Joey Gilmore

Joshua Gilmore entered the world around 1947 in Ocala, Florida, USA. Self-taught on guitar from childhood, he soon formed a youthful ensemble and began appearing onstage. Church settings hosted his earliest shows, where sacred material dominated the set lists, but secular numbers entered the mix over time and broadened his following, despite the fact that most club bookings occurred at spots the members were legally too young to patronize.

Relocating southward within Florida during the 1960s placed him at the center of the area’s blues circuit, where he was regularly enlisted to back visiting performers. Recording commenced in the mid-1970s with scattered EPs, and a full album surfaced in the late 1980s, yet regular releases did not begin until the early 1990s. Festival stages he has graced encompass Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Mississippi Valley, Montreux, Riverwalk, and Taiwan, plus the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee; his 2006 appearance there earned widespread praise and the Best Band award. Mid-2000s bandmates included Regi Oliver on saxophone and keyboard, George Caldwell on bass, and Dave Wooten on drums.