Bio

Craig Rawding was born a poor sharecropper’s son…..just kidding.

Craig was born in beautiful Worcester, Massachusetts (pronounced wuh-stah) and grew up in the working class neighborhood of Paine Street. That’s as close as he’s getting to any street cred for singing the blues. He starting singing professionally in a local blues band called Hot Box Shuffle and later sang and played rhythm guitar and harmonica with local blues band The Hell Hounds. He then joined national touring act Heavy Metal Horns. Their jazz/funk sound was a perfect match for Craig’s gritty, soulful voice and he appeared at many prestigious jazz festivals while fronting HMH, including The Newport Jazz Festival. HMH have performed just about everywhere in the United States (New Orleans being one of their favorite stops) and even Japan. HMH went on hiatus in 2000, but recently did a reunion show with Craig, The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival. In 2000, Craig wanted an artistic change of pace and formed the original rock band, Vibrotica. They recorded three CDs and played four years’ worth of live shows in New England and New York. Craig and the members of Vibrotica then decided to try something different (and to be honest, more lucrative) and formed the U2 tribute band The Joshua Tree, which has become the most successful tribute act in New England. Craig has since left the group, but they continue to play all over the northeast and Craig still fills in on vocals from time to time. Craig has come full circle with his new band The Generators, formed in 2007. Mixing original songs with classic blues and soul covers, this is the music that Craig was born to sing. They are currently recording new material and playing shows all over New England. You’ll be hearing a lot more of them soon.

Craig is also one of the four lead singers in Cathy’s Clown, a band that plays songs from the late ’50s and early ’60s. This a fun musical outlet for Craig, covering many styles from rockabilly and doo-wop to girl groups, surf music and early soul.

Craig always keeps busy with side projects, one-off shows and recordings. Being interested in so many different music genres has enabled him to be involved in a stylistically wide range of musical projects ranging from classic rock (Green Street Music Series) to experimental jazz/funk/noise (Collapsible Three). It is Craig’s mission to keep singing, performing and writing music that will satisfy himself and music fans everywhere.