Frank Falduto & His Patio Daddi-O’s featuring Katherine Davis

Chicago blues history comes home to Kenosha. This is not simply a night of musicians playing the blues. They are musicians who have lived it
About this Event

Kenosha-born guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Frank Falduto returns home with a remarkable edition of his Patio Daddi-O’s, joined by celebrated Chicago blues vocalist Katherine Davis and a band whose collective history reaches deep into the clubs, recordings and musicians that helped define Chicago blues.

For a room as small as The White Lilac, this is an extraordinary lineup.

Frank Falduto — Guitar & Vocals
Born and raised in Kenosha, Falduto’s musical path eventually carried him south to Chicago and directly into its blues community. He formed an early band with Chicago blues brothers Joe and Nick Moss, spent seven years performing with Delmark recording artist James “Tail Dragger” Jones, performed with Elmore James Jr., and has led the Patio Daddi-O’s as a backing band for acclaimed Chicago guitarist Lurrie Bell.

Falduto is also a songwriter. His album A Place for Me features ten original compositions with Joe Moss playing lead guitar throughout.

Katherine Davis — Vocals
When Katherine Davis sings the blues, there is history behind the voice.

Davis has been part of Chicago's blues community since the 1970s, performing at home and around the world while becoming a respected singer, songwriter, bandleader, educator and ambassador for Chicago blues. Her decades-long career has included repeated appearances at the Chicago Blues Festival and more than 20 years introducing younger generations to the music through her Blues for Youth work.

And she is very much part of today's Chicago blues scene: in June 2026, Davis appeared at the Chicago Blues Festival in Millennium Park as part of its Women in Blues program.

Merle Perkins — Drums
Then there is drummer Merle Perkins — and his résumé alone tells you what kind of night this could be.

Perkins came up in Chicago when the city's legendary blues clubs were still filled with the artists whose names now define the genre. Over the course of more than five decades he has performed or recorded with an astonishing list of blues greats, including Freddie King, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Albert King, James Cotton, Lonnie Brooks, Magic Slim & the Teardrops, Son Seals, Eddie Clearwater, Buster Benton and Michael Coleman.

He played drums on Buddy Guy's Breaking Out and Lonnie Brooks' Turn On the Night and spent 11 years performing with Eddie Clearwater.

This isn't someone recreating the sound of classic Chicago blues.

Merle Perkins was there.

John Chorney — Keyboards
Chicago keyboardist John Chorney brings another deep connection to the city's blues community. Chorney recorded with Michael Coleman and the Delmark All-Stars on Blues Brunch at the Mart, a live recording featuring an extraordinary cross-section of Delmark artists including Lurrie Bell, Willie Kent, Zora Young, Tail Dragger, Little Arthur Duncan, Shirley Johnson and Steve Freund.

Heather Falduto — Bass
Bassist Heather Falduto has her own serious blues credentials. Frank's biography notes her work with Eddie Clearwater and Super Chikan, and she currently performs with Mississippi bluesman Super Chikan & the Fighting Cocks.

In July 2026, Heather appeared with Super Chikan at the prestigious Lowell Folk Festival, where the group was presented as part of the festival's national celebration of traditional American music.

Five musicians. Decades of blues history. About 45 seats.

That's what makes this night at The White Lilac special.

The blues wasn't created to be distant background music. It grew in small rooms, clubs and neighborhoods, passed musician to musician and generation to generation.

For one night, some of those connections come together in one tiny listening room in downtown Kenosha — close enough to watch the band communicate, hear every turn of the guitar, every keyboard response, every shift in the rhythm section and every nuance in Katherine Davis' voice.

Frank Falduto & His Patio Daddi-O’s featuring Katherine Davis

Frank Falduto — Guitar & Vocals
Katherine Davis — Vocals
Merle Perkins — Drums
John Chorney — Keyboards
Heather Falduto — Bass

Chicago blues history. A Kenosha homecoming. And only a handful of rows between you and the band.

At The White Lilac — A Room That Listens.