ROBERT HARRIS GROUP
PERFORMANCE TIME: 10 a.m. Saturday April 27, Plant City Observer Stage
WEBSITE: robertharrismusic.com
Robert Harris has built a reputation as one of the best jazz/R&B musicians in Central Florida and recently has garnered national attention.
This will be the group’s first time performing at the Tampa Bay Blueberry Festival, but the group’s members are no strangers to performing at large festivals.
Harris has performed at nationally recognized jazz festivals, including the Miami Jazz in the Garden Festival, Daytona Jazz Festival and the Jacksonville Jazz Festival. There, he has opened for well-known jazz artists, such as Richard Elliot, Peter White and Jeff Golub.
Harris has three studio releases, including his latest, “Miami Sun,” which has taken his career to new heights. Three songs off that album have charted, including the title track, which landed in the top 10 on the national indie charts and top 20 on the national charts.
Harris has performed at Keel and Curley Winery several times in the past and is excited to perform at his first Tampa Bay Blueberry Festival.
“We are looking forward to the show,” he says. “It should be a fun time.”
Harris and his band brings an energy to the stage that he says people love.
“There’s simply no other way to play live music,” he says about his playing style.
A Detroit native, Harris cut his musical teeth on legends such as George Benson, Stevie Wonder and Hall & Oats, which inspired his musical aspirations at just 12 years old. He began playing guitar at 16 in the Detroit area and moved in 1978, to Seattle, where he spent several years touring the West Coast before finding his way to Los Angeles.
There, he signed with West Management & Record Company and produced his first CD project, “Don’t Wait.” He built a talent and passion for the engineering side and worked for 10 years in L.A., arranging and producing projects as a studio musician and sideman.
After moving to Florida, he has enjoyed his time touring in the Sunshine State.
Harris will play as part of a trio at the Blueberry Festival, including Steve Takahashi on drums and Jimmy Seay on bass.