Spotlight on…
Robin Rogers
Friday at The Blue VineIn the late ’60s when America’s youth were rediscovering the blues, Robin Rogers was living the blues.
As a runaway teen trying to escape a troubled home, she made her way to cities like Richmond, Va., Ann Arbor, Mich., Atlanta and Coconut Grove, Fla. living a hippie lifestyle, even living in a commune in Love Valley for one summer. She would sometimes sleep in parks, under picnic tables and in abandoned cars. 
After serving time as a juvenile in reform school for truancy and being out of parental control, she was released at age 15 to begin life on her own. It was a hard life for a young girl, and it wasn’t long until Rogers was addicted to drugs and alcohol and thank goodness, singing.
She learned to play guitar and began accompanying herself performing on the streets, at parties and coffee houses for food and tips. Her goal became to make a living performing music, which she has now done for more than 30 years. 
Moving to Florida in 1979 to record for a subsidiary of RCA at the Miami Sound Studios, she lived in Ft. Lauderdale for the next 10 years, performing on a full-time basis.
She says she became drug and alcohol free in 1989 and began to turn her life around. She moved to North Carolina in 1990 and got involved with the Charlotte Blues Society in the mid-’90s. Shortly after that, she met and married fellow musician and blues lover, Tony Rogers. They performed as an acoustic duo, with Tony playing guitar/dobro and Robin on harmonica and percussion. 
In 2001 she released a CD, “Time For Myself.” The duo put together a band in support of that release and went on to win the 2003 Charlotte Blues Society’s Blues Challenge, winning the right to represent Charlotte in Memphis, Tenn. in January 2004, where they were finalists.
The couple recorded “Crazy, Cryin’ Blues” in 2004 and won the “Best Self-Produced CD” award from the Blues Foundation as part of the International Blues Challenge 2005. 
Rogers signed with 95North Records in February 2005 and her self-penned “Caddy Daddy” was included on “Fins, Chrome and the Open Road,” a Cadillac tribute CD released in conjunction with 95North and General Motors Corp. Other artists on the disc include Little Milton, Rory Block, Charlie Musselwhite and Maria Muldaur. 
She joined the roster of Piedmont Talent in February 2006 and performed in Europe in April 2006. Her third CD is scheduled for release soon.
You can see and hear more at www.robinrogers.com.
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Robin Rogers will be performing with her trio, including husband Tony, 9-11:30 p.m. Friday at The Blue Vine, 209 S. Main St.
There is a $5 cover charge.
For more information, call 704-797-0093.