Sir Harrison and the Blues Kings

Born and raised in Tucson, Harrison Begay is full-blood Dine' (Navajo), and he started playing guitar at the age of thirteen. Experimenting with the sounds of heavy metal, rock, and classical, it would be the soulful melodies of blues music that would capture his attention. Sir Harrison played behind closed doors trying to understand the essence of blues music and the importance of the field as a whole. His chief inspirations include Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy, Hound Dog Taylor, Albert Collins, Albert King, Freddy King, BB King, Robert Cray and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

In 1999, Sir Harrison formed his first band, Colorblind, and attracted GAP band’s first manager. With this band, he performed his first major gig at the Tulsa Blues Festival, bringing the house down in the historic Cain's ballroom, home of legendary Bob Wills. During his career in Oklahoma he collaborated with a range of musicians, varying in musical genre. Leo Okeke was his first bassist, a producer and recording engineer. Mr. Okeke's resume includes, Marky Mark, New Kids on the Block and New Edition. Sir Harrison also took advantage of the local bluegrass and country sounds throughout his musical development in Oklahoma.

Sir Harrison second turning point was playing at Wild Bill's a blues club in Memphis, TN, where he played as the only non-African American in the club. This served as a seminal moment in his career because he realized his acceptance into the club meant that he had the ability to keep up with both blues music and the cultural community connected to it. His career continued to progress in Tucson, Arizona attracting local singer-song writers with his musical style. He played with one, Wendy Adams, while opening up for Richie Havens in 2003 at the Tucson Folk Festival. The audience and Richie Havens himself responded enthusiastically to their performance, an encouraging sign from the well-versed Havens-fan-base and the legendary musician himself.

Sir Harrison forged on into the Flagstaff, AZ, music scene which he has had a tremendous impact on the local music community. In his short time being there, he has caught the attention of Richard D. Neville, who had played bass for Poco, Vince Gill, Mickey Gilley, Tanya Tucker and drummer, Eddy Barattini, who has played with Richie Havens and Stanley Jordan. All of these people’s musical contributions and role in the music industry have contributed to the evolution of Sir Harrison as an artist and entrepreneur. His current band members are bassist, Richard Neville and drummer, Eddy Barattini. With this power trio they have performed at the Orpheum Theater on more than one occasion, opening shows for Blues-Rock band Indigenous and Devon Allman, son of legendary Greg Almond. Even as the opening act he has received praise and encore salutes for their performances.

From his influences, experiences, and his own prowess as an artist, Sir H has developed a sound that resonates with traditional blues as well as contemporary crossbreeds. By forming such a diverse range of music, he achieves a unique sound and mood in each song. His lyrics echo this diversity as they range from heartbreak, loss, revitalization, and ideological principles he lives by. As a performer, he relates on a high level with his listeners, riling them up and calming them down while attuned to their reactions and desires. Off the stage, he is comfortable making personal contact with his fan-base, adding an intimate dimension to his role as an artist. As a result, his fans are a diverse crowd, spanning generations, cultures, and ethnicity, their common ground being that they are all astute music lovers grateful to have Sir Harrison in their local music scene.