Donna Herula

DONNA HERULA

With a percussive guitar style and soulful voice, Donna plays fingerstyle as well as blues slide guitar on her resonator guitars, including a 1930’s National Steel Triolian and National Steel Tricone.

Donna was born and raised on the northwest side of Chicago. She began playing guitar at the age of 10. By 16, she was playing lead guitar in bands and writing original blues songs.

Influenced by slide guitar players Rory Block, Bob Brozman, Bonnie Raitt, John Hammond, Jr., Eric Sardinas, and Johnny Winter, Donna set out to discover the early blues musicians that inspired these players, which included Son House, Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters.

An accomplished slide guitarist, Donna performed a tribute to slide guitar master Robert Nighthawk at the 2009 Chicago Blues Festival for his centennial celebration. She also performed as part of a Nighthawk symposium for the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas (Nighthawk’s hometown), the King Biscuit Blues Festival (Helena, Arkansas), the Mother’s Best Music Festival (Helena, AK), the Bayfront Blues Festival (Duluth, MN), Blues By The Bay (East Twas, MI) and The Festival for the Eno (North Carolina).

With harpist John Jochem, Donna won the 2010 Chicago Blues Challenge, solo-duo category, and represented the Windy City Blues Society at the 2011 International Blues Challenge.

Donna’s second CD “The Moon Is Rising: Songs of Robert Nighthawk” was released in February 2011. The CD reached #32 on the Roots Music Report for most played blues album on the radio. In October 2011, Donna was nominated for the Best Female Blues Artist by the Chicago Black Music Awards.

Donna plays National steel guitars and is a featured artist on the National Reso-Phonic Guitars website.

She has been on blues radio programs including King Biscuit Time and Delta Sounds, with Sonny Payne, legendary host and member of the blues hall of fame, and Terry Buckalew, both on www.kffa.com through the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas.