Main Presenter:  Mr. Jimmy
The Chicago Kingsnakes were formed in 1983 by guitarist / vocalist James “Ang” Anderson. He started playing guitar at the age of 8 on a homemade instrument crafted from a cigar box, rubber bands and thumb tacks. A lifelong resident of Chicago, he received his musical education on the city's infamous south side, at the Checkerboard lounge, and Theresa’s, where he played with the likes of guitar greats Buddy Guy, Lefty Dizz and Son Seals, harmonica legends James Cotton and Junior Wells and the Queen of The Blues, Koko Taylor.

James has toured the nation with Sun, Chess, Bobbin, Stax and Malaco recording artist Little Milton. Anderson also played guitar with Johnny Twist's Rocka-Boogie Blues Band touring the midwest for many years.

In 1992 The Kingsnakes befriended Byther Smith. The band has become "Smitty's" road band and has accompanied him on tours of the United States, Finland, The Netherlands and Canada. In addition they played on Byther's "I'm A Mad Man" CD on the Bullseye record label. On June 5th 1994 Byther Smith and The Kingsnakes performed on the Main Stage of the 11th Annual Chicago Bluesfest in Grant Park. This friendship is sustained by occasional tours with Byther.

In 1998 The Kingsnakes released a CD of original material entitled "Blues Island" . The disk was very well received by the press. Blues Revue, a national blues magazine, called Blues Island "Essential". Chicagoland's, The Beat, said "Blues Island magnificently captures the live feel and heart of blues in a studio setting".

In 2003, the band released “Grass Roots” an all acoustic CD. Blues On Stage called the disc, “An unplugged gem”, and went on to say, “this has all the elements of a Southern afternoon front porch jam and party with everything but the sound of friends whooping it up while dancing in the yard.” The Illinois Entertainer called the disc, “a fine down home effort.”

 In 2008 The band released "Holiday Boogie" a CD of Holiday music featuring 4 original songs and 4 classic covers, and in  2009 The band released "SNAPSHOTS" a 6 song live recording

The Kingsnakes released “Blue Mosaic” in 2011, featuring 12 new compositions by Anderson, to critical acclaim world wide. In 2016 they released “South Side Soul” a record of all original R & B tunes by Anderson.

 James continues to perform both solo and with the band and averages over 100 dates a year. In 2016, he became a radio host of the NPR show “Confessin' the Blues”, a weekly show featuring interviews and performances with Blues artists.

In 2018, Mr Jimmy moved to Asheville, NC to embark on his solo career, and released  "All Alone with the Blues".

Breakout Sessions:
Rookies, Minors and Majors will break out according to desired subject matter to be determined. ​