Big Walter Smith and the Groove Merchants is the only band to have appeared at all 14 Bayfront Blues Festivals and the only one to regularly receive a standing ovation both before and after performing. In fact, the band is so popular in Duluth that the mayor designated August 8, 1997 to be Big Walter Smith Day in the city.

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and raised in Kansas City, Walter cites his friendship with Albert Collins and the singing of Bobby Blue Bland and B.B. King as his biggest musical influences. He moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1970, formed the Groove Merchants in 1985 and has been a mainstay of the Twin Cities' music scene ever since.

Big Walter Smith is a Minnesota blues legend and he and this Groove Merchants have won just about every music award that the state has to offer.

In 1998, he made music history when he became the first blues musician inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. The band's 1990 release, Brother To The Blues, received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Blues Recording of the Year. That level of recording excellence has continued with the release of the widely acclaimed Midnight Express and their recent CD, Grovin' (Live).

The current edition of the Groove Merchants is lead by the first-class guitar playing and back up vocals of Scotty Graves with Paul Wigen on keyboards, Joe Sherohman on bass and Tom McShane on drums. The heart of the group's funky blues and brassy R&B sound is the Hi-Steppin' horn section featuring Jim Kogl (tenor saxophone), Ted "T-Bone" Thomas (trombone), and Tom Tange (trumpet) who strut their stuff on stage. Fronting the band is the "Ambassador to the Blues" Big Walter Smith and his smooth, soaring, mellifluous vocals.

For more on the band check out their website: www.bigwaltersmith.com