Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2019 Digital Edition by RBA Publishing

2019 BFG Sponsor

Music by Robert Finley: I Just Want To Tell You

Hot Blues, Warm Hearts Beyond the Green Book The Violin Sings the Blues

Blues Festival Guide 2019

PUBLISHED BY RBA Publishing Inc. dba BLUES FESTIVAL GUIDE P.O. Box 920, Arcata, CA 95518 - 707/630-3304 www.BluesFestivalGuide.com Facebook.com/bluesfestivalguide Instagram.com/bluesfestivalguide Twitter.com/bluesfestguide TO HAVE A COPY MAILED TO YOU Send $8.00 ($13.00 overseas) PUBLISHER Kaati: Kaati@BluesFestivalGuide.com EDITOR Irene Johnson: Irene@BluesFestivalGuide.com BLUES FESTIVAL E-GUIDE NEWSLETTER EDITOR Michele Lundeen: michelelundeen@live.com SALES MANAGER/MARKETING DIRECTOR Cheryl O’Grady-Yearnshaw: cogblues@att.net EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Scott Cawood, Marion Diaz, Jed Finley, Anne Harris, Stacy Jeffress, James “Super Chikan” Johnson, Michele Lundeen, Jim O’Neal, Lamont Jack Pearley, Murphy Platero, Stan Street, Rev. Billy C. Wirtz, William Wise PHOTO & Art CONTRIBUTORS Ron Adelberg, Hollie Alcocer, Craig Bailey − Perspective Photo, Courtesy Bloomington Blues & Boogie Woogie Piano Festival, Courtesy BluEsoterica Archives, BluesPhotosbyDonMcGhee, bobpalez, Ronnie Booze, Courtesy Scott Cawood, Wanda Clark, Jack Delano, Courtesy Delta Cultural Center, depositphotos.com, Tim Duffy, Courtesy FSA/OWI Collection – Library of Congress, Brenda Haskins, Courtesy Norbert Hess, Courtesy Mike “Hurricane” Hoover, Courtesy Infinite Music Foundation, John Jones, Courtesy George F. Landegger Collection – Library of Congress, Timothy Lane – Riverfront Times, Courtesy Mississippi Blues Trail, Ken Murphy for Belinda Stewart Architects, Courtesy Music Maker Relief Foundation, Jon Naugle – Naugle Photography, Matt O’Brien, Courtesy of Julie Pelton, Courtesy Playing with Fire, © Clement Puig, Kathy Rankin Photography, Jasmine Reacco, Victor Rodriguez Ratliff, Nancy Smith – Lightninghorse Photography, © Roger Stephenson, Lydia Stewart, © Stan Street, © Marilyn Stringer, Courtesy TampAGS for AGS Media, Courtesy Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau, © Williamwiseart, Aaron Winters, John W. Work ADVERTISING SALES Cheryl O’Grady-Yearnshaw, Tom Andrews, Heather Penrod-Rudd Administrative/Database/Distribution Heather Penrod-Rudd: Heather_P@BluesFestivalGuide.com consultants Tom Yearnshaw, Michele Lundeen, Nancy Edwards DESIGN & PRODUCTION/WEBSITE Goran Petko, Aqua Design STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Tom Andrews, Marilyn Stringer The opinions of the contributors are not necessarily the views of RBA Publishing Inc. Front Cover Louisiana native Robert Finley was a bandleader during his stint in the Army. After returning, the guitarist, singer/songwriter found work scarce as a musician. He worked as a part-time street performer, led a gospel group and then did carpentry for years until he started losing his eyesight. While busking in 2015, the Music Maker Relief Foundation discovered him. The comeback for this infectious, roots-soul bluesman has included recording his debut, Age Don’t Mean A Thing, in 2016, and touring. “I’m going to give you everything I’ve got,” says Finley. Here he is at the Big Blues Bender, doing just that. FRONT COVER PHOTOGRAPHER © Marilyn Stringer, www.MJStringerPhoto.com

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Dear Blues Community, The Dalai Lama says, “If you contribute to other people’s happiness, you will find the true goal, the true meaning of life.” I strive to follow that every day – from the inner circle of my family and friends to the greater culture of the blues across America and beyond. And “contributing” can be accomplished in a million different ways. That’s why, in this year’s issue, I was so warmed to see our own blues village hard at work. One feature, “Hot Blues, Warm Hearts,” shines a light on fundraising efforts led by blues festivals to improve their local communities: raising funds, collecting food, donating to local nonprofits, encouraging youth music programs, honoring blues forefathers and more. It just shows how music opens people’s hearts and how the blues is bettering our world. In an inspiring example, you’ll read about the Music Maker Relief Foundation and how it has forged a people-centered approach to preserving the musical traditions of the South by helping forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their dayto-day needs. In another feature, you’ll learn how the Mississippi Blues Trail originated in response to blues fans wanting to visit significant sites, but also as a way to honor the artists, sites and history of the blues. In my book, acknowledging and honoring the people, places and events that have so greatly impacted our reality today, is certainly a worthwhile endeavor. The Blues Festival Guide is a media sponsor of the Blues Foundation, which supports its own charitable programs, including the Handy Artists Relief Trust (HART) Fund for blues musicians and their families in financial need due to a broad range of health concerns. If you’re looking for somewhere to donate outside of your own local nonprofits, we encourage you to consider the HART Fund – 100% of donations are dedicated to artist relief efforts. blues.org/hart-fund. So, my dear blues community, let’s lift each other up when we can, as much as we can. Let’s give whatever time, funds, thought and effort to continue making our world a better bluesy place. Peace and Blues, Kaati & The Blues Festival Guide Team

