S.E. Willis & the Willing.
$20/adults; $10/students; kids/free.
S.E. Willis, piano, accordion, harmonica & vocals.
additional personnel to be recruited
from the available willing,
including the Excelsior’s own
guitar wizard Takezo Takeda.

S.E. plays classic and original blues, boogie, rock, zydeco and country,
all with soul, conviction and authenticity
–to paraphrase S.E. himself and the late, great music writer Lee Hildebrand.

Born in West Virginia, S.E. has been playing the piano and harmonica since the age of six, and organ and accordion since his teens. He started playing in rock and roll bands along Arizona’s stretch of Route 66 in 1967. Willis has supported Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, Albert King, Jimmy Rogers, Roy Gaines, and, since 2000, Elvin Bishop. He sang tenor with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. And he worked three years with Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste. Fifty years in the business and counting, S.E.Willis knows a lot about American roots music and demonstrates it with every note.