The Fabulous Thunderbirds are celebrating five decades of making music in 2024, but don’t expect any birthday balloons or candles when the band stops in Aurora.
Blues-rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds performs at 8 p.m. Feb. 1 at The Venue in Aurora. The band — which once counted Jimmie Vaughan amongst its ranks — is led by co-founder and sole original member Kim Wilson.
Wilson is the lead singer and plays harmonica. Other T-birds are Johnny Moeller on guitar, Bob Welsh on piano and guitar, Ruby Albin on drums and Steve Kirsty on bass.
Wilson is “very familiar” with Chicago and Aurora and says he’s looking forward to the gig.
“I’m really looking forward to the Midwestern winter — not,” he said laughing. “It’s very rare that we come out this time of year — I don’t like the cold. But I’m really looking forward to being there. I’ve worked with a lot of people over the years from Chicago like Muddy Waters, Jimmie Rodgers, Eddie Taylor — they were my heroes.”
It’s an improvised show, he said, right down to the set list.
“I’ve never had a set list, I just call it off like I see it,” he said. “The improvisations go all the way to stuff that sometimes I might even play stuff that the band hasn’t played before. I might call something off like, ‘Hey, Chuck Berry in D. Let’s go.’
“I’ve told all my band members over the years, if I call off something, you should know how it goes. It’s not rocket science. What it does is, if you’re playing a cover, it’s not going to sound like the original at all. That’s what makes things interesting for everyone, including me. It has to be interesting; it has to get my creative juices flowing.
“If I had a pile of hits, it would probably be very boring for me because you have to play them every time.”
Don’t worry, they’ll still play the hits like “Tuff Enuff” and “Wrap It Up.”
“You have to play those. And even those are somewhat improvised, the solos are improvised. The solos are totally different every night.”
It is the 50th anniversary of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, but don’t look for wild celebrations all year long, he said.
“It’s another year. It doesn’t really matter how many years it’s been as long as you can still do it and do it at a high level, it’s not a big deal,” he said. “It’s just another year with a brand-new CD — it just happens to be the 50th year.”
The album drops this spring and has guests like Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal, Mick Fleetwood and Billy Gibbons, he said. It was recorded in 2023 and consists of all original songs except for an old Memphis Minnie song, he said. The others are all original, written by himself and his friend Steve Strongman.
“He came in … and in three days we wrote six songs. He came back for another three days and we wrote another 12,” he said. “So that tells you there was great chemistry there and great respect and an enjoyable experience for everyone. We had 17 songs, we used 10.”
At this time, the album is going to be called “Struck Down by the Blues,” he said, which is also one of the tracks.
“It’s maybe an Albert King-esque, roots … it’s a more contemporary concept. Whatever contemporary is,” he said. “I had not recorded digitally in a long time; eight years. And I’ve had Grammy nominations my last four records and they were direct to mono.
“No overdubs, no nothing. It’s amazing what they’ve done with the quality of digital recording in even the last five years. I was shocked. It’s a really good-sounding record.”
It’s mixed by respected audio engineer Shelly Yakus, who has a lengthy resume and has worked with artists like John Lennon, Stevie Nicks, Alice Cooper, Van Morrison, Tom Petty, Dire Straits, Blue Oyster and more, he said.
“He really buffed out the mix fantastically,” he said. “He is responsible for mixing 70 million in record sales. This guy is an incredible mixer; he mixes with emotion.”
Wilson was 17 when he started playing the harmonica and singing.
“I was a musician before that, when I was 9, 10 years old. Then I decided I wanted to be an athlete. I was a ballplayer. But I always loved music,” he said. “When I was a senior in high school, I really got into blues music and I’ve been into it ever since.
“I love traditional music. I got into bebop, like late ’40s-early ’60s jazz. I have a lot of that in my collection. Of course (I have) a lot of blues. I have soul, country — all the cool stuff. Those are my inspirations.”
When he is not making music, he likes to work out and go fishing, he said. He needs to keep in shape — he has dates booked through June so far, he said.
People should venture out into the cold because the T-Birds’ blues will warm them up, he said.
“It’s a very energetic show,” he said. “It’s a different show every time. It’s not going to be what they heard the last time they saw us. And the musical expertise is extremely high. The band is incredible. There is a wealth of talent that I tapped into. We know how to put a set together.”
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
When: 8 p.m. Feb. 1
Where: The Venue, 21 S. Broadway, Aurora
Tickets: $40-$50
Information: 331-212-8490; themusicvenue.org
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.