In this Magazine

FEATURED FESTIVALS.............................................................................. 7-41 Hot Blues, Warm Hearts by Stacy Jeffress......................................................................................................................... 44 What’s the Word? by Rev. Billy C. Wirtz........................................................................................................................... 48 Beyond the Green Book by Lamont Jack Pearley............................................................................................................... 50 What's Cookin' with Marion Diaz..................................................................................................................................... 56 The Violin Sings the Blues by Anne Harris......................................................................................................................... 58 The Art of the Blues by Scott Cawood, Stan Street, William Wise, James “Super Chikan” Johnson...................................... 64 The Emergence of Native American Blues by Murphy Platero............................................................................................ 70 Music Maker Relief Foundation ....................................................................................................................................... 76 Blues Alive Festival Wins KBA ......................................................................................................................................... 78 Living Legend: Beverly "Guitar" Watkins by Jed Finley..................................................................................................... 80 American Blues Museum Tour ......................................................................................................................................... 82 A View from the Crow's Nest by Michele Lundeen ........................................................................................................... 90 Blues Radio .................................................................................................................................................................... 94 Blues Societies compiled by Heather Penrod-Rudd............................................................................................................. 95 Mississippi Blues Trail Pilgrimage by Jim O'Neal ............................................................................................................ 96 Plan Your Blues Festival Calendar ............................................................................................................................98-103

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Featured Festivals Festivals are listed here in alphabetical order with their page number. On the following pages they appear in date order, so you can easily make your plans. The publisher, venues, promotors and musicians are not responsible for any changes or cancellation of events.

SO CHECK BEFORE YOU GO & HAVE A BLUESY TIME!

With his wily and unforgettable original songs and his hipster, street-smart vocals, no one on the blues scene writes or sings quite like Rick Estrin. No one looks like him either, as Estrin is always dressed to the nines, sporting his trademark pencil-line mustache and pompadour haircut. TThe world-class talents of this harmonica master, songwriter and vocalist make him a festival favorite. Photo by Ĺ¸ Marilyn Stringer

Alpine Country Blues Festival........................................................................10 Ann Arbor Blues Festival.............................................................................. 26 Baja Blues Fest............................................................................................ 23 Bayfront Blues Festival................................................................................. 24 Bentonia Blues Festival..................................................................................10 Big Bull Falls Blues Fest................................................................................ 29 Billtown Blues Festival...................................................................................11 Black Prairie Blues Festival............................................................................31 Bloomington Boogies................................................................................... 26 Blue Ribbon Blues Fest................................................................................. 22 Blues From the Top.......................................................................................12 Blues on the Chippewa.................................................................................21 Blues on the Fox...........................................................................................11 Bluesapalooza............................................................................................ 20 Bogalusa Blues & Heritage Festival............................................................... 36 Bowlful of Blues........................................................................................... 32 Calgary International Blues Festival.............................................................. 20 Canal Winchester Blues and Ribfest...............................................................18 Canton Blues Festival..................................................................................... 9 Chain O' Lakes Blues Festival....................................................................... 38 Chenango Blues Fest....................................................................................27 Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival............................................................ 39 Downtown Blues Concert............................................................................. 41

Blues Festival Guide 2019 2018

European Blues Cruise..................................................................................37 Fargo Blues Festival......................................................................................19 Forgotten Music Festival............................................................................... 40 Front Porch Blues Bash................................................................................105 Gator By the Bay.......................................................................................... 7 Grassroots Blues Festival...............................................................................15 Havre de Grace Jazz & Blues Fest.................................................................. 9 Hayward /Russell City Blues Festival..............................................................17 Heritage Music Blues Fest............................................................................ 24 Horse Town Brew n' Que Festival.................................................................... 7 Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival.........................................................13 King Biscuit Blues Festival............................................................................. 38 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise................................................................ 42 Lone Star Blues and Heritage Festival........................................................... 40 Madison Ribberfest......................................................................................27 Mississippi Valley Blues Fest..........................................................................14 Monroe Balloon and Blues Festival................................................................12 Monterey International Blues Festival.............................................................13 Mt. Baker Rhythm & Blues Festival.................................................................21 Musical Extravaganza................................................................................. 35 NCFBS Women in Blues Showcase.................................................................. 8 New Albany Blues, Brews & BBQ..................................................................37 Niagara Falls Blues Festival...........................................................................34 Paxico Blues Fest......................................................................................... 36 Playing with Fire Free Summer Concerts.........................................................16 Playing with Fire Free Summer Concerts........................................................ 28 Prairie Dog Blues Festival..............................................................................19 Reading Blues Fest...................................................................................... 41 Rentiesville Dusk 'Til Dawn Blues Festival........................................................31 San Diego Blues Festival.............................................................................. 33 Spirit of Kansas Blues Festival........................................................................14 Stafford Springs Blues Festival...................................................................... 22 Sunflower River Blues Festival....................................................................... 25 Tall City Blues Fest........................................................................................16 TD Kitchener Blues Fest................................................................................ 23 Thunder Bay Blues Festival............................................................................15 Tim Horton's Southside Shuffle...................................................................... 32 Trinidaddio Blues Fest.................................................................................. 30 Waukesha Blues Fest................................................................................... 25 White Mountain Boogie N' Blues.................................................................. 28 Whitewater Music Festival............................................................................ 35 Wildcat Blues Fest........................................................................................18 Windy City Blues Fest.................................................................................. 33

