The Philly Blues Kings has been around for a minute. This band represents the best that the contemporary blues has to offer. The lineup is fronted by internationally acclaimed Nola Blue recording artist Clarence Spady on guitar and vocals and backed by Mr. Saxman Frank McKitty on tenor, Hammond ace Joey Stout at the Hammond organ, piano and vocals, and driven by the powerful rhythm team of Jamey Reilly on bass and Paul Albrecht on drums. Our newest member, Kate Gaffney, is a stunning alto singer/guitarist with a national presence on the singer-songwriter circuit. She has released several acclaimed albums and has toured widely across the USA. She is a fearless performer who has embraced the blues with passion and brings a whole new polished feel to the raw edginess of the Kings.

Musically, they are first rate, combining the powerful impact of electric blues with skilled musicianship and stellar vocals. Their sets feature a mix of beloved standards, modern covers, originals and obscure relics that only a music historian would recognize. True to their music-first ethos, the group eschews fame and fortune, and indeed has never even recorded an album together. These performers love the blues - and love to play!

Like so many other blues artists before them, you need to go hear them live if you want to hear them at all. You can find them performing for their loyal fans every 1st, 4th and 5th Sunday at their home base, Jamey's House of Music, where they are the house band. The Sunday Blues Brunch is a Philly institution and features local, national and international blues artists and guests who jam at the club.

Philadelphia has long been known for "The Philly Sound" with numerous world beating soul and R&B groups, as well as being a nexus for top jazz and blues artists and a strong supporting community. The Philly Blues Kings is honored to take its place alongside these giants, and contribute "The PBK Sound" to the world of blues!

Clarence Spady has been described as "the future of the blues" (Bill Dahl, Chicago Tribune). He plays with depth and sensitivity, effortlessly combining blues, jazz, funk, latin and rock into his own unique style. His moving guitar play, rough street-edged vocals, songwriting, and live improvisations are highlighted with every performance.

As one of Nola Blue Records’ newest signings, Clarence is thoroughly motivated when it comes to his career. “Here we are in the saddle,” says the veteran blues guitarist. “I’ve got both hands on the reins right now. So I don’t plan on letting go.”

Excellent news for contemporary blues fans who are well aware of Spady’s acclaimed 1996 album Nature of the Beast and his equally impressive 2008 followup Just Between Us. Clarence’s musical career has weathered its share of peaks and valleys, but playing his singularly funky brand of impassioned, electrifying blues—a talent that has taken him all over the world—dominates his time these days as he writes great new material and prepares to record it.

By any standard, Clarence embarked on his musical odyssey at an uncommonly tender age. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Spady began playing guitar when he was only five years old (his family moved a couple of hours west to Scranton, PA during this period, a town Spady lives in today). Clarence’s musical exploits commenced due to encouragement from two guitarists in his immediate family, his father (also named Clarence) and his Uncle Fletchey. “He was a very good blues guitarist, the likes of Otis Rush or Booba Barnes,” Spady says of his uncle. “He had that nasty, raw feel. He was from North Carolina originally. And he could sing.

Kate Gaffney, singer-songwriter-guitarist, honed her skills in her native Philadelphia, jumped from coast to coast and toured everywhere in between. After laying musical roots in Northern California, building a strong base in Sacramento, she found her niche within the fertile San Francisco Bay Area music community. With Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, High Sierra Music Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, and Hangtown Music Festival performances under her belt, she is thrilled to be playing with some of the bay area’s best local, touring musicians.

Leaving her career as a social worker in 2002, Gaffney began to perform and write alongside local artists, while soaking in the Americana music scene that was flourishing in Sacramento at the time. She hit the road and returned to her native East Coast, where she independently released two albums, Highways and The New Then. Her regular touring led Kate to Austin, TX where she met even more of “the good people” in music. Most notably, Gaffney was befriended by the late Clifford Antone, Austin’s music mogul, who gave her the validation to keep on with her musical calling. Gaffney spent her mid-20’s immersed in the Philadelphia music scene, quickly becoming a standout favorite in the city’s top venues. Upon returning to California, and after recording on both coasts with some of her greatest musical inspirations and closest friends, Kate Gaffney released The Coachman, her “dream record” that garnered national raves. Produced by Barrie Maguire (The Wallflowers, Natalie Merchant, Amos Lee), The Coachman includes contributions from several esteemed musicians, including Steve Kimock, Greg Leisz, Jackie Greene, Andrew Lipke and The Innocent Criminals.

After years of solo performances on the road and playing with various backing bands in Philadelphia and upon returning to Sacramento, in San Francisco Kate grew her musicianship with various collaborations during “the Kitchen Sink Sessions” (2009/2010), a long-standing Thursday night residency at S.F.’s Connecticut Yankee that included some of her current bandmates, in addition to other Bay Area favorites like Dave Brogan (ALO), Chris Haugen (JamBay), Joe Kyle Jr. (Waybacks) & Ben Jacobs (Grateful Bluegrass Boys). Kate can be seen playing with some of these musicians and other music friends in pickup projects and collaborative gigs. Gaffney has released three albums: Highways, The New Then, The Coachman. She has opened for a variety of touring acts, including Todd Snider, Xavier Rudd, Chris Smither, Carolyn Wonderland, Jackie Greene, Karl Denson, Kaki King, Richie Havens, Elephant Revival and Dead Winter Carpenters. 15 years after first stepping on stage, Kate continues to captivate audiences with her voice, songs, and stage presence.

