HYLLUS & CHARLIE are the 2026 New Jersey State Champions in the solo/duo category.

They will represent North Jersey Blues Society in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January of 2027.

As an aficionado of the pre-war blues, Hyllus has made a special study of American guitar and harmonica music for solo performance. Along with originals, he features the music of Charlie Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, and others both obscure and well known.

Charlie Apicella was voted onto the 84th and 86th annual DownBeat Readers Poll for Guitar.

Early on he met his idol, B.B. King, who gave him critical advice and shared some stories. Apicella studied composition and improvisation with musical titans Yusef Lateef and Pat Martino and was trained as a historian by Archie Shepp and Billy Taylor. He has collaborated with Lincoln Center, Vanderbilt University, Williams College, and the Newport Jazz & Folk Festivals Foundation.

He has received numerous grants for his work preserving Ma Rainey‘s Legacy in collaboration with the Ma Rainey House Museum in GA.