DOORS 9PM | SHOW 9PM-12:30AM
SET 1: 9:30-10:45PM
SET 2: 11:15PM - 12:30AM
Join us for a New Year’s Eve celebration at Blue LLama Jazz Club with dinner and a show! In addition to a phenomenal performance by Detroit’s Queen of Blues Thornetta Davis and a special set by comedian Mike Bonner, you can enjoy a four course chef-curated tasting menu and a champagne toast as we count down to 2025!
ABOUT THORNETTA:
DETROIT’S QUEEN OF THE BLUES
2023 BLUES MUSIC AWARD WINNER FOR SOUL/BLUES ARTIST FEMALE
2022 BMA NOMINEE CONTEMPORARY BLUES FEMALE, INSTRUMENTALIST VOCALS
2021 JUS’ BLUES FOUNDATION HONOREE- THE DENISE LASALLE RECORDING OF EXCELLENCE AWARD
2018 $25,000 KRESGE FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENT
International singer, songwriter and Independent recording artist Thornetta Davis was awarded by the Detroit Blues Society “Living Lifetime Achievement Award” and awarded a star on the Canada South Blues Museum “Walk of Fame.” In 2015 Thornetta was crowned “DETROIT’S QUEEN OF THE BLUES” in a ceremony by the Detroit Blues Society, with proclamations from the City of Detroit, County of Wayne and the State of Michigan. Thornetta has performed and recorded with Bob Seger, Kid Rock and has opened for Blues Legends such as B.B. King, Ray Charles, Etta James, KoKo Taylor, Johnny Johnson, Bonnie Raitt and more. She released her first solo album SUNDAY MORNING MUSIC in 1996 on the label Subpop featuring the late keyboardist Eddie Harsh from the Black Crowes and Big Chief. Sunday Morning Music is featured on the hit HBO TV show The Sopranos.
Thornetta is a nine time Blues Music Award Nominee, and the winner of the 2023 BLUES MUSIC AWARDS for Best Soul/Blues Artist Female. She is also winner of over 30 Detroit Music Awards, received six 2018 DMA’s and has won eight 2017 Detroit Music Awards for her latest album Honest Woman which include Outstanding Record Producer, Outstanding Blues Recording, Outstanding Blues Vocalist and Outstanding Live Performance.
As winner of the 2017 Blues Blast Magazine Music Awards for “Best Soul/Blues Album”, Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine “Coolest Blues Song.” Thornetta has garnered international attention by winning 2017 1st place in the INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION (ISC) for “Best Blues Song” (I BELIEVE EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE ALRIGHT) and also receiving the prestigious French 2018 La Academie du Jazz Award for “Best Blues Album” for HONEST WOMAN.
CRITICS’ REVEIWS:
Down Beat Magazine 2018 Monterey Jazz Fest: “The follow-up at the Garden Stage on Saturday blew the crowd away. In her first time performing at Monterey, Detroit’s Queen of the Blues, Thornetta Davis, sang with no-nonsense sass, fearless in her missives against lovers, as she preached the Blues.”
Elmore Magazine, Jim Hynes: “Thornetta is a Blues singer, Soul singer or Gospel singer it doesn’t matter She’s got it. She’s a Queen, and an honest woman.”
American Blues Scene, Barry Kerzner: “Honest Woman is what a great album is supposed to be.”
Living Blues Magazine, David White: “Davis conveys intense emotion without overkill…”
ABOUT MIKE BONNER:
Any length of conversation and one starts to figure out that Mike Bonner is moving through time at a pace all his own. Sometimes it’s accelerated even when it seems slow. For instance, where most comedians start with comedy as their forte and evolve into entertainment moguls, Bonner started out with a love for the performing arts; "I was a theater brat, I did glee club...anything that would get me on stage." Eventually, that passion for the arts at large would distill itself into a poised and seriously funny comic. His roots in theater create a dynamic of funny on stage that use Bonner's whole being as a vehicle for his set. Body language, random interludes of singing, & physical comedy all play a supporting role to the top billing: the jokes.
Bonner is inspired by his experiences as a husband and father on a quest for the ideal nuclear family. His comedy is equally inspired by failures and rock bottom observations from a perspective that give Bonner a Midas touch. His penchant for interpreting life experiences in a way that is universal as much as it is comical has landed him opportunities to perform in front of diverse audiences in his hometown of Detroit and abroad. With a career spanning two decades, Bonner has featured as a comic on BET’s Comicview, Comics Unleashed, writer and performer for P. Diddy Presents the Bad Boys of Comedy and a litany of other TV, stage & radio appearances.
Bonner’s career as a comedian predates the popularity of “urban comedy”. After honing his talents at the Comedy Castle, a popular venue in Metro Detroit, Bonner began to recognize the need for a specialized experience in comedy for members of his community. This inspired an entrepreneurial spirit, leading Bonner to produce his own comedy showcases inside the city limits. This not only created opportunities for comedy fans to enjoy themselves in a more urban suited atmosphere, it also created opportunities for up and coming comics to cut their teeth, fall on their face and eventually base their successes all in the house that Bonner built. It is in that same spirit of looking back & reaching forward that Bonner continues to forge meaningful work relationships with other veterans & new comers alike.