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King Bee & The Stingers
EPK

King Bee & The Stingers is a six-piece blues, soul and funk band from Bloomington, Indiana. The group works with Indie Ink Management and publicist Marlene Palumbo. Several KBS singles have been distributed by Sony Orchard and are being played on hundreds of radio stations across the world, including singles from KBS’s second album, “Don’t Move So Fast”, which was completed in early 2023.

King Bee & The Stingers formed in 2006 under the leadership of harmonica player and vocalist Mark "King Bee" Menefee. The band attracted a strong following across Indiana and the Midwest, playing classic, gritty roadhouse blues. In 2015, Mark's daughter Sarah Menefee took over as lead vocalist and has been a rising star ever since. King Bee & The Stingers are 2018, 2019, and  2023 semifinalists in The Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN.

After playing with the band as a fill-in drummer, Paul Karaffa joined full-time in 2019. In late 2019, bassist Jeff Shew joined the group. He had already worked with band, having written "You're All I Need," the opening track on the band's debut album, "Meet Me In Memphis." The band started writing more original music as it also added more soul, funk and pop to an extensive blues catalog. In 2020, Mark Menefee became the band manager, ceding harmonica duties to veteran harp player Mark Carnes. Keyboardist Wes Schrimsher joined in 2021, and guitarist Matt Boat joined in 2022.

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Press Photos

Performance Highlights

Festival Appearences

  • Southern Indiana Blues Fest

  • Bean Blossom Blues Fest

  • Madison Ribberfest

  • Garvin Gate Blues Fest

  • Germantown Schnitzelburg Blues Fest

  • Cumberland BBQ, Blues & Brews

  • Forst Harrison BBQ & Blues

  • Rockport Blues on the Rock

  • McCormick's Creek Blues Fest

  • Brown County Blues Fest

  • West Boggs Lake Blues Fest

  • King's Upland FunkFest

  • Brownsburg Blues in The Burg

  • Bloomfield Blues Fest

  • National Women In Blues

  • International Blues Challenge

  • Cincinnati Winter Blues Fest

Noteable Venue Appearences

  • The Slippery Noodle (Indy)

  • The Southgate House Revival (Newport,KY)

  • Manor House (Cincinnati)

  • Stevie Ray's Blues Bar (Louisville)

  • Alfred's on Beale (Memphis)

  • Blues City Cafe (Memphis)

  • Club 152 (Memphis)

  • The Midway Tavern (Mishawaka)

  • The Brown County Playhouse (Nashville)

  • Harmony Tree Resorts (Brown County)

  • Bryan Park (Bloomington)

  • Switchyard Park (Bloomington)

  • 21st Amendment in Germantown (Louisville)

  • Lamasco Bar (Evansville)

  • Hard Truth Hills (Nashville)
  • The Bluebird (Bloomington)

  • Buskirk Chumley Theater (Bloomington)

Artists We've Shared The Stage With

  • Little Ed & the Blues Imperials

  • Shemekia Copeland

  • Eric Gales

  • Keeshea Pratt

  • John Nemeth

  • Danielle Nicole

  • Kat Riggins

  • Joanna Conner

  • Carolyn Wonderland

  • Popa Chubby

  • Toronzo Cannon

  • Mike Zito

  • Albert Castiglia

  • Damon Fowler

  • Jason Ricci

Music

Videos