Bruce James and Bella Black joined musical forces in Austin, Texas in 2011 and have been on a mission spreading the word of “Guerrilla Soul” ever since. The roots of their music spring from the tradition of the Southern Soul from Texas, New Orleans and Memphis, yet they are not a throwback. The foundation of James & Black is the voices and stories in their songs. Since relocating to Europe in the summer of 2012, James & Black have toured throughout Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, Spain and France, playing close to 150 shows per year and covering over 300,000 km in the process. In 2018, their 3-week debut tour across the UK brought “Guerilla Soul” to appreciative British audiences, resulting in Festival bookings and a series of tours planned throughout 2019. They have supported Gregory Porter and Fatoumata Diawara in Leiden at Summer Jazz, Candy Dulfer in Amsterdam at Vondel Park, performed at the Baltic Soul Weekender with Sister Sledge and Lenny Williams, played at Peer Blues Festival alongside fellow Texans, ZZ Top, performed at the Porretta Soul Festival alongside artists such as Bobby Rush and Lattimore, performed at the Enclave de Aguas in Soria, Spain alongside Lee Fields and Nikki Hill, performed at The Barcelona International Jazz Festival and have supported New Yorkers, The Slackers, throughout Germany and Austria. The duo released their second studio album, “This Time”, in July 2017 and are now working on a new album scheduled for release later this year.
https://www.jamesandblack.org/