Joe Beard

Born and raised in Ashland, Mississippi, guitarist Joe Beard began to learn guitar at age 17 from Ernest Scruggs, a neighbor. Beard moved to Rochester, NY where he formed the Soul Brothers Six, playing bass and singing, but he didn't perform in public on guitar until 1965. Beard befriended classic blues guitarist Son House, who was a neighbor in Rochester and played a concert for students at the University of Rochester in 1968.

Beard worked as an electrician by day and would occasionally play out at night and on weekends for most of the 1960s on through to the '80s. He has a reputation as one of the best local players around Rochester and though he may not be a household name in other parts of the U.S., he toured Europe in 1983.