Kane and Steele offering blues concert Tuesday in Ida

A popular husband-and-wife duo from Ann Arbor is up next in the Black History Month Blues Concert Series.

Shari Kane and Dave Steele will perform a Valentine’s Day concert at 7 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Ida Branch of the Monroe County Library System, 3016 Lewis Ave. in Ida. Admission is free. The public is welcome.

The couple’s performance is the third of seven blues concerts offered this month and next in the series, which is sponsored by the library system, Monroe County Community College and a local Blues Coalition of community partners.

Acoustic blues artists Kane and Steele were part of the series in 2012, and Kane also performed solo in the series in 1994.

On Tuesday, the couple will offer original compositions and classic blues, gospel, swing and ragtime selections. They play guitar, banjo, dobro and mandolin and say their musical inspirations are the Rev. Gary Davis, Robert Johnson, Blind Blake and Robert Lockwood Jr.

“They bring to life music once heard in the streets of Harlem, juke joints of Mississippi, the Carolina hills and jug bands of Memphis,” event organizers said. “They offer street swing and stomp blues.”

Kane and Steele have toured and performed nationally for more than 25 years.

Kane has played fingerstyle blues on the acoustic guitar since the early 1970s and is influenced by the work of the Delta Blues masters. She was a member of Madcat and Kane, a duo that included harmonica legend Peter “Madcat” Ruth, beginning in 1990. Ruth also has a performance coming up in the local blues series.

Known as an accomplished slide guitar player, Kane appeared on Rory Block’s award-winning album “Ain’t I A Woman.” She taught guitar at Washtenaw Community College for 35 years and currently offers guitar lessons in person and online.

Steele started out as an acoustic solo guitarist and singer in the 1970s. In the 1980s, he expanded his interest to electric blues and formed the Ann Arbor blues band Big Dave and the Ultrasonics.

Now, the couple travels together across the U.S. at venues such as the Augusta Heritage Festival in West Virginia, Port Townsend Blues Week in Washington and various festivals and concert venues in Michigan.

Their recordings include “Feels Like Home” and “Four Hand Blues.”

Blues concerts at Monroe County library branches continue throughout February and March. Other artists in the series include singer Carla Cooke Hampton, the daughter of the legendary Sam Cooke; vocalist and pianist Airey B paying tribute to legendary blues women; and Peter “Madcat” Ruth’s C.A.R.MA. Quartet.

The annual blues series also includes The Big Gig! hosted by Monroe County Community College on Feb. 25 with performances by the Rev. Robert Jones, the Chris Canas Band and R.J. Spangler’s Blues Review.

For more information, visit www.mymcls.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Kane and Steele offering blues concert Feb. 14 in Ida