September 26, 2019
Billy TK Jnr takes on the street blues
Māori bluesman Billy TK Junior is heading for the home of the blues, but on the way he wants to help those with the blues at home.
He's been invited to not only play at Buddy Guy's Legends Club in Chicago on January 13 but to share the stage with the 83-year-old blues legend.
He's warming up with a Road to Chicago tour around the country starting next month, including a special benefit concert for Auckland's homeless.
It's a kaupapa he has been working on with his whānau, providing aroha and āwhina in the form of kai, clothes and blankets from a downtown site on the first Saturday each month.
"Ninety percent of those living on the streets are Māori. A good number of our people are mentally unwell or hurt or disengaged. My wife and children do the hard work of the feeding and the handing out but I talk to people, that's what I'm best at doing, and try to provide an ear and a heart for these people to talk to," he says.
Billy TK's Blues For the Homeless shows are at The Hub in Milford on October 8 and 9.
Tickets to shows on the Road to Chicago Tour will also put people into a draw to go to Chicago.
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