May 9 - 12

June 1

Gator By the Bay

San Diego, CA

Horse Town Brew n' Que Festival

Norco, CA

Blues Festival Guide 2019

May 19

NCFBS Women in Blues Showcase

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Gainesville, FL

June 7 - 8

June 7 - 9

Canton Blues Festival

Havre de Grace Jazz & Blues Fest

Canton, OH

Havre de Grace, MD

Blues Festival Guide 2019

June 10 - 15

Bentonia Blues Festival

June 14 - 15

Alpine Country Blues Festival

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Bentonia, MS

Alpine, AZ

June 14 - 16

Billtown Blues Festival

June 14 - 15

Blues on the Fox

Hughesville, PA

Aurora, IL

Blues Festival Guide 2019

June 14 - 15

Monroe Balloon and Blues Festival

June 29 - 30

Blues From the Top

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Monroe, WI

Winter Park, CO

June 29

Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival

June 29

Monterey International Blues Festival

Kansas City, KS

Monterey, CA

Blues Festival Guide 2019

July 4

Spirit of Kansas Blues Festival

Topeka, KS

July 5 - 6

Mississippi Valley Blues Fest

Davenport, IA

Blues Festival Guide 2019

July 5 - 7

July 12 - 13

Thunder Bay Blues Festival

Grassroots Blues Festival

Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

Duck Hill, MS

Blues Festival Guide 2019

July 12 - 13

July 13

Tall City Blues Fest

Midland, TX

Playing with Fire Free Summer Concerts

Omaha, NE

Blues Festival Guide 2019

July 13 - 14

Hayward /Russell City Blues Festival

Hayward, CA

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July 20

July 26 - 27

Wildcat Blues Fest

Canal Winchester Blues and Ribfest

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Shutesburg, MA

Canal Winchester, OH

July 26 - 27

Fargo Blues Festival

July 26 - 27

Prairie Dog Blues Festival

Fargo, ND

Prairie du Chien, WI

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Aug. 1 - 4

Calgary International Blues Festival

Aug. 1 - 4

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Bluesapalooza

Calgary, AB, Canada

Mammoth Lakes, CA

Aug. 2 - 4

Blues on the Chippewa

Durand, WI

Aug. 2 - 4

Mt. Baker Rhythm & Blues Festival

Deming, WA

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Aug. 3

Blue Ribbon Blues Fest

Fairfield, IA

Aug. 3

Stafford Springs Blues Festival

Stafford Springs, CT

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Aug. 8 - 11

TD Kitchener Blues Fest

Aug. 9 - 11

Baja Blues Fest

Kitchener, ON, Canada

Rosarito, Mexico

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Aug. 9 - 11

Bayfront Blues Festival

Superior, WI

Aug. 9 - 11

Heritage Music Blues Fest

Wheeling, WV

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Aug. 9 - 11

Sunflower River Blues Festival

Aug. 9 - 10

Waukesha Blues Fest

Clarksdale, MS

Delafield, WI

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Aug. 11 - 12

Bloomington Boogies

Aug. 16 - 18

Ann Arbor Blues Festival

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Bloomington, IN

Ann Arbor, MI

Aug. 16 - 17

Chenango Blues Fest

Norwich, NY

Aug. 16 - 17

Madison Ribberfest

Madison, IN

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Aug. 16 - 18

Aug. 24

White Mountain Boogie N' Blues

Playing with Fire Free Summer Concerts

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Thornton, NH

Omaha, NE

Aug. 16 - 17

Big Bull Falls Blues Fest

Wausau, WI

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Aug. 24

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Trinidaddio Blues Fest

Trinidad, CO

Aug. 30

Aug. 30 - Sept. 2

Black Prairie Blues Festival

West Point, MS

Rentiesville Dusk 'Til Dawn Blues Festival

Rentiesville, OK

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Sept. 1

Sept. 6 - 8

Bowlful of Blues

Newton, IA

Tim Horton's Southside Shuffle

Port Credit, ON, Canada

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Sept. 6 - 8

Sept. 7

Windy City Blues Fest

San Diego Blues Festival

Lyons, IL

San Diego, CA

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Sept. 13 - 14

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Niagara Falls Blues Festival

