The Hugh Pool Band
The Hugh Pool Band has a residency here at 11th St. Bar on the third Thursday of each month unless Hugh’s out of town rocking the rest of America. Hugh is a musician, songwriter, producer, and member of the New York Blues Hall of Fame who plays guitar in a unique style that melds traditional Delta blues, country music and classic and psychedelic rock and roll. His instrument of choice is a National Steel Triolian, a resonator guitar somewhat like a Dobro, played with a spark plug wrench through an Ibanez TS-9 overdrive pedal and a Dunlop Dyna comp compressor. He also plays Harmonica, Banjo, Lap Steel, Mandolin, sings and plays standard electric guitars. He is joined by Ken Rich on Bass and either Keith Robinson or James Wormsworth on drums. www.HughPool.com
11th St Bar510 E 11th St, New York 10009
The Hugh Pool Band brings its third-Thursday residency to 11th St. Bar, except when Pool is away touring elsewhere in America. The group is built around Hugh Pool with Ken Rich on bass and either Keith Robinson or James Wormsworth on drums. Expect Pool’s guitar-led songs and playing to draw on traditional Delta blues, country, and classic and psychedelic rock and roll. His National Steel Triolian resonator guitar, played with a spark plug wrench and run through overdrive and compression pedals, is a defining part of the band’s sound. Pool also sings and may move between harmonica, banjo, lap steel, mandolin, and electric guitar.
Pool is a musician, songwriter, and producer, as well as a member of the New York Blues Hall of Fame. His approach melds Delta blues with country and rock and roll rather than treating those traditions as separate lanes. The resonator guitar is his instrument of choice, though the range of instruments credited to him suggests a set shaped by shifting colors as well as guitar work. With Rich anchoring the low end and Robinson or Wormsworth on drums, this regular East Village date presents Pool’s music in a compact band format built for the songs and his distinctive slide-driven guitar style.
A basement club in the East Village, 11th St Bar is a steady fixture for live music, hosting regular house band sets and long-running residencies. The room is a modest space where the audience sits on wooden benches, close enough to hear every note from the front row. Shows typically run from 8:30 PM to 11:00 PM, with multiple sets and a relaxed, conversational atmosphere. The bar is present, offering drinks to accompany the music, and the evening is a night out where people listen, talk, and share in the energy of the performers. It's a place where local musicians play with authenticity and warmth, and the audience is there to experience the music, not just watch it.