James Hunter Six Comes To The Hamptons

James Hunter has traveled the world playing his brand of English R&B and soul music. He has toured with Van Morrison, even providing backup vocals on Morrison’s 1995 album “Days Like These” and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 2007.

But until now, the Essex native had never been to the Hamptons. On Tuesday, July 9, 2013, he and his band will be playing at The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett. The set will be the latest stop on a somewhat chaotic tour that was thrown into turmoil with the announcement that headliner Sharon Jones had been diagnosed with bile-duct cancer. The announcement forced the James Hunter Six to scramble to save what was left of the tour. Many shows had to be rescheduled, with some unfortunately being canceled, and the resulting program was less than convenient. “We’ve been in Canada one minute and South Carolina the next,” Hunter said.

The band’s most recent album, “Minute by Minute” came out in February 2013 and was the first to be credited to the James Hunter Six. The name change was an official acknowledgement of the other members of the band, some of whom have been playing with Hunter for over 20 years. “There was a mutiny,” Hunter joked. “The decision was a step towards democracy.”

When asked about plans for an upcoming album, Hunter made it clear that the band is more focused on touring right now. “We just finished the last one,” he said. “It’ll probably take another 5 years to write the next one.”

The show begins at 8 p.m. and tickets can be purchased online at www.stephentalkhouse.com.