Jazz up your Sunday night with the sounds of various artists headlining at the Houston Blues Festival. See the famed Eric Gales and Diunna Greenleaf for experience like none other at Houston’s downtown night spot, The Rustic Houston.

Eric Gales

Eric Gales is a musician of exquisite ability with the gifts of singing and playing guitar with his left hand. Often compared to distinctive Hendrix, Gales has a style uniquely his own. He developed a hybrid blues/rock sound that draws upon influences as diverse as Albert King and Frank Gambale. A unique amalgam of styles, Eric Gales, stands head and shoulders among other guitarists in his genre.

Eric Gales grew up in a musical family with four brothers, two of whom learned to play the guitar upside down and left-handed in the same fashion as Eric. He released his first record at 16 for Elektra records to a fantastic response from the media and music fans around the globe. Multiple releases followed.

His latest album, Crown, was released on January 28, 2022, to rave reviews.

Diunna Greenleaf

A woman who needs no introduction in the jazz community, Diunna Greenleaf, is known as the leader of Blue Mercy. With hometown roots right here in Houston, Greenleaf, like many vocalists from the South, has a background steeped in gospel music. Some of her biggest influences are Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Rosetta Thorpe, Sam Cooke, Charles Brown, and her parents, Ben & Mary Ella Greenleaf (Gospel).

She developed her own brand of jazz, "Diunna's style of Blues," with foundations in jazz, gospel, and heartfelt soul to create a kind of blues that can only be done by her with her band, Blue Mercy. Her unique style has allowed her to perform stateside as well as internationally. She has performed at the Lugano Blues Festival in Switzerland, the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and the Cahors Blues Festival in France.

When Diunna is not singing jazz, she is working jazz. She served three years as president of the Houston Blues Society, making history as the first woman ever elected to this position. During her presidency, she used her professional guidance and grant writing skills to produce the Willie Mae Thornton Blues Festival. Such talent as “The Queen of Blues” Mrs. Koko Taylor, Mr. Bernard Allison, Texas Johnny Brown, I.J. Gosey, Diane Price, Mel Waiters, Betty Lewis, Gary Clark, Jr., Jeremy, and The Hotboys, along with many others.

Her latest album, I Ain’t Playing, was released on June 15, 2022, to rave reviews.

For more information about the Houston Blues Festival, visit https://www.houstonjazzfestival.org/