“There’s something about Kate…something a little 80’s, a little 90’s, with a touch of the modern day, all steeped in the Summer of Love. You get a feeling, when you listen to Kate, that she understands the blues, but serves as a muse to keep the blues away. She’s a songwriter who songwriters write songs about. Watching her perform is somehow comforting and her honest vulnerablity lends a welcome tone to her concerts. She has found a nice rapport with her audience and is one of the few performers with whom I welcome the banter. Kate is both disarming and razor sharp at the same time."
- Aaron Redner, writer/musician

Joey Stout aka "Bignote" is a multi-talented musician, singer and producer. He is no stranger to the almighty groove. His musical influences range from Delbert McClinton to Sly Stone to Tower of Power to James Brown.

Joey has performed in the Delaware Valley for the past 20 years with such groups as Tequila Kings, Mudboy, Big Rhythm, Lenny & the Soulsenders, The Andy Kimball Express, Johnny's Dance Band and the Contagious Party Band.

Although a guitarist since the age of 5 (leaving many a melted tube amp in his wake), he was bitten by the Hammond B3 bug early on in childhood. He pulls his influences from such notable greats as Jimmy Greenspoon (3 Dog Night), John Lord (Deep Purple), Billy Preston, Bill Payne (Little Feat) as well as his late band mate & fellow keyboardist, Bill “Wolf" Young.

Joey is a dynamic and soulful player with an old school organ trio feel. He adds a well honed voice ranging from gentle glissando accents to mighty crescendos. He also loves to sing and is no shrinking violet behind the mic!

Saxophonist Frank McKitty grew up in Queens, NY. After receiving a Bachelor Music, Saxophone and Flute in New Orleans, Frank returned to New York where, while working as a teamster and later in Special Markets and AP/AR for New Line Home Video during the day, had the opportunity to work with groups including, The Lynn Oliver Orchestra, The Stan Rubin Orchestra, Los Tremendos de Colombia, Los Chevres de Columbia, Las Chicas and other latin and jazz groups in addition to his own small group.

Frank’s performance experience includes venues; Birdland, the Iridium, the Kat Club, the DuPont/Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, Chris’ Jazz Cafe and the premiere of an original composition at Merkin Hall, New York.

Since relocating to the Philadelphia area, Frank has been active in the Blues scene working freelance and as a regular with “Kitty Mayo and Venom Blues” appearing on their new release “Jamland” (2024) and being inducted into the Delaware Rock & Roll Society Hall of Fame in 2023. Additionally, until 2020, Frank was teaching Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet and Oboe privately. In 2023 Frank released his self-produced album “Praxis” available on all of your favorite streaming services.

Frank has jammed with the Philly Blues Kings for several years, and recently joined as a permanent member.

Drummer Paul Albrecht, a lifelong Philadelphia-area resident, has been performing professionally since he was 15. He has a long, diverse professional background in American music styles, primarily rock, pop, blues, and jazz. He attended Berklee College Of Music(1973-74), studying with legendary jazz drummer Alan Dawson, then continued his studies locally with Nick Moffo. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Paul performed extensively in the Tri-State area with many groups, playing rock,Top 40, disco, country ,new wave-the popular styles of the time, and played with Philly jazz legends The Visitors(Earl and Carl Grubbs) for a brief period.

In 1986, Paul began a steady gig with legendary Philadelphia-based jazz virtuoso multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Bruce Mills. Mr. Mills’group was the house band at Jewel’s, playing opening and intermissions for many national and international jazz artists.The group then became the house band at Sterling’s Place,performing 3-4 nights a week until Mr. Mills’ passing in 1989. Philly jazz legends Jymie Merritt(bass) and Eddie McFadden(guitar), among others, were members of the group for a period.

During this period Paul also began his own jazz group, which he led until 2006 .He featured many notable Philadelphia jazz artists, including Dylan Taylor, Chuck Taylor, Bill Zinno,Tim Price, Paul Gehman, Denise Montana, Mark Kramer, Kenny Kellem, Cliff Kellem, Frank Cook ,Joe Stevenson, Ed Crockett, Rich Budesa, and John Ellis, among others.As well as restaurant,club, and private work, the group also performed at the Berks Jazz Fest, the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, the Peco Energy Jazz Festival,The Philadelphia Free Library, and the Pennsylvania Academy Of The Fine Arts. The 1990s also saw Paul doing plenty of rock ,blues, oldies, and private engagements with many area groups, including a stint with blues diva Deb Callahan.

Bassist Jamey Reilly was trained on accordian, piano and guitar at a young age, and has held down the low end since 1965 when he joined the pop group, "The Abstract Design." He has been an avowed blues lover since 1970 when he did a stint with legendary bluesman John Lee Hooker, and tried to coax Son House out of retirement. It was a reunion performance at Boston's Fenway Theatre that Jamey pulled together, with Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield that cemented his life long addiction to the blues.

Jamey has done gigging around the east coast and has backed some well known national blues names. His playing can be found on a number of CDs by various artists. He spent several decades in numerous roles in the professional audio engineering and live music industry. He pursued a degree in Physical Therapy after two separate accidents with a car and a power saw left his right hand partially paralyzed.

After spending many years on the road and living in various parts of the country, he finally set down roots in Philadelphia and joined the vibrant Philly music scene. Jamey opened the popular Jamey's House of Music, Livehouse, restaurant and bar in Lansdowne PA where PBK is the house band, hosting the Sunday Blues Brunch and Jam.

Jamey enjoys an old-school pocket-playing style with melodic embellishments (no bass solos please), and provides a solid bottom to the music on his extra long scale fretless 5 string Modulus and Fender basses. He fell in love with the low end while growing up listening to the great bass players of the '50's on his parents hi-fi, and spent a life-time seeking the holy grail of flawless bass reproduction during his many years in pro-audio. An hour long BLUES DELUXE interview may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm3hjBigBGg.

Contact Jamey Reilly at jamey@jameyshouseofmusic.com