Shelly Waters, Joe Taylor Group bring drummer Blair Shotts back to Mobile on Friday

As seen at BayFest: Mobile native Blair Shotts and the Joe Taylor Group return to Dauphin Street Friday night for a special performance with vocalist Shelly Waters.

Drummer Shotts is a Mobilian who has worked in the music industry in Los Angeles for well over a decade. His career highlights have included playing in a band that backed Rihanna at the Grammys and collaborating with Fishbone founder D’Angelo Moore in a group called Daddy Mention. Before he moved to the West Coast, his Port City career included the eclectic rock group Chifauco.

Shotts has worked for several years with Joe Taylor, a Grammy-nominated guitarist and producer based in South Carolina whose credits include ambient and smooth jazz, Celtic and classical music, and Broadway and TV soundtracks. The Joe Taylor Group performed at BayFest in 2013 and 2014, bringing an energetic, funky mix of music rooted in blues and jazz.

Waters, meanwhile, is a Louisiana native and self-described “swamp pop princess.” Guitar World, reviewing her new single “Drive,” credited her with a “strong, deep Americana and Country sound and distinct voice.”

The Joe Taylor Group also features Sean O’Brien Smith, a bassist who has worked with artists such as Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, P Funk and Billy Joel. “He’s a monster,” said Shotts. “He makes my job easy.”

Shotts said that given the diverse backgrounds of the players, listeners can expect to hear a wide variety of material. “We’re going to do a lot of Joe Taylor instrumental stuff as well as the Shelly material,” he said.

Shelly Waters with the Joe Taylor group will perform Friday, March 13, at The Brickyard, 266 Dauphin St. The show is scheduled to start about 9:30 p.m. (al.com)