The Burnsville Band: A Homecoming

Steve Burns

Thursday night, March 5th, 6pm—mark your calendars! Humphreys Backstage Lounge in Point Loma is about to light up with something very special: THE BURNSVILLE BAND 20TH REUNION.

This evening fans of the Burnsville Band will celebrate with (most of) the original line-up from a special era in the San Diego blues scene. If you were there in those San Diego days, you know this is more than a show. It’s a homecoming. It’s a room full of old friends, familiar riffs, and those moments when the band hits a groove so deep you can feel it in your chest.

Several guests will be sitting in, many of whom were regular faces on and off stage during the Burnsville Band heyday. Rosalea Schiavone (Wicked Harem Booking & Productions), who promoted and stood alongside the band during their climb, is producing this celebratory event.

As a special treat, Zavala Sol (duo) with Carrie Zavala and Mike VanDuyn will open the night, and local powerhouses Michele Lundeen and Chet Cannon will be sitting in as well. (More guests announced soon!) The night is set to be a Who’s Who of San Diego blues luminaries.

Formative Years: From La Mesa to the Belly Up
The Burnsville Band grew out of the La Mesa music community. Steve Burns pulled his crew together in 2006, and the group spent an intensive year rehearsing before making a public splash in 2007. They hit the stage that year at the Belly Up Tavern during the International Blues Challenge. That wasn’t a one-off flash. It was the launch of a band that dug into the city’s blues circuit and carved out a serious reputation. By the late 2000s they secured a multi-year residency at the House of Blues San Diego (2008–2012), earned steady local radio play and press, and packed rooms across the county. Those were the nights that made the band a community fixture.

The Original Lineup Reunites!

Burnsville Blues Band: Joe Hager, Steve Burns, Joe Bernal, Michael McGinty, Dave Seely

The classic Burnsville Band lineup was Steve Burns (guitars-lead/slide/Dobro/vocals), the band’s heartbeat and its unmistakable lead voice on guitar. Joe Bernal (lead vocals, rhythm and acoustic/electric guitar) co-fronting the band. Joe’s vocals—from sweet and lowdown to high powered rock perfection—combined with Steve’s smokin’ lead work—was a deadly combination in the front. Mike McGinty (organ, piano), whose textures and fills were a big part of the Burnsville flavor. Dave Seely (bass, backing vocals), solid, pocketed, and groove first. And Joe Hager (drums), the engine that kept everything locked and moving. This rhythm section laid down the solid foundation for the band to get its groove on.

Together they proved to be a potent combination of seasoned pros. These five made the original Burnsville Band a unit: tight, soulful, and dangerous when they wanted to turn the heat up.

Around late 2010/early 2011 the group morphed into a newer lineup: Charmaine Tam took over bass duties, Joe Hager stayed on drums, and Scottie Blinn joined on guitar and vocals (in between a hiatus from the Mississippi Mudsharks, and forming Black Market III). Local keyboard legend Paul Cougill joined the Burnsville Band shortly thereafter, adding back that sweet and soulful organ vibe.

These changes didn’t dilute the identity…they broadened it. The band experimented with different textures, different front-men dynamics, and invited guests who became part of the family.

The Burnsville Band Reunion show will reunite Steve, Joe B., Mike, and Joe H. for a high energy set, joined by local favorite and international touring bassist (Vanessa Collier Band), Andrew Crane. Scottie and Paul from Burnsville v.2 will be joining in as well.

Give Me a Job: Record, Nomination, and Reception
In 2010 the original lineup released its debut CD, Give Me a Job, on the Double Barrel Records label out of San Diego, produced by Steve Burns and Scottie Blinn. They mixed originals with a few well-chosen covers to capture the band’s club-ready combination of blistering guitar, organ-led grooves, and gritty vocal delivery. This album’s sound, tough, groove-forward, and occasionally raw, helped define the Burnsville Band’s identity.

The album drew positive attention from regional reviewers and Blues-focused sites. It wasn’t polished to death; it was built for the stage, with songs that could stretch into solos, jam out, or simmer with grit. 

Give Me A Job landed them a San Diego Music Awards nomination for Best Blues Album in 2010, an important local endorsement that validated the band’s hard work and presence in the city’s blues community, a nod that meant a lot to a working regional band. Reviews of Give Me a Job praised the instrumental interplay, especially organ and guitar, the phenomenal vocal range of Joe Bernal, and the band’s ability to lock into a pocket and then lift into heated solo sections.

A Stage-Ready Band: Clubs, Residencies, and Special Guests
The Burnsville Band earned its reputation onstage. Their House of Blues residency, spanning four years, gave them a regular platform in a major local room and allowed them to hone their extended live arrangements and jam-oriented blues rock performances. If you caught them live in those years, you remember how seamlessly the band could shift gears. One moment they’d be knocking out hard-hitting blues rock, the next they’d roll into organ-driven soul music that made the floor sway. The group’s music received some solid radio attention as well, leading to larger audiences on any given night.

This residency helped build their following and call-in friends: Mike Reilly, Jerry DeMink, Michele Lundeen, and others were frequent sit-ins. Those guest spots weren’t gimmicks, they were extensions of the family vibe that Burnsville cultivated in San Diego’s club circuit. Some of these folks will be in attendance at this reunion!

The Burnsville Band’s live shows combined a respect for tradition with a willingness to push into rock, funk, and jam band territory. That flexibility made the band a good fit for local festival bills as well as night clubs, where dancers and longtime blues fans both grooved on the music.

The Move to Colorado
In 2014 Steve moved the project to Colorado’s Vail Valley, a move like that resets your world. New venues, new audiences, new faces. Burns plugged in top regional talent and the Burnsville name continued on festival stages and favorite local music venues, including multiple appearances at the Beaver Creek Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival. The band proved it could transplant its sound and still hit as hard in mountain towns as it did on the coast.

Come to The Celebration!
This reunion is a love letter to a time and to a group of musicians who made a scene better by being in it. BE THERE, because these are players who care about the music first. Because the scene they came out of matters and made places like the House of Blues and so many other SD venues feel like home as well as made late nights into memories. Because reunions like this are rare: seeing the original chemistry re-simmer is a chance to relive the buzz and to watch the music that shaped a corner of San Diego’s blues history.

If you want a good seat and the best vantage point for this show and those surprise guest moments, get there early! Bring friends, bring people who love to dance, and come ready for a night that’ll remind you why live music matters.