Bonafide blues guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor brings her smoky vocals to District Live

Blues artist Joanne Shaw Taylor was born to be a rock star. Raised in the Black Country of England—think John Bonham, Robert Plant, Beverley Knight—Taylor started playing guitar when she was just 8-years-old, immediately diving into B.B. King, Robert Johnson and Stevie Ray Vaugh. At age 16, while playing a breast cancer benefit in Birmingham, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) was so taken with her playing that he asked her and her family to visit him in London to discuss being on his new recording label. Stewart also immediately asked her to join one of his touring projects. Taylor and her family said yes. And the rest is rock history.

Since 2009, Taylor has released eight internationally acclaimed studio albums, and for the first time she brings her sizzling blues guitar and soulful voice to Savannah. Taylor performs Wed., Oct. 18, at Plant Riverside’s District Live. Tickets start at $35.

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Guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa produced Taylor's latest album

After joining Stewart and his supergroup S.U.P., Taylor stayed on the road with them for a year in the early 2000s. Taylor describes it as an “amazing time of learning and meeting new musicians, learning how to be on the road” with an array of high-level entertainers.

“We were opening for B.B. King, and my mom and I were backstage in the greenroom,” recalled Taylor. “And the door flew open, and we hear ‘Hi everybody, I’m B.B. King!’ It was the warmest, biggest entrance I’ve ever seen anyone make and will always remember it fondly for how he lit up the room.”

In February 2009 in her mid-20s, Taylor released her debut album “White Sugar.” It garnered international acclaim and put her on the radar as an up-and-coming artist to watch. The release also opened new performance opportunities, including a blues festival in Norway where she met American guitar icon, Joe Bonamassa.

“I remember meeting Joe for the first time, we stayed up late and talked all night,” recalled Taylor. "He was the first person I’d met who’d also started out in music very young and was completely in the business at a young age. We formed a very important, artistic friendship that continues, and that’s a very special thing.”

Forged from a dedication to music and keen understanding of the business, the friendship between Taylor and Bonamassa solidified into a working creative partnership. Bonamassa produced Taylor’s most recent album “Nobody’s Fool,” released last October.

The title track opens with a bluesy riff that’s a little Joe-Walsh-meets-Jackson-Brown — it’s crisp, familiar, catchy. But when Taylor’s vocals drop, that’s when the song takes off. Taylor possesses a timbre reminiscent of Susan Tedeschi but with a husk much thicker that firmly amplifies the smoky soulfulness of her voice.

Taylor also pays homage to Stewart on the album. She covers the Eurythmics classic, “Missionary Man,” and again, Taylor’s vocals standout as the searing blues torch they are. Her voice simply scorches.

Last month, Taylor released “Sweet Lil Lies,” a single that will be part of an upcoming album. The tune is a dark, up-tempo pre-break up song. It doesn’t wallow or linger. It moves. Instead of writing the song on guitar, she sat down to write at the piano.

“You know, every day I play one instrument, the guitar, and I wanted to try something different. The piano forced me to write something different,” mused Taylor. “Then ‘sweet little lies’ stuck in my head, and I thought I had something. I went to dinner one night with Joe (Bonamassa), and he absolutely said I needed to write it. 'Sweet Lil Lies' is what came of it.”

From now until the end of November, Taylor is on a run of nearly 30 shows that take her through the South, Midwest and back to the Northeast before she returns to England for a brief break during the holidays. Taylor and her band play nearly 100 shows a year. The night before she plays Savannah, Taylor performs the Georgia Theatre in Athens.

Taylor is backed by a full band including bassist Steve Lehane, drummer Eric Savage, keyboardist Phil Whitfield, and Shane Saunders on guitar. And they all journey together on a tour bus.

“This summer I got a puppy, Hank, and he travels with us now,” said Taylor. “I’m looking forward to exploring Savannah for a few hours with Hank. I’m told it’s lovely this time of year, and I’m hoping to make and meet new Savannah fans.”

If You Go >>

What: Joanne Shaw Taylor

When: Wednesday, October 18, 8:00 p.m.

Where: District Live, Plant Riverside, 400 W. River Street, Savannah

Tickets: Start at $35, plantriverside.com/district-live/

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor brings her smoky vocals to District Live