TEXAS PRODUCTIONS STARRING J. DONTRAY DAVIS

Singing the blues? It’s not like singing a church song, says roots music legend Blind Lemon Jefferson in Alan Govenar and Akin Babatundé’s compelling Lonesome Blues... This is great stuff, from Blind Lemon’s raw early songs to his more commercial (even gospel-like) later ones. [J.] Dontray [Davis] creates an engaging and vital character; his strong voice can go big in a field holler, soft in a spiritual, or gravelly in a “she done me wrong” song.

     ​​~​Jan Farrington, OnstageNTX

[J. Dontray] Davis certainly gave Jefferson many layers that ranged from cocky musician to a lonely man, but he never played him with sympathy. In short, Davis’ performance was regal.

     ​​~​Rich Lopez, DallasVoice

I want to applaud Mr. [J. Dontray] Davis on his beautiful portrayal of Blind Lemon. It is not easy to captivate an audience for about an hour and a half with a solo performance. Given he also introduced us to other characters in Blind Lemon’s life each was informatively portrayed with precision and was enjoyable especially as they tied to the musical numbers.

     ​​~​Carla Wicks, Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN

[J. Dontray] Davis at once captures the artistic brio and personal bravery of Jefferson, who was “born blind from the cradle“ in 1893, and went on to make blues history in his short life. ... Davis fills up the space with his resonate voice and brings us swiftly into the world of street corner life. ... I got caught up in Jefferson’s great songs, his courage, and his powerful feelings of desire and loneliness.

     ​​~​Martha Heimberg, OnstageNTX

OFF-BROADWAY PRODUCTION STARRING AKIN BABATUNDÉ

Akin Babatundé is outstanding! The performer delivers forceful personification. Confident vocals slip/slide with terrific range and evocative accentuation.

     ​~Alix Cohen, Theater Pizzazz

The musical Lonesome Blues is refreshingly intimate.
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Lonesome Blues is part biography, part concert. For 80 minutes [Akin] Babatundé disappears into the bluesman Blind Lemon and tells his story with unexaggerated concentration and deep commitment. Babatundé doesn’t inundate us with biographical facts all at once but slowly parcels out this, and that, detail about the musician who was dubbed “The Father of the Texas Blues.”
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Babatundé and [Alan] Govenar’s original songs blend right into the dramatic fabric of the show and give us a better foothold on Blind Lemon as an artist and man.

​​Lonesome Blues, directed by Katherine Owens, is an ideal way to acquaint oneself with the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson. Babatundé has the pipes and acting talent to give flesh-and-blood to the legend.

     ~Deirdre Donovan, TheaterScene.com

Akin Babatundé brings [Blind Lemon Jefferson] dramatically to life in Lonesome Blues. It is a tour de force performance, with the actor-singer ruminating on Jefferson’s life and singing his repertoire. Developing a distinct, wounded personality, he exhibits the inner longings and passions that Jefferson expressed, in addition to singing a vast number of songs in the style associated with the man who had such an influence on the art of the blues.
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The show affords an opportunity to become acquainted with this icon in the history of the blues, and to the credit of Babatundé, one comes away with a solid impression of the man and his life, as well as the particular approach be brought to the music scene. One can conjure a vision of him ensconced outdoors on a street and singing to passersby, as well as imagining what it may have been like for him being recorded after his talent had been discovered by a record agent.

     ​~William Wolf, Wolf Entertainment Guide

The great music and great associated stories make for an entertaining and informative theater experience.

     ​~Dana Driskell, Guerrilla Journalism

Akin Babatundé, with the outstanding support of guitarist David Weiss, is giving a heck of a concert in Lonesome Blues at the York Theatre Company. Babatundé's voice travels from pure falsetto to rumbly bass and back again, and it can thrill every step of the way. Babatundé's interpretation of the blues offers a wide palette of emotions, and he's charming.
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The show offers a dynamic and rewarding evening in the theatre.

     ​~Wendy Caster, Show Showdown

Akin Babatundé is a charismatic performer. His training as an actor, which is clearly extensive ... allows him to physically embody the character and move through the history of the story gracefully. In Katherine Owens’s production, Babatundé, who is accompanied by the talented David Weiss on guitar, handles the story, songs and plot changes beautifully. He is helped along by James Morgan’s simple set and moody lighting by Steve Woods.
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Texas blues was swingier and more upbeat than Delta blues. Although the music captures the difficulties of being an itinerant and blind black musician, Jefferson’s songs, like “Choo Choo” and “Rabbit Foot Blues” will have you tapping your toes and clapping along to the music in this simple yet powerful one-man show.

     ~Nicole Colbert, Off Off Online

[Akin] Babatundé fully embodies the man with his natural movements, Deep-South dialect, and powerhouse vocals, delivering the disjointed non-linear recollections that flood his mind and the music that comes from the depths of his soul.

He demonstrates his astonishing range, from the jaunty rhythm of “Deep Ellum Blues” and the saucy humor of “Happy New Year Blues” to the grit of “Black Snake Moan,” from his soft falsetto in “Motherless Child” to his low-down notes in “Mosquito.”
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Lonesome Blues is more about feeling than narrative, and Akin Babatundé skillfully delivers the range of emotions in The York’s “free-form” production.

     ​~Deb Miller, DC Metro

In Lonesome Blues, Blind Lemon is embodied with stunning authority by Akin Babatundé, who co-wrote the show with the writer and documentary film-maker Alan Govenar.

Lonesome Blues, directed by Katherine Owens, hits the stage with a grand assuredness about what it wants to say and wants to do.
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It’s the music that is the heart of the show, and Babatundé delivers it with a rich musicality to match his own impressive physical proportions. His voice can go to a somewhat unearthly falsetto, used with especially good effect in the traditional gospel ‘Motherless Child’, and then burrow deep with a thunderous baritone calling up the trumpets of heaven as in the fierce ‘Black Snake Moan’.

Lonesome Blues impresses one mightily with the scope and feeling of its subject’s art. Blind Lemon’s expressions of the highs and lows of his own humanity should make even the most lonesome in his audience feel less so.

     ​~Ron Cohen, Musical Theatre Review