Niagara Falls, NY

Sept. 14

Whitewater Music Festival

Charles, MN

Sept. 15

Musical Extravaganza

Berkeley, CA

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Sept. 21

Sept. 27 - 28

Paxico Blues Fest

Bogalusa Blues & Heritage Festival

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Paxico, KS

Bogalusa, LA

Sept. 27 - 28

Sept. 30 - Oct. 4

New Albany Blues, Brews & BBQ

European Blues Cruise

New Albany, IN

Marseilles, France

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Oct. 4 - 5

Chain Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Lakes Blues Festival

Waupaca, WI

Oct. 9 - 12

King Biscuit Blues Festival

Helena, AR

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Oct. 18 - 20

Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival

New Orleans, LA

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Oct. 25 - 27

Lone Star Blues and Heritage Festival

Grapeland, TX

Forgotten Music Festival

Port St. Joe, FL

Nov. 8 - 9

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Nov. 15

Nov. 22 - 24

Downtown Blues Concert

Reading Blues Fest

Gainesville, FL

Reading, PA

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Hot Blues, Warm Hearts

The San Diego Blues Festival. Photo by Jon Naugle - Naugle Photography

By Stacy Jeffress For Jim and Paige Payne of Springfield, MO, it was not enough that they volunteered at a local drop-in center to feed the hungry; they fervently wanted to raise money for the cause. It seemed natural for them to combine two of their passions to create the Stomp The Blues Out of Homelessness Festival nine years ago and contribute the proceeds to organizations that help people. “The blues has a connotation that people are living down in the dumps, down on their luck,” says Jim Payne. “Through the blues festival, it could maybe provide a way out.” In 2018, their event raised $7,500 for Women in Need of the Ozarks, a nonprofit organization that assists single women with practical needs such as housing payments and utility bills. Blues music not only heals the soul, it also generates thousands of dollars for charity every year through the festivals we love to attend. There are countless examples of festivals that raise money to fight hunger and homelessness, provide musical instruments and opportunities to kids, and support health-related charities such as organ transplant networks. We shine a spotlight here on just a small sample of the generosity displayed by blues festival promoters and fans for these and other worthy causes. The San Diego Blues Festival, now in its ninth year, is owned by the Jacobs & Cushman Food Bank, which has been the beneficiary of nearly $1 million and 12 tons of food since the event’s inception. Producer Michael Kinsman credits the festival’s success and longevity to the fact that it is owned by a nonprofit organization and the resulting symbiotic relationship

Blues Festival Guide 2019

between the event and the food bank’s mission to provide nutritious food to people in need. “Our model has allowed us to thrive since our organization got started in 2011,” he explains. “It should be a model for how blues festivals can survive in the current climate.” North of the border, the Calgary International Blues Festival partners with Alpha House, a nonprofit offering several programs for individuals impacted by substance abuse. Alpha House benefits by having a free booth at the event to provide information about their street teams, housing program and detox facility. Festival producer Cindy McLeod has been delighted to observe Alpha House clients become members of the blues family, including one individual who has become security team lead for the festival’s late-night venue. Those of us active with our local blues societies are well aware that a significant strategy for sustaining the blues genre is to match kids up with instruments, provide them with musical education and get them up on the stage. Many festivals designate their proceeds for connecting children to the blues through Blues in the Schools, community arts programs and the development of young artists. Blues from the Top, a festival produced by the Grand County Blues Society in Winter Park, CO, supports Blue Star Connection (BSC), a project that brings youth and music together. BSC provides instruments to kids and young adults dealing with cancer and other challenges. Since 2005, BSC has reached over 800 young people and donated instruments to 65 children’s hospitals and music therapy programs. In Indiana, the Bloomington Blues & Boogie Woogie Piano Festival presents free piano workshops after school, sends

The Mammoth Husky Club Ukulele Kids opened the 23rd Annual Mammoth Festival of Beers & Bluesaplooza. Photo courtesy of the Infinite Music Foundation

guest artists into public schools and gives students free tickets to concerts in the community. This year, the festival is proud to feature a performance by a 14-year-old piano player who attended one of its piano workshops last year. Several festivals include young artists on the schedule. At the 2018 Mammoth Festival of Beers & Bluesapalooza in Mammoth Lakes, CA, the Ukulele Kids, all third and fourth graders, opened the festival. The resulting video on YouTube proves that nothing opens a blues festival quite like 12 adorable kids and their teacher, all strumming their four-stringed instruments and singing. The festival’s proceeds

