I went to review one of his shows several years ago and he sang Grammy Award winning Nat King Cole's hit "Mona Lisa." He didn't sing it - he "performed" it, and he delivered it with that Smooth Jazz influence. I remember saying no wonder this show was on Broadway. In fact, the "Into the Cole" show was nominated by BroadwayWorld.com for the "Best Male Cabaret Concert Artist" Award.

Attendees on June 18th at the Catalina Jazz Club will also be treated to a musical experience with the Aaron Akins Band.

"Yes, I have an amazing band," he said when I asked if the band that was there a couple years ago will be back. "There is Iya Iwata on piano, she is my music director. She plays for The Whispers. There is John Valentine on sax, he plays for The Whispers too and he is their frontman. Emilio Conesa is on guitar and the music director for The Whispers. The drummer is Moyes Lucus, he plays for George Michael. Ahamd Jamal is a straight-out legend, a genius piano player. They are my regular band."

One of my favorite hits of Nat King Cole is "Rambling Rose" because I have the pleasure of being a friend of the lady who this song is named after - her first name is Rosa. She was a singer who released the hit song "Mr. DJ." She was touring with Nat King Cole as his opening act. During that time, he wrote and released a song about her - "Rambling Rose." Once she retired from touring, she honored him by naming her column "Rambling Rose." Aaron Akins gives Cole accolades too, not only with the "Into the Cole" A Tribute to Nat King Cole" show, but he released a cover of the Cole hit "Mona Lisa" on the NAKICO Records imprint. This single garnered Cole a Grammy Hall of Fame honor. Nat King Cole also garnered Oscar and Emmy Awards. Now, I am not saying Aaron Akins will be singing these hits in his "Into the Cole: A Tribute to Nat King Cole" show, but other notable Nat King Cole hits include "Unforgettable," "At Last", "Ain't Misbehaving" and "I Have Grown Accustomed to Her Face."

"When I first started the tribute to Nat King Cole, I was trying to figure out a way...to get to my songs, "Aaron pointed out as we continue talking about his show. "Nat King Cole was all about love...so it's a great fit."

What Akins said is true, his own catalog of hits is all about love too. There is his debut "I Just Wanna Love You" (NAKICO Records); "What the World Needs" followed; "God Make Women Beautiful" (NAKICO Records); "Love is All Around" (NAKICO Records), and his latest hit single "When Do We Love" which features Walter and Wallace Scott of The Whispers (20th Century Jazz).

"Yes, my latest single ‘When Do We Love' features Walter and Wallace Scott of the legendary Whispers," Aaron reaffirmed for me when I asked.

"In fact, one song, an original, was written by the songwriter for Nat King Cole. He also wrote for Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington and Sarah Vaughn. His name is Henry Nemo," Akins pointed out in a way that you can tell he was so very honored to be an artist that has this man's song as part of his catalog of music.

The Catalina Jazz Club is legendary, and I congratulated Aaron on performing at such a legendary venue and he agreed with me saying, "The pedigree of who played there before me...stars like Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Stanley Clark and Stevie Wonder."  http://www.AaronAkinsMusic.com http://www.CatalinaJazzClub.com

The first album Kenny talks about gave him his first hit song "Ledbetter Heights" which is now 30 years-old. The "Ledbetter Heights: The 30th Anniversary Session" album from the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band is to be released May 8, 2026.

"We out on tour now," Kenny told me as we talked about his show coming to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts June 20th. "We're playing from the album ("Ledbetter Heights: The 30th Anniversary Session") for the first time."

The music video from the title track has garnered over 2,200 in just two weeks. His "Hey Baby" music video with Bobby Rush has over 56,000 views in just a year and his "I Found Love" music video released two months ago has over 19,000 views. The Kenny Wayne Shepherd YouTube Channel, which offers music videos from as far back as 11 years, has over 134,000 subscribers.

"They didn't have YouTube," he said with a slight laugh when I mentioned how his YouTube Channel videos go back 11 years! "They had VH1. I miss those days. I miss (fans) buying records...now they just add my song to their playlist. An album is a body of work...a song on a playlist...it's easier to play."

Born in 1977, the Blues/Rock icon debuted his ‘Ledbetter Heights" song when he was a teen. The project gave him his first Grammy Award nomination - as a teen! In fact, this project honored him with five Grammy nominations. He has also garnered two Billboard Music Awards, two Blues Music Awards, multiple Billboard chart-topping hits, and is a multi-platinum selling singer, songwriter and guitarist.

"I am in the studio now, working on another record," Kenny pointed out laughing when we were talking about him constantly releasing new music. "I released three records in three years!"

I learned during the conversation that he is doing all this while married and I asked about that and he said, "I found out the goal is to find the right balance. I made a commitment to my fans and a commitment to my marriage. After years of trails and errors, I've learned to tour for no more than four weeks (at a time)."

A Louisiana native, Kenny Wayne Shepherd is a self-taught guitarist who received his first guitar from his grandmother at the tender age of three. She saw something musical in him and she was right. Shepherds' father was a local radio personality and concert promoter which introduced Kenny to an environment conducive to cultivating a musical legend. He was 13 years old when he first played guitar on the stage after he was basically pushed there by Blues musician Bryan Lee. Kenny Wayne Shepherd signed his first major record deal with Giant Records in his mid-teens and debuted with his "Trouble Is..." album in his late-teens which produced seven Billboard Top 10 Singles, which "Ledbetter Height" was amongst.

"I think I was 18...I think it was both (Grandmother and father)," he said when I asked about his musical influences and at what age he took it seriously. "My dad was a DJ (and concert promoter), so music was there 24/7. I signed my record deal at 16 and released my first album at 17-18."

In 2007 Shepherd garnered two more Grammy Award nominations with his "10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads" project. Kenny's music also appears on the soundtrack of the Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker film. He performed with Bobby Rush on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Shepherd, a joker himself, said when he was a teen and put out his first album he didn't think anyone would buy it - but buy it they did in packs.

"I remember recording at 17. I wrote these songs...handed them to the record label and was wondering, what if nobody cares," the legend recalled.  www.CerritosCenter.com www.KennyWayneShepherd.net

SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Dr. Eunice Moseley has an estimated weekly readership of over one million for her column The Pulse of Entertainment. She is the publisher of the digital magazine www.ThePulseofEntertainment.com, which has an estimated 160,000 visitors a month. An entrepreneur, Dr. Moseley’s company, Freelance Associates, is a business management/public relations strategic planning and consulting firm that is celebrating 32 years in 2025. Dr. Eunice also serves as professor for the School of Business at Stanton University in Anaheim, California and serves as promotions director (at-large)/journalist and business consultant for The Baltimore Times. Dr. Moseley founded the Uplifting Minds II Foundation (www.UpliftingMinds.com) in 2023, a 501 C3 with a mission to empower the underserved through three major programs – One Stop Business Shop, the ULMII Professional Conference and the ULMII Academy (business management and public relations). EVENTS: "Uplifting Minds II" Entertainment Conference (ULMII), was launched by Dr. Eunice in 1999, to educate aspiring artists/musicians about the business of entertainment – www.UpliftingMinds2.com. Next ULMII Entertainment Conferences for Baltimore on Saturday April 18, 2026, presented by Security Square Mall and The Baltimore Times, and for Los Angeles on Saturday, November 7, 2026, presented by The Pulse of Entertainment and the ULMII Foundation. The ULMII conferences are free with virtual access via Zoom. ULMII entertainment conference offers a Professional Panel Q&A Session, a Professional Talent Showcase and International Talent Competition where the top three scored acts receive the ULMII Best Act Award and over $20,000 valued in prizes/product/services and cash!