Blues Hall of Fame artist Michael Charles to perform in Elgin

Grammy Award winner and Blues Hall of Fame artist Michael Charles and his band will perform at 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16, at Danny's on Douglas, 231 Douglas Ave. in Elgin.

Charles' musical pilgrimage started more than six decades ago in Melbourne, Australia.

While enjoying a successful musical crusade of touring, recording, and numerous television and radio appearances in his homeland, he received an invitation from Buddy Guy's management to appear at the renowned Legends in Chicago.

Graciously accepting the honor, Charles traveled the 1,2500 miles and took the stage with Buddy Guy. After numerous trips back and forth, Charles made the life-changing decision to make America his home. Charles worked the whole Chicago blues circuit, performing with Buddy Guy, Phil Guy, James Cotton, Eddy Clearwater, Junior Wells, George Baze, as well as touring with blues legend Jimmy Dawkins.

Through the next 20 years, and now an eight-time Grammy elected artist, Charles enjoyed being featured in numerous television and radio broadcasts and several music magazines, along with gracing countless stages and pages.

In 2015, Charles received the honor of an induction into the Blues Hall of Fame. He has received endorsements from Vertex and LR Baggs and, in Canada, from Godin/Seagull Guitars. Charles' discography is comprised of 35 releases, including a double CD, 30-year anthology released in 2014, and the live CD "Concert at the Nest," released in the winter of 2015.

In 2016, an Australian film producer started work on a documentary chronicling his musical career. The documentary was released in March 2018 and the DVD was released in February 2019.