Grammy Award-winner and 5X Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement-winner, Micki Free, will bring electrifying tunes from his decades-long career to downtown Las Vegas with his newly announced residency at Backstage Bar & Grill starting Monday, March 6 at 9 PM, and continuing every first Monday of the month onwards.
“Micki Free’s Vegas Jam…Rock-Funk-Blues…With Special Guests!” will see the singer, songwriter and incendiary guitarist perform original songs from his discography including hits from his latest album, Turquoise Blue (2022) along with covers of the music that’s inspired him throughout his career. Given Free’s wide circle of musician friends and collaborators - including Steve Stevens, Carlos Santana, Billy Gibbons, Bruce Kulick and more - the residency will feature surprise drop-in guest appearances. Tickets are available here, or via MickiFree.com.
"I'm very excited to start my residency in Las Vegas! It has been a dream of mine ever since coming to see my friends: Carlos Santana, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, and KISS at theirs,” shares Free, who recently moved to Las Vegas. “It’s gonna be a killer time to jam with old friends and meet new friends as well. I had no idea the music scene here was so vibrant! So many of my LA friends have lived here for years and are loving it. There’s so much to see and do and with 100+ shows each week I don’t think I’ll be getting bored! Plus the restaurants are over-the-top amazing!”
Free has been on the cutting-edge of the music industry from the start of his career. Having been signed to a management deal with Gene Simmons and Diana Ross that launched his career, Free joined the legendary R&B group Shalamar where he became friends with Prince. After his departure in the early 90’s, Free continued his solo career appearing on both the stage and in the studio with iconic artists including Carlos Santana, Janet Jackson, KISS, Little Steven Van Zandt, Aerosmith, Neil Young and Bill Wyman, just to name a few
His most recent album, Turquoise Blue, was released via the Dark Idol Music label distributed by Burnside Distribution / The Orchard / Sony and features guest musicians including Gary Clark Jr., Steve Stevens, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Cindy Blackman Santana. Free recently collaborated on a new version of the album’s single “World On Fire" (Warrior Remix) with Blackman Santana and her fellow Santana band members Karl Perazzo and Andy Vargas.
Born mixed blood Cherokee/Comanche Native American and Irish descent, Free has mastered the Native American flute and In addition to his guitar-driven blues rock albums has recorded five flute music albums. He has used his platform to advocate for the Native American community and created the Native Music Rocks program, which gives Native American musicians performance opportunities and also founded the first Native American record company (Native Music Rocks Records).