Donate Life Nebraska Coordinator Lisa Carmichael (lt) with Marie and Walter Trout (ctr, rt) after a Playing with Fire concert. Photo courtesy of Playing with Fire

support the Infinite Music Foundation, whose goal is to get children thinking musically at a young age so they’ll carry that appreciation throughout their lifetimes. The Playing with Fire Free Summer Music Festivals series in Omaha, NE, supports the local blues society’s BluesEd Youth Artist Development Program. Jeff Davis, organizer and producer, neatly summed up how important it is to provide performance opportunities for students. “Every Playing with Fire show has been opened by a BluesEd youth band. If you want to have young people play the blues, you need to present opportunities for them to do so.” The Playing with Fire series supports a wide variety of organizations in addition to youth musical education. Donate Life Nebraska was chosen as a partner specifically as a result of the festival’s friendship with Walter Trout, whose life was saved four years ago by the liver transplant he received at the Nebraska Medical Center. Curtis Salgado also had a lifesaving liver transplant there in 2006. Thanks to the presence of Donate Life Nebraska’s information booth at the festival, countless people have been educated about the intense need, inspiring hundreds of new donors to sign up. Blues festivals benefit a wide array of worthy causes. They include the Clarksdale (Mississippi) Downtown Development Association, which receives proceeds from the Juke Joint Festival, and the Killer Blues Headstone Project, a beneficiary of the White Lake Blues Festival in Michigan. Steve Salter, founder of the Headstone Project, says that, thanks to the money raised by the festival, 104 headstones have been placed at previously unmarked graves of blues artists. “These people are the architects and creators of the blues, soul and

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Boogie-woogie pianist Daryl Davis teaching a youth workshop at Tri-North Middle School, Bloomington, IN. Photo by John Jones, courtesy of Bloomington Blues & Boogie Woogie Piano Festival

jazz music we know today,” Steve says. “They deserve to be honored and recognized.” In addition to the funds raised, relationships between blues music events and worthy causes create broader awareness on both sides – blues fans learn of the needs in their community, and nonprofit volunteers and recipients experience, first-hand, the power of the blues. “Groups that would otherwise never have been exposed to the music have gotten involved and become fans,” explains Eric Larsen, president of the Chenango Blues Festival, which gives various local nonprofits the opportunity to fundraise during the festival. “Music is such a great way to bind communities together, that it just makes sense to widen that circle of benefit whenever and however we can.” Stacy Jeffress began her freelance writing career in 2006 with the Kansas City Blues Society membership magazine. She gained a writing mentor in 2008 as a result of accosting KBA recipient Don Wilcock in a Memphis elevator during her first IBC, and has now published 100 articles and served as director of the Paxico Blues Festival. Contact her at luvmyblues@yahoo.com

The San Diego Blues Festival, owned by the Jacobs & Cushman Food Bank, has raised nearly $1 million and 12 tons of food since 2011. Photo by Jon Naugle - Naugle Photography

Blues Festival Guide 2019

What’s the Word? By Reverend Billy C. Wirtz Along with the melodies, cool nicknames and irresistible beat, blues music features an alternate universe of sayings, characters and obscure references. Many have origins in African Voodoo, some from jazz-hipster speak and a few refer to historical events. You’ve probably wondered about some of these, but were afraid of being B.S.’d (Blues Shamed). No worries; I’ve divided them by terms, characters and expressions for your blues linguistic education.

PART ONE: Reoccurring Terms Black Cat Bone: The bone from a deceased black cat – boiled, cleaned and then ground for use in mojos and mojo bags. Reputed to bring good luck and ward off bad in the user. Fortunately, not popular these days. Usually sold in “alleged” form. Crawling Kingsnake: The male anatomy. Get Your Ashes Hauled: Engaging in the act of procreation. Goofer Dust: Often referred to by Champion Jack Dupree and in “I Don’t Know” by Willie Mabon. Can be any mixture of graveyard dirt, herbs, dried cat poop, salt, sulphur and other powdered substances combined to cause harm and misfortune to the intended victim. Often sprinkled around a bed or put in drinks. Hadacol: A patent medicine popular in the 1930s and 1940s, containing Vitamin B and 12% alcohol. Advertised as great for battling the pains of “rheumatism, heart problems, ulcers, nervousness and gas.” Dudley LeBlanc, a senator from Louisiana, marketed his product via the “Hadacol Caravan” touring show, which featured country singers, blues singers and movie stars. It took the country by storm between 1948 and 1951. Wynonie Harris sang about it, Professor Longhair did “The Hadacol Bounce” and even Buddy Guy has done a version of the “Hadacol Boogie.” Hadacol and its 24-proof solution was especially popular in the “dry” counties of the South.

