Steve Nardella has been blasting away with his 1956 Gibson for decades now, and can rattle off more than 400 vintage tunes—from the blues to ‘50s rock and even the archives of ‘40s swing. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island the year Roy Brown recorded “Good Rockin’ Tonight” and that song must have gotten into Steve’s soul. He grew up on the sounds of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Eddie Cochran on the family phonograph and Carl Henry’s local radio show, which featured the music of blues legends such as Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, and Count Basie. As a teen Steve discovered a goldmine at Carl Henry’s record store (known as Carl’s Diggins: The Best of the Blues) and quickly became one of its most frequent customers, buying the 45 records of Muddy, Little Walter and Jimmy Reed. He got hooked on guitar and harmonica, and it was in 1970, that Nardella and his two friends John Nicholas and Fran Christina drove to Michigan for the Ann Arbor Blues Festival. Nardella and Nicholas began performing as a duo and then as a band known as the Boogie Brothers, along with Christina on drums, and Sara Brown on bass. They were featured on the ‘72 Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival album on Atlantic; backing Boogie Woogie Red and Johnny Shines. Steve has continued to play the blues and roots rock & roll with various musicians passing through his band, and by now he's a legend with a repertoire like few other musicians, in Michigan or anywhere else.