Victor Wainwright

Victor Lawton Wainwright, Jr. (born February 4, 1981) singer, songwriter, and pianist. Wainwright's musical style was described by the American Blues Scene magazine in 2013 as "honky-tonk and boogie, with a dose of rolling thunder. Wainwright's playing is simply beautiful madness."

Living Blues magazine noted that "Wainwright serves as an electrifying guide to a good time – spinning tales, telling his listeners how to beat the blues, and meticulously conjuring raw soul and energy out of his acoustic piano."

Wainwright currently tours both nationally and internationally, performing with two bands: Victor Wainwright and the Train, and Southern Hospitality. Wainwright formerly toured as Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots.

Early life and career Wainwright was born in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Wainwright's own ensemble backed Eric Culberson at the Savannah Blues Bar, during the former's high school years. He then worked as an air traffic controller at Memphis International Airport.

In 2004, Wainwright met Florida native Stephen Dees in Ormond Beach, Florida. In 2008, Wainwright played alongside the Reverend Billy C. Wirtz on Wirtz's live album Pianist Envy – Group Therapy.

Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots After the release of Piana from Savannah, Wainwright and Dees joined forces under the name of Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots. Wainwright and Dees shared vocal duties, with the former on keyboards and the latter on bass and guitar with Greg Gumpel as lead guitarist from 2002 through 2009. They were backed by Billy Dean (drums, backup vocal), Nick Black (guitar, backup vocal), Patricia Ann Dees, and Ray Guiser (tenor sax), and Charlie deChant (baritone sax). In September 2009, they released Beale Street to the Bayou on WildRoots Records. In 2011, he performed at the South Florida Boogie Woogie Piano Festival. The album reached the number one spot on Sirius/XM's B.B. King's Bluesville channel's "Pick To Click," number 2 on the Collectif des Radio Blues Charts, and number 13 on the Living Blues Radio Chart.

Wainwright also performed at Springing the Blues in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, plus at Memphis in May in 2012. The same year he was nominated for the first time for a Blues Music Award.

Southern Hospitality Following an impromptu jam session in July 2011 in Florida, Wainwright teamed up with Damon Fowler, J.P. Soars, Chuck Riley, and Chris Peet to form the band that would eventually become Southern Hospitality. Their first gig was supporting Buddy Guy in August the same year at the Heritage Music Blues Fest in Wheeling, West Virginia. Their debut album, Easy Livin' , (2013) was produced by Tab Benoit, and released by Blind Pig Records.

Wainwright currently lives in Savannah, Georgia, having relocated from Memphis in 2022.

Victor Wainwright and The Train

Wainwright teamed up with friend, engineer, and producer Dave Gross in 2017 to form "The Train," to begin work on what would become the 2018 Grammy nominated

The album, Victor Wainwright and The Train, was recorded at the Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The album, co-produced by Wainwright and Gross, was released on March 9, 2018. It went on to garner a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album of the Year.

Wainwright currently tours with The Train, consisting of the same recording artists as on the album.

Honors 2020: Blues Music Award Winner for Instrumentalist - Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player) 2018: Grammy Award Nominee (Best Contemporary Blues Album) 2018: No. 1 Most played contemporary blues album of the year 2018: No. 2 Most played blues album of the year 2018: No. 1 Billboard Blues Albums Chart 2018: Blues Music Award Winner for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year 2016: Blues Blast Award Winner for Contemporary Album of the Year

Discography Year Title Record label Billed as 2005 Piana from SavannahWildRoots Victor Wainwright 2009 Beale Street to the Bayou WildRoots Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots 2011 Lit Up! WildRoots Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots 2013 Easy Livin' Blind Pig Southern Hospitality 2015 Boom Town Blind Pig Victor Wainwright & the WildRoots 2018 Victor Wainwright and the Train Ruf Victor Wainwright and the Train 2020 Memphis Loud Ruf Victor Wainwright and the Train