Ketner Music

played weekly throughout the DFW metroplex, at popular venues such as Prophet Bar, High and Tight, Barcadia, Twilite Lounge, Doublewide, Deep Ellum Brewery, The Standard Pour, to name a few. In addition, they've held a year-long residency on Wednesday nights at the Free Man Cajun Cafe in Deep Ellum. The band is led by the talented and charismatic Stephen Ketner on guitar and vocals. Ketner has a background in jazz, having played with the The Free Loaders for the past two years. He's a consummate professional who's been playing guitar for over ten years. His style ranges from subdued and emotive, to a more complex and overt showmanship, reminiscent of Hendrix himself. The trio is also comprised by the reputable Merik Gilette on drums and the versatile Uriah Stake on bass. Press:

"Stephen Ketner AKA Stevie James is actually a 26-years-old guitar player and singer with an incredible knowledge of blues and jazz music. Strangely, his interest in blues came via grunge when he saw Nirvana's Unplugged performance on MTV 11 years ago and was particularly taken with the group's cover of a Leadbelly song. The Stevie James Trio have been around since April and can be seen at The Free Man on Wednesday nights playing an eclectic mix of music, anything from Louis Armstrong to John Mayer." Jeremy Hallock, Dallas Observer. "The Free Man has live music just about every night, up to about fifteen free shows per week. On Wednesday, though, you can experience one of the area's most talented blues guitarists in his element without plunking down a dime. Starting at around 10 p.m., the Stevie James Trio plays blues riffs and experimental work that is the perfect cure for your southern blues jones." Amy McCarthy, Dallas Observer. "Watching the Stevie James Trio at The Prophet Bar was refreshing despite the fact that I am a neophyte to blues music. Guitarist and vocalist Stephen Ketner's banter was a history lesson on the blues genre and an explanation of the band's sensibilities. To this point, it became really hard to argue against the SJT's deep-running nuances. Also, I saw Ketner do a guitar solo with his teeth, so there's that." James Khubiar, Dallas Observer. "The Stevie James Trio keeps the blues as viscerally moving as it should be. No, there's not a bunch of that bass (word to that annoying song by that person who is on the radio) or k**b twiddling going on, but hell, this has soul. Long and smoldering hot solos will be had. They are undoubtedly gonna happen and that's the way we like it." H. Drew Blackburn, Dallas Observer