Receiving the Blueshouter Award  is long-time San Diego blues great Bill Magee. The Bill Magee Blues Band is a perennial favorite at Gator By the Bay and an icon of the local blues scene. In fact, it has been said that Bill Magee literally “channels the blues!” Born in the backwoods of Mississippi in 1943, Bill grew up listening to and living the blues, but it wasn’t until he was a teenager, living with his brother in Harlem, NY, that he discovered a natural talent as a musician. By the late 1960’s his musical career was quickly accelerated, and he was working with many legendary artists such as BB King, Howlin’ Wolf, and Muddy Waters. Most notably, back when Jimi Hendrix was performing as Jimmy James, and Bill was known as Willie, the two joined up to form the band Jimmy James and the Flames. Years of travel and touring landed him in San Diego in the 1980s, and we’ve been proud to call him one of our own ever since then.