Johnny Wheels & the Swamp Donkeys and Tony "TC" Coleman Memorial Day Kickoff w/ opener Sleeper Wave

Name: Johnny Wheels & the Swamp Donkeys and Tony "TC" Coleman Memorial Day Kickoff w/ opener Sleeper Wave
Start: 2026-05-22T20:00:00-07:00
Location: 3000 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR, United States, Oregon 97211

Schedule

Fri, 22 May, 2026 at 08:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

3000 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR, United States, Oregon 97211 | Portland, OR

Start the weekend off right with Johnny Wheels and the Swamp Donkeys! They are joined by legendary dummer Tony Coleman who has had an illustrious career touring the world with B.B. King, Otis Clay, Bobby Blue Bland, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, Albert Collins, Etta James, James Cotton, Katie Webster, Z.Z. Hill, O.V. Wright and Buddy Guy.

The son of a traveling bass player and singer, Johnny “Wheels” Kennicott had music in his blood since birth, but expressing himself musically took on new importance when Johnny broke his neck in a childhood accident, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.

“The days of football practice after school were definitely over”, Johnny says, but music still provided an outlet for his infectious energy and his creative potential.
Though his father’s instrument of choice and his early passion of playing drums were now out due to limited function, Johnny found, through determined trial and error, he could manipulate his paralyzed diaphragm to not only sing, but also blow the harmonica. Since that time, Johnny has been traveling the Pacific Northwest music scene, spreading the gospel of the blues.

Although the Swamp Donkeys, including Brandon Logan and Taylor Frazier, are typically tagged as a blues band, the diversity of the members’ musical backgrounds becomes evident as the worlds of R&B, soul, jazz, funk and rock are blended under a blues umbrella.

Local up-and-coming blues band Sleeper Wave opens the show. Since formation, they have performed at many local venues, and won the Cascade Blues Association Youth Journey to Memphis challenge: a strong testament to their musical talent.