festivals such as "Narcao Blues" and "Vulcani - Blues nel Montiferru" and has released two videos of its singles: "Snort Some Daisies" and "Nureci".
In the summer of 2018 the band takes part in the "Camigliano Blues Festival" opening the concert of the great American bluesman Andy J Forest
In October 2018 the Bad Blues Quartets are guests at Cerea's National Blues Made In Italy Meeting.
In November 2018 the quartet changes bass player: with Gabriele Loddo the Bad Blues Quartets are again at work in the studio for the second album.
During spring and summer 2019 the band plays in several blues festivals all across Italy such as Go Marche In Blues, Torrita Blues Festival, Pignola In Blues and Campania Blues Festival.
On July 27 Bad Blues Quartet release their second record called "Back On My Feet". The tracks were recorded at Sonic Tower Records with sound engineer Giampi Guttuso, and is released under the label Talk About Records and featured by Blues Made In Italy. The record contains six original songs and two covers by Vera Hall and Nathaniel Rateliff, and features collaborations of several guests.
In summer 2020 the band takes part at Narcao Blues Festival and, in addition to the main stage concert, recorded and filmed three songs in the magical venue of Nuraghe Seruci. These three videos have been published and included in the dvd "Sardinia Plays The Blues" among other sardinian-born blues artists.
In May 2021 Bad Blues Quartet release their third record called "First Time Last Time" which has been entirely live recorded and filmed in an empty theater, due to the pandemic restrictions. It contains live versions of several songs from previous studio works and two unpublished songs
In 2022 the band takes part at Bitonto Blues Festival and signs up with a new label, Overdub Recordings.
In February 2023 Bad Blues Quartet starts the recordings of the new upcoming studio album in Brescia at Monolith Studio. This work will be produced by the multi-awarded american guitarist Mike Zito. The record will also feature several special guests from the Italian blues scene. The record will be co-produced by Sweet Music agency, with the precious help from Slang Music agency.