A friendship that grew on the high school football team led two young men toward their dream career — in music.
Canadian bluesy rock duo The Blue Stones recently held an intimate performance at WKQX’s The Sound Lounge – prior to their Saturday night Pearl Jam pre-show.
Guitarist/vocalist Tarek Jafar jams during the intimate set at The Sound Lounge. Damien Dennis/The Pit
Lifelong friends Tarek Jafar — guitarist, vocalist and lyricist — and Justin Tessier — percussionist and backing vocalist — are the bodies behind The Blue Stones, who are in their 8th year as a band.
During the afternoon performance, the group performed three songs from their upcoming album, Black Holes, including title track “Black Holes, Solid Ground.”
Despite performing in an intimate setting, those in attendance had a hard time staying in their seats. The Sound Lounge has the feeling of being in a friend’s living room or a coffee shop, but people were really getting into the music during the entire half-hour set.
With a sound similar to Black Keys and Arctic Monkeys, both musicians had so much energy and were clearly very into the music. The quality of the music live was amazing. Both Jafar and Tessier clearly have a lot of talent.
Jafar noted that the duo wanted to stay away from overly processed tunes — avoiding the ‘clean’ and technically perfected music style that is common today to get back to rock ‘n roll roots with a raw, instrumental feel. With this live show as an indication, that goal is something they’re clearly achieving.
“We play blues-rock, though it’s not loose and dirty,” explains Tessier. “It’s lean, raw, tight, without a wasted note.”
The Blue Stones seemed really excited about their opening show the next day prior to Pearl Jam, but they pulled all the stops in their early afternoon performance, seducing the audience with their music.
Following their Chicago stops, the duo is headed to InCuyu Festival this weekend in Cleveland, Ohio, and playing a brewery opening in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Sept. 1.
Keep up with them by following them on Facebook, Instagram and their website. And be sure to pick up their album ‘Black Holes’ on Oct. 26.
