Roomful of Blues set to rock Ellsworth

Roomful of Blues isn’t merely a band – it’s an institution. The New England-based blues eight-piece has seen plenty of lineup changes in its 37-year existence, but one thing has always remained constant: the primary objective is to make the audience get out of their seats and dance.

“We do old barrooms, but we also really enjoy playing in theaters and ballrooms. We like it all,” said guitarist and frontman Chris Vachon, speaking from his Providence, R.I., home. “But we’re really oriented towards dancing. We want to be in an environment where people can dance.”

Dancing will be a must at Roomful’s show tonight at The Grand theater in Ellsworth, with opener Josh Duym and the Groove Artists. The band plays an energetic, soulful, horn-heavy mix of traditional blues, R&B and jump blues – the big-band-influenced style popularized by everyone from Big Joe Turner to Count Basie to Louis Prima.

“We’re the type of band that likes to give a variety,” said Vachon. “We incorporate a lot of different blues styles into our typical show.”

Roomful’s current lineup features just one of the original members, and five out of the eight members are new to the band within the past five years.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time. Poor Rich [Lataille, tenor and alto sax player] has been with us for that long,” Vachon said, with a laugh. “Our trumpeter [Bob Enos] has been with us for 25 years. This is my 16th year. But the rest are relatively new. We’ve got a couple guys in their mid-20s, like our drummer, Jason Corbiere.”

Perhaps it was that new blood that re-energized them: Roomful’s last album, “That’s Right,” garnered the band a 2004 W.C. Handy Award (a prestigious honor in the blues world) for Band of the Year, and a 2003 Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album.

Their most recent album, “Standing Room Only,” came out last January, with the band members striking a “Sopranos”-esque pose on the front cover. Singer Marc DuFresne even looks a bit like Tony Soprano, though the family in this case is only a musical one.

Roomful tries to tour as much as it can – you don’t get to be a band for 37 years without a lot of hard work and hours on the road. The band just recently returned from a series of shows in Russia and Turkey.

“We played in philharmonic halls there. They are so used to classical music that they’re trying to diversify,” recalled Vachon. “At first they were wondering what was going on, but then they got into it. They don’t get a lot of this kind of music, so they really like it.”

Though the band has played in Maine several times before, this is its first gig in the eastern area of the state. With temperatures predicted to drop below freezing for the next few days, some hot, jivey, swinging blues music might be just the thing to warm you up.

Roomful of Blues will play at 7:30 tonight at the Grand Theater in Ellsworth, with special guests Josh Duym and the Groove Artists. Tickets are $16 and can be purchased at the door. For information, visit www.grandonline.org and www.roomful.com. Emily Burnham can be reached at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.