Blues Festival Guide 2019

“The Crossroads” by Matt O’Brien

House of the Rising Sun: The version that we know refers to an actual New Orleans brothel owned by Madame Marianne LeSoleil Levant (French for “the rising sun”). It opened in 1862, catering to the Union soldiers, and closed in 1874 due to neighbors’ complaints. The song itself was first recorded in 1928, and the famous version by The Animals came along in 1964. John the Conqueror Root: One of the most misunderstood lines in blues comes from “Mannish Boy” by Muddy Waters. It sounds like he’s singing “gonna bring back my second cousin, that little Johnny Conqueroo.” He’s actually bragging about bringing back “Little John the Conqueror Root.” John the Conqueror is the trickster and healer in West African folklore, whereas John the Conqueror Root is the woody tuber of the Ipomoea jalapa plant. It is carried whole, or ground

and used as part of a mojo bag. Muddy Waters was playing an inside joke with this line. His reference would be like saying “Going to bring back my Aunt, Miz Ginger Rogers” or “my Uncle, Little Salt Peter.” Mojo/Mojo bags: A small bag worn around the neck or carried in the pocket with a variety of contents. Mojos were believed to bring good luck and were used for positive energy. They often contained a variety of roots, graveyard dirt, toenail clippings, pubic hairs or whatever they believed would bring good luck and ward off evil spirits. Although they would downplay the belief in such matters to the audiences, most of the old school blues singers respected and believed in these charms and talismans – one of the reasons that many considered blues to be “devil music.” The mojo bag was also known as a mojo hand. Mojo Hand: Muddy Waters and Lightnin’ Hopkins both sang songs about their future plans to acquire mojo hands. The hand reference referred to the inclusion of powdered bones in the contents. Mr. Hopkins wasn’t going to Louisiana to engage in a Yakuza ritual. Pudding: The female anatomy. Ya Ya: Heroin. Yas Yas: Buttocks region. Viper: A marijuana user. Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee: Substitute words employed to make the song acceptable. The phrase was originally a bawdy army barracks number that went, “Drinkin’ wine motherf*cker, drinkin’ wine, g*ddam.” A few minor word changes, and “Stick” McGhee had the hit which saved Atlantic Records in the later 1940s.

PART TWO: A Few Characters CC Rider: 1. Circuit Rider: A traveling preacher. 2. Hobos who rode the Colorado Central railroads in the 1930s. 3. CC Rider is a play on the phrase “Easy Rider.”

again locked up and died in prison on March 11, 1912. If a hat had not been involved, this would have been a longforgotten drunken argument. Instead, it became a legend first sung by Professor Charlie Lee, “The Piano Thumper,” around Kansas City in 1897, re-recorded by several artists, and is still played weekly at Monday night blues jams around the world.

PART THREE: Expressions Blues served not only as entertainment, but as an existential worldview often hidden behind certain expressions. Double entendre was used to disguise even more profound truths. Dust My Broom: Time to clean house. Time to change course. It’s Tight Like That: That’s the way it is. The early predecessor to “it is what it is.” Life’s circumstances compared to wellconditioned personal anatomy muscles. Down to the Crossroads: Given the time, circumstances and Robert Johnson’s genius, there are at least three different meanings: 1. An actual event. Robert Johnson went to the corner of Old Highways 61 and 49 (N. State Street and Desoto Avenue) in Clarksdale, MS. 2. He’s talking about making life decisions; daily crossroads we all face. 3. In African folklore, the Crossroads represents the intersection between “the two worlds” where the supernatural can be contacted and the paranormal occurs. The kind of place where you might go to “sell your soul.” For those of you interested in the evolution of hipster speak and blues terms during the Harlem Renaissance, check out Really the Blues by Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow and Bernard Wolfe. It’s an amazing story complete with a hip-tionary. Meanwhile, go back and listen again to those old classic blues records. I hope you’ll enjoy them even more than ever, especially now that you know what a Conqueroo is. Rev. Billy lives in Ocala, FL, with his fiancée Linda, nine cats and a horse. For more information, he can be reached at revbilly88@aol.com or facebook.com/revbilly88.

Easy Rider: 1. A freeloader. 2. A sexually liberated woman/a prostitute. Stagger Lee a.k.a Stack-a-Lee, Stagolee or Stack O’ Lee: Lee “Stag” Shelton belonged to an African American gang of St. Louis pimps known as “The Macks.” On Christmas night 1895, he got into a bar-room argument with a young stevedore named Billy Lyons. Lyons’ wife had bought him a Stetson hat for Christmas. Not content to admire it or buy his own, Shelton proceeded to grab the hat and play keep-away. When Lyons demanded its return, Shelton pulled out a Derringer and shot him. Lyons would eventually die, and Shelton, convicted of murder, served 12 years. Two years after his release, he was

Image from The Story of Stagger Lee by Timothy Lane, produced by Riverfront Times.

