Roomful of Blues Celebrate New Release With Two Live Performances In Saratoga Springs!

“They kick out the jams and take us higher and higher, swinging and swaying with pulsing horns and pulsating guitars. Richly textured, raucous and rambunctious…we’re dancing from the first track to the last.”
–Living Blues

“Roomful of Blues are the best little big band on the scene. Virtuoso musicianship [that is] jubilant, horn-propelled R&B magnificence. Boisterous and rousing with tight, fluid arrangements and an infectiously joyous spirit.”

–Blues Music Magazine

“Jumps, swings, struts, and rocks…supercharged and ready to rumble.”

–No Depression

Rhode Island-based horn-driven blues, jump, swing and soul band Roomful of Blues will celebrate the release of their new Alligator Records album, Steppin’ Out!, with two live performances at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, April 18, 2026. With the new album Steppin’ Out!, Roomful of Blues introduces the soulful, emotive, full-throated vocalist D.D. Bastos. With D.D., the band is celebrating an historic milestone. For the first time in their history, Roomful of Blues have recorded an album featuring a female vocalist.

Roomful of Blues, according to DownBeat magazine, “are in a class by themselves.” On record and on stage, the band–first formed in 1967 and led by master guitarist Chris Vachon for over three decades–delivers a toe-tapping mix of jump, swing, blues and proto rock ‘n’ roll. USA Today says they play “high voltage, swinging jump blues and R&B.” With longtime tenor and alto sax player Rich Lataille leading the horn section since 1970, Roomful of Blues’ impeccable musicianship has earned them five GRAMMY Award nominations and seven Blues Music Awards. Twice, the prestigious DownBeat International Critics’ Poll has selected them as Best Blues Band. And now, even after 19 previous releases and thousands of live shows, Roomful of Blues, one of the premiere blues ensembles in the world, continue to break new ground.

Performance information is as follows:

Date: Saturday, April 18, 2026

Venue: Caffe Lena

Address: 47 Phila St.

City: Saratoga Springs, NY

Phone: 518-583-0022

Showtimes: 5:00pm and 8:00pm

Ticket price: $20.61-$41.21

Website: www.caffelena.org

*See website for complete performance information

Click here for bio, cover art and high-res jpegs.

Live performance video for “You Were Wrong”:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tdQM4tRz58

Produced by Chris Vachon, Steppin’ Out! features 14 rollicking, house-rocking performances. Bastos’ and the musicians’ emotional connection to the material is palpable from the first note to the last. The album opens with the supercharged, guitar and horn-storming cover of Billy “The Kid” Emerson’s Satisfied. The track list includes timeless reinterpretations of mostly obscure songs originally recorded by legends including Big Mama Thornton (You Don’t Move Me No More), Big Maybelle (I’ve Got A Feeling and Tell Me Who), Etta James (Good Rocking Daddy), and Buddy & Ella Johnson (Why Don’t Cha Stop It). Jimmy McCracklin’s Steppin’ Up In Class, Tiny Bradshaw’s Well Oh Well, Z.Z. Hill’s You Were Wrong and Smiley Lewis’ Dirty People, like all the songs on the album, are unearthed treasures.

The current lineup of Roomful of Blues features guitarist and bandleader Chris Vachon, who first joined in 1990 and has been leading the group since 1998. The band has maintained its instantly identifiable sound through great musicianship and a stellar horn section–featuring tenor and alto saxophonist Rich Lataille, who first joined in 1970. Lataille’s masterful playing can evoke either the fat-toned, honking sax of the glory days of early rock or the cool elegance of big band swing jazz. Along with Vachon, Lataille, and lead vocalist D.D. Bastos, Roomful of Blues features the talents of keyboardist Jeff Ceasrine, bassist Lou Bocciarelli, drummer Mike Coffey, baritone and tenor sax player Craig Thomas and trumpeter Christopher Pratt.

Joyous and rambunctious, Roomful of Blues is a band built to deliver the goods night after night. Their winning combination of horn-driven jump, swing, blues, rock ‘n’ roll, R&B and soul remains their calling card, as does their ability to fill the dance floor. “We always keep things fresh, and we keep the excitement level high,” says Vachon. “Playing this music is an immense amount of fun for us. And it’s just as much fun for our audience.” Now, with Bastos and her richly expressive, swaggering vocals leading the charge, the band is captivating audiences old and new everywhere they perform. With Steppin’ Out! , Roomful of Blues remain a defining musical force in the blues world, with their sound rooted in tradition, but their sights reaching far into the future.