10/29/26
Charlie Apicella, "Huyllus & Charlie: Stories and Songs” Workshop
On Saturday, 11/21/26, 10am to Noon, as a free community service portion of the 2026 Busker Incognito Blues & Boogie Weekend, a meet the artists, blues workshop hosted by Charlie Apicella, "Huyllus & Charlie: Stories and Songs”, will be presented in the Penske Learning Center at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Reading, PA
FREE, no cover, free hotel parking.
Charlie Apicella was voted onto the 84th and 86th DownBeat Readers Poll for Guitar.
Apicella composed the original score for the documentary, MOTHER BLUES.
His roots Blues duo, Hyllus & Charlie are the 2026 New Jersey International Blues Challenge winners.
He has received numerous grants for his work preserving Ma Rainey‘s Legacy in collaboration with the Ma Rainey House Museum in Columbus, GA and the Library of Congress.
As a young guitarist he met his idol, B.B. King, who gave him critical advice and shared some stories. Apicella studied composition and improvisation with musical titans Yusef Lateef and Pat Martino and was trained as a historian by Archie Shepp and Billy Taylor.
He is a lecturer and curator for the Yusef Lateef Estate and has collaborated with Lincoln Center, Vanderbilt University, Williams College, and the Newport Jazz & Folk Festivals Foundation.
He has toured with one of the last living treasures of blues, Lil’ Jimmy Reed, and performed with jazz legends Dave Holland, Sonny Fortune, John Blake, Jr., and Avery Sharpe and is guitarist for the Sonny Stitt Legacy Band. In 2022, he formed The Griots Speak with bassist William Parker, saxophonist Daniel Carter, and percussionist Juma Sultan, who is known for his work with Jimi Hendrix.
A partnership between Albright University students, Centro Hispano, (the owners and management of bi-lingual WXAC, 91.3 FM radio station), and the Busker Incognito Blues & Boogie Weekend Festival, will open doors for students to interview and interact with blues and boogie music performers, composers, event planners and community festival organizers. This is the first in that series and features Albright University student Savannah Graybill as the interviewer.
Interviews and programs produced by the participating students will air on WXAC through the weeks leading up to the annual Busker Incognito Blues & Boogie Weekend festival each November.
“We’ve created a win-win partnership and program for all involved”, said festival founder and WXAC General Manager, Dave Kline.
