He was born in Nigeria and was just cutting his teeth on the Nashville circuit when opportunity knocked. But prior to answering the call to audition for NBC’s hit singing competition/reality show The Voice, multi-instrumentalist Blessing Offor spent the lion’s share of his 26 years of on the planet right here in New England.
Happy as hell to have landed a spot on Team Pharrell this season after serving up a soulified version of Bill Withers’ “Just The Two of Us,” Offor recently caught up with the Crawler for an exclusive interview.
Nightcrawler: Congrats, Blessing. You had all four judges vying for you! I think The Voice website lists your town of origin as Brooklyn. But your roots run deep in New England, do they not?
Blessing Offor: My roots go as deep as possible. I grew up in Hamden, Connecticut and attended public school from first grade through high school graduation, then went to the Arts Magnet School in New Haven called E.C.A., the Educational Center for the Arts.
So it’s safe to say our neck of the woods was instrumental in your development as an artist?
Yes! I used to play at a venue in Hamden called The Space, as well as a bunch more in the New Haven area. And I’ve played at almost all the churches around at least once or twice. And all my music teachers from the Hamden Public school system as well as E.C.A. are responsible, collectively, for whatever success I have. I was so blessed to have them all, even though I probably wasn’t the easiest student. I tended to ask, “Why?” a lot.
I have to ask—any great behind-the-scenes Voice moments for you so far?
I think right off the top of my head, the funniest memories I have were with some of the other guys on the show. It turns out musicians are huge nerds, and I love it. We all were surprised to see what random things we all had in common.
You can monitor Blessing’s journey on The Voice Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on your local NBC affiliate.
For those about to mock: in other news, an event with a lot of Heart… and AC/DC and Zeppelin, for that matter. In what’s been dubbed The World’s Greatest Tribute Band Concert, Heart-mimics Crazy On You, AC/DC-apers Back in Black and master Zeplicators American Zeppelin descend upon Springfield’s historic Hippodrome for a one-night-only engagement Oct. 18.
“From a personal standpoint, I grew up learning the licks of Zep and AC/DC,” says Crazy On You six-stringer Kevin Prefontaine of the multi-act affair. “Having the opportunity to be part of a bill involving such authentic and talented tributes to each of those bands is certainly an honor, only amplified by the fact that we are bringing such a show to a room with rich history in Springfield’s Hippodrome.”
Tix are $25 in advance, $30 at the door and available at Springfield’s Stone Wall Tavern, Adolpho Restaurant, Fubar—The Pub or the Afterlife Tattoo Studio, to name a choice few.
Last but not least—and still in Springfield—it looks like a veritable fretboard fiesta this Thursday, Oct. 16 when the critically acclaimed California Guitar Trio shares the state with the Montreal Guitar Trio. The two acts reportedly met on a flight a couple of years ago and immediately hit it off. This Thursday’s show features separate performances by both trios followed by a climatic six-piece closing set.
Tix are $30 and $35, depending on your proximity to the fingerwork dexterity. For more info or to purchase, kindly point your browser to citystage.symphonyhall.com.•
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