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Beyond the Green Book

“At the bus station in Durham, North Carolina.” Photo by Jack Delano, 1940. Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsc-00199 (http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a33837)

By Lamont Jack Pearley Recently, the Academy Award-winning movie, Green Book, ignited conversation and intrigue about the travels of African Americans during the Jim Crow era and the use of this historical traveling guide. Those familiar with the Green Book were reminded of racial prejudice, price gouging and physical violence, which spawned the book’s creation – and others who didn’t know of its existence, sought to find out. The original and official name of the guide was The Negro Motorist Green Book – eventually simply called the Green Book – published by Victor H. Green, a mailman from Harlem, NY, between the years of 1936 to 1966. Its sole purpose was to give African American travelers a map of safe locations they could travel, eat and lodge as they journeyed through the Jim Crow South and other segregated regions of America. This notion to create a guide for the safety of African Americans gives a harsh look at the conditions during the days of segregation. The film Green Book gives us a light version of the experiences that Dr. Don Shirley, a world-class African American pianist, endured during his concert tour of the Deep South in 1962. Though the character played by Mahershala Ali faced blatant racism as he and his white Bronx chauffeur drove the southern roads utilizing The Negro Motorist Green Book for safe lodging and meals, there is one reality that must be considered. Dr. Don Shirley, like many other African Americans who utilized this book, were middle to upper-middle class affluent African Americans. They were educated people who left the South for a more cosmopolitan way of life. Automobiles weren’t readily accessible to most African Americans of the day, especially those of the rural South. There

Blues Festival Guide 2019

wasn’t a tremendous need for The Negro Motorist Green Book for a portion of African American citizens of small southern towns, since most didn’t travel. However, there were some who traveled for work. There were also some who traveled to sing and play their instrument. Before the inception of The Negro Motorist Green Book, and even before the infamous 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson which solidified the constitutionality of “separate but equal” racial segregation laws, there were African Americans traveling across and around the United States. They were the Black spiritual choirs and vaudeville performers, and with them, they carried the tradition of messages in songs. That same tradition was passed down and utilized by the bluesmen and women who would soon become the staple of American music and Black culture. These traveling musicians didn’t have the Green Book, but they did have knowledge of how and where to travel and lodge. Even when the Green Book began to circulate, rural southern bluesmen and women tended to utilize traditional tactics to journey the terrain of locations plagued by African American discrimination. We hear the stories of the hobo or traveling bluesman sneaking on and camping out in cargo cars of the trains. We love the nostalgia of these poor African American musicians learning new notes by mimicking the sounds of the locomotive’s steam horn as they sit in boredom and reflective moments. As quaint a story as it is, that’s not how these professional musicians toured the country. During the Great Depression, America was introduced to the traveling bluesman. This was during a time in America when the country was poor, and the poor were even poorer. Record sales plummeted and the cheapest piece of entertainment was the radio. At this time, rural blues recordings were extremely cost

Black musicians to congregate and socialize after gigs, it was also a place for Black musicians to rent rooms when gigging in town. Jelly Roll Morton lived in one of the rooms for a time. In the South, there were designated homes that housed not only traveling musicians, but African American workers as well. Places like this wouldn’t be in the Green Book because they were off the radar and in rural communities, only known by those who traveled those roads. If you’re familiar with how the NAACP sent representatives to different cities to monitor court cases, then you’d also remember that they had volunteers who allowed representatives or those facing the legal system, to stay in their homes. Again, to ensure the safety of the volunteers, this information wouldn’t be published in a book. Some of the homes that rented rooms to traveling bluesmen were known as “Hot Suppers.” These were Black institutions that gave a form of escape to sharecroppers, allowing them to enjoy themselves away from white people. Documentation shows they began in the late 1800s, later to become known as liquor

efficient. This led to a new industry where African American blues musicians traveled around the South and Midwest for gigs and recording sessions, usually with weapons. They slept in the homes of African Americans who rented out rooms to traveling musicians, none which were found in the Green Book. It was shared through word of mouth. Michael Dolphin, the son of the legendary music mogul John Dolphin (owner and operator of Dolphins of Hollywood on Central Avenue in Los Angeles), shares, “During this time, bluesmen stayed either with friends or relatives, and the promoters would also guarantee housing because safety was always a concern.” Traveling was troublesome, so there were kinfolk networks that musicians were familiar with. If they didn’t know the “who” or “where” prior to their excursion, they were given instructions on who to look for and where to find them upon arrival. The kinfolk community system has been a major part of the African American community since slavery, abolition and the underground railroad. Considering that the majority of the country blues artists traveling during this time either started on a plantation or were sharecroppers, this system wasn’t foreign to them. In 1904, the New Amsterdam Musical Association, which was the first African American musician’s union in America, was established. Now operating as a nonprofit with landmark status, the organization has been a staple for the African American music scene and community since purchasing a Harlem Brownstone in 1922. This location was not only a speakeasy for

Bobby Rush, “King of the Chitlin Circuit,” experienced his own difficulties traveling and performing gigs. Photo courtesy of BluEsoterica Archives

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Po' Monkey's Juke Joint near Merigold, MS, was founded in 1961 and is one of the last rural juke joints in the Mississippi Delta. Photo by bobpalez (https://commons.wikimedia.org)

