Band founder and lead singer, Gina Coleman, entered the music scene in the early 90’s as the lead singer of the folk/rock group Cole-Connection. It wasn’t until 1999 when she played a gospel singer in the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of A Raisin In The Sun that she was steered down the path of blues. The lead actor in the production, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, told Coleman that he felt her... voice was well suited to sing classic blues. This sentiment was echoed by actor/singer, Mandy Patinkin, who sought her out after seeing the opening performance of the production. After actress Gwyneth Paltrow commented on her performance, Coleman knew a musical shift was imminent. Guitarist Jason Webster and bassist Bill Patriquin from Cole-Connection were on board and thus began Misty Blues.

 

With a deficit of blues music in the Berkshires at the time, they felt the musical change would be well received. Misty Blues pays homage to the older blues made popular by the bold and brassy women of its time, while still paying respect to classic male artists of the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. The band hasn’t completely abandoned their musical roots; they have been known to perform classic rock and folk tunes infused with a healthy dose of the blues. Over the years, Misty Blues has produced ten albums. Today the core members includes Gina Coleman, Seth Fleischmann, Bill Patriquin, Ben Kohn, Rob Tatten and Aaron Dean.