Bill Steber photo BOBBY RUSH

APPLETON, Wis. — The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center has announced that five-time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter/guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and three-time Grammy Award-winning blues legend Bobby Rush will perform on Saturday, Aug. 16.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. performance in Thrivent Hall start at $40.90 and go on sale Friday.

Tickets may be purchased at foxcitiespac.com, ticketmaster.com, on the Fox Cities P.A.C.’s mobile app, by calling the ticket office at 920-730-3760 or in person at 400 W. College Ave. in downtown Appleton 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Additional fees may apply.

Born about 44 years apart, Rush and Shepherd joined forces at Royal Studios in Memphis, Tenn. for the sessions that led to “Young Fashioned Ways,” which includes 10 tracks featuring Shepherd’s trademark guitar work and Rush’s soulful vocals, rhythm guitar and harmonica. The 91-year old Rush is a three-time Grammy Award winner for “Best Traditional Blues Album” for “Porcupine Meat,” “Rawer than Raw” and 2024’s “All My Love For You.”

He is also a 16-time Blues Music Awards winner (with 56 career nominations), and has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame and Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

In addition to his five-time Grammy nods, Shepherd has received two Billboard Music Awards, two Orville H. Gibson Awards which honors the world’s greatest guitarists, a Blues Music Award and a Keeping The Blues Alive Award. He’s also scored eight Top 10 singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, sharing the record with B.B. King and Eric Clapton for the longest running albums on the Billboard Blues charts with his album, “Trouble Is…”

Rush and Shepherd named the album “Young Fashioned Ways” culminating from their mutual admiration of blues legend Muddy Waters, and the youthfulness of their pairing despite their wide age gap. The two artists also wrote a new version of Waters’ “Young Fashioned Ways” based on Willie Dixon’s original, re-titled the song “Young Ways,” and included it on the album.

The original compositions on “Young Fashioned Ways” either found Shepherd specifically writing licks and melodies to Rush’s lyrics, or Shepherd coming up with a riff or melody and Rush reaching into his satchel and pulling out lyrics that fit perfectly.

For the tracks with a full band, the songs feature veteran blues and R&B musicians. “Young Fashioned Ways” also includes colorful re-inventions of four classic Rush songs, “40 Acres (How Long),” “G String,” “Make Love to You” and “Uncle Esau.”