The New York State Blues Festival is happy to announce that the winner of the Newman & Lickstein 2023 KJ James Memorial Scholarship is Eamonn Hubert of Endicott, NY. At just 14 years old, Eamonn already has an impressive resume; performing since the age of 6, was on national Broadway Tour of “School of Rock the Musical” at age 10, multiple school musicals including “The Little Mermaid Jr.”, “Seussical Jr.”, and “Anything Goes” as well as community theater productions “Willy Wonka Jr.” and “Wizard of Oz Jr.” Performs in his own band, Hot Dogs & Gin, and also writes original material for the group. Plays 9 instruments, is a member of his high school’s orchestra (cello), jazz ensemble (guitar), wind ensemble (tenor saxophone), and is a cellist with the Binghamton Youth Symphony Orchestra. Also, his original song “Thank You”, was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2023 International Songwriting Competition.
Eamonn says of blues music “It was the first music I was ever really exposed to at a young age and it has been the foundation for a lot my playing and writing style” and that “Blues allows me to take inspiration from other musicians and make it my own”.
We are very excited to award this great young musician and look forward to seeing his growth and evolution in years to come! For more information on the KJ James Scholarship and the New York State Blues Festival’s other youth development initiatives please visit nysbluesfest.com/development.
Photos from the 2023 KJ James Scholarship presentation. Joining Eamonn in these photos are Leslie Garcea and Eric McElveen from the NYS Blues Festival, the family of KJ James, and presenter Steven Lickstein, partner at Newman & Lickstein Attorneys & Advisors, sponsors of the award.