introducing........the band!

Singer Suzanne Rose, born and raised in Oakland, first took to the stage to sing at age 8 and has been performing ever since. Formerly lead singer for the R&B band Soul Patch, she joined Highwater Blues in 2000. Suzanne has worked with award-winning music producers, such as Raz Kennedy and Roland Wyatt.

Bassist Valerie Marchant trained as a classical flutist while growing up near Chicago, then got her start on the bass playing with San Francisco blues icon Johnny Nitro and the Doorslammers.
Saxophonist Michael Pearce doubles on the harp, and also appears with the East Bay band The Delta Dogs. Catch Michael in this short video on the website of the Exploratorium. where he tests how different acoustic environments affect the feeling of a piece of music.
Oakland native Michael Wong originally trained on classical piano, then discovered the blues and switched to guitar.
His funky R&B-flavored rhythms and tasteful blues solos have been featured in numerous Bay Area bands.
Peter Libby has been playing drums in the Bay area for over 30 years. After meeting Les Claypool at an outdoor concert in Sproul Plaza, he joined what would soon become the ground breaking Funk/Rock band Primus. On his 30th birthday he moved to Los Angeles to attend the Musician's Institute where he studied with session icon Joe Porcaro and former Zappa drummer Ralph Humphries, amongst others. After several years in L.A. he moved back and began a string of European tours with World Beat songwriter Matt Callahan in his project the Wild Bouquet. After touring 6 countries and over 100 cities in Europe, he became the house drummer for Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, where he worked with Louis Madison of James Browns Famous Flames and top-notch local blues artists.
Mark Mathias - alternate drummer for the band.

Mark attended the Berklee College of Muisc in Boston. In the 80's, he played with the fusion group Merlin. In the 90's, he played with the country-rock band The Rangers.