Schedule
Friday, September 13, 2024 at 10:00 pm (Juke Joint Show | Sheridan Opera House)
SAturday, September 14 AT 5:30 - 6:30 PM (Blues Stage)
Sunday, September 15 10:00 AM (Madeline Hotel)
Earnest Roy, Jr. was born on September 25th, 1958 in Clarksdale, Mississippi under the watchful eye of his late, great father and guitarist, Earnest Roy, Sr, who worked with Jackie Brinston, Ike Turner, John Lee Hooker, Wade Walton, Raymond Hill and many of the other Clarksdale bluesman. Earnest Sr. was in a book called, “Conversation with the Blues” by Paul Oliver. Earnest’s father taught him bass guitar at the early age of five, and when Earnest turned eight, he began playing in his fathers band, “Earnest Roy and the Clarksdale Rockers”, who's members included Big Jack Johnson, C.V. Ville, and Raymond Hill.
At age eleven, Earnest Jr. began playing lead guitar. Earnest Jr. formed his first band, First Choice, at age fourteen. It was at this time that he began playing blues and jazz music that developed into his own style, “Bluejazz”. The national exposure of First Choice led to an offer as a regular performer on Soul Train. At the time, however, the fourteen year old decided to finish high school. At seventeen, Earnest moved to Dayton, Ohio and joined a band called, Black Satin Soul.
In 1989, Jim O’Neal , the president and C.E.O. of Rooster Blues Records signed Earnest “Guitar” Roy to the Rooster Blues label and released a single called “Too Many Women And I Wanna Know What My Little Girl’s Been Doing”. The song was written in a San Diego hotel room while touring and playing backup guitar for the late blues great, Albert King.
From 1993 to 2001, Earnest played for the international televangelist and pastor, Rod Parsley, whose breakthrough ministry aired on 320 nations around the world. In 2001, Earnest “Guitar” Roy returned to his blues roots when he began touring and appearing at blues and jazz festivals with the blues legend, Sam Carr. Earnest also toured Australia in cities such as Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Byron Bay, and Brisbane to name a few. While in the U.S., Earnest played at The House Of Blues in Orlando, Fl. with Joe Turner.
Earnest’s other credits include playing drums on Big Jack Johnson’s first album “Oil Man”, and playing lead guitar and drums on Frank Frost’s “Midnight Prowler” album (Earnest has writing credit for the song "Earnest’s Groove"). The song appeared on the Earwig Music Label.
Bob Eagle, an Australian Blues Historian, said, “Earnest plays lovely, thoughtful original solos. Earnest is not another B.B. or Albert King, but is one of the few original voices on guitar. He has a happy knack of writing good songs and performing them convincingly.”