The Jackson Rooming House was Tampa’s only boarding house for African Americans during segregation. Photo by TampAGS, for AGS Media [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

houses. In these locations, you’d find music, food, gambling, liquor and just about everything one would desire. There were also places like the boarding house called The Cedar Street Cafe that bluesman Billy Jones Bluez grew up in. Located in North Little Rock, AR, the cafe was owned by his grandfather. Places like this made lodging and performing suitable for blues musicians because they were located in the immediate proximity of local juke joints. Alas, juke joints are another part of blues history that is remembered with an unrealistic nostalgia. The reality is, juke joints were extremely dangerous, and in some cases operated illegally. However, they too housed bluesmen and women. We can’t forget about places like the Jackson Rooming House in Tampa, FL, where Black performers of the “Chitlin Circuit” would stay. In some cases, the venue hosting the musicians had rooms upstairs for them to sleep – of course, that was if the venue was owned and operated by African Americans. On my Jack Dappa Blues Podcast, Grammy-winning blues legend Bobby Rush not only shares the difficulties and secrets of travel, he also states the conditions of performing. He explains how there were times he had to perform behind a curtain, because the audience wanted to hear him, not see him. He also shares how, in some cases, he was directed to broom closets with no lights as a dressing room, similar to the movie scene in Green Book. Songsters – traveling instrumentalists who mastered many genres – had been traveling since the Emancipation. From the Reconstruction Era to Jim Crow, these songsters figured out and mapped routes of travel, and shared them with fellow musicians. During what’s said to be the first Great Migration, which started in 1914, a lot of the songsters evolved into bluesmen. They, and other Black blues musicians, began taking on the names of different highways, signifying the travel and routes they utilized as they journeyed throughout the South. This is also evident in African American newspapers of the day. Ethnomusicologist Dave Evans’ research suggests that the highway

nicknames utilized by bluesmen were prevalent during the years of the first Migration through WWII. The same focus on location was also ever-present in song titles and lyrics. At the time of this geographical explosion, bluesmen and women were presenting lifestyles and travels that represented the African American communities they were from or visited. To quote R.A. Lawson from his book titled Jim Crow’s Counterculture: The Blues and Black Southerners, 1890-1945, he says, “The traveling bluesman and his music created something of a public message board allowing members of the southern Black underclass to communicate and share their individual experience of migration.” This confirms that the stories shared in blues lyrics – like its predecessor, Negro spirituals – were coded messages of travel and life beyond the confines of the oppressive and segregated Jim Crow South. Eventually, blues music became popular enough to birth other genres of commercially successful music that are enjoyed today. However, African American musicians (and citizens) still face discrimination and difficulties with travel. Though discriminative actions against African American travelers may not be as blatant as in the Jim Crow era, many blues musicians still rely on that old tradition of notifying and staying with kinfolk for a good night’s rest. Furthermore, now that all these lovely hotels and restaurants are integrated, they may not be affordable to the working bluesman, so we have to keep a couple tricks up our sleeves to ensure safe travels, lodging and eating. More importantly, we continue to express gratitude for our forefathers and mothers that faced an extremely harsh environment in order to perform, paving the way for the bluesmen and blueswomen who followed!

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Lamont Jack Pearley is an award-winning bluesman, applied folklorist and African American traditional music historian. He’s the host and producer of Jack Dappa Blues Radio, and executive director of Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Foundation. Twitter @JackPearley / Instagram: JackDappaBluesRadio / www.JackDappaBluesRadio.tv

What’s Cookin’ with Marion Diaz

Marion Diaz and her “Hate to See You Go” butter pound cake − both as sweet as can be. Photo by Jasmine Reacco

Those who are lucky enough to know Marion, also know she has a gift when it comes to baking. “These cakes are nothing short of amazing! The texture is so moist and the flavor is unbelievable. I ordered two cakes for the holidays and my family devoured them in less than a day!” – Cheri Younger “Her pound cakes are my favorites, they give you that downhome country cooking feeling that warms your heart.” – Monique Diaz “What Marion Cake means to Sammiejay: First, it has a lot of love, she puts her own little twist into baking a cake. Second, when you take that first bite, you immediately want another. Third, Marion Cake is just as sweet as Marion – filled with love, joy and happiness. Once you have some Marion Cake, you won’t eat anyone else’s. Her cake got me saying, ‘My baby don’t stand no cheating, she don’t stand none of that midnight creeping’ – that’s my Marion Cake to me!” – WDCB’s SammieRogers

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Little Walter defined the sound of Chicago blues harp, establishing a standard for modern blues harmonica players and fundamentally altering listeners’ expectations of the harmonica. He earned 14 top-ten hits between 1952–1958, and was one of the best blues artists produced by the postwar Chicago blues movement. Today, Little Walter’s legacy lives on through his daughter, Marion Diaz, who established the Little Walter Foundation. The Foundation aims to inspire and engage the children of Chicago and surrounding regions in programs for the creative arts. Marion also carries on the family tradition with this delicious butter pound cake, named after one of her father’s songs, “Hate to See You Go.” Marion shared this anecdote with the Blues Festival Guide: “This cake recipe has been in the family for over 70 years, originally coming from my great-great-grandmother. This cake is good for all occasions, so we used to have it for dessert many Sundays after church. I can recall one time, my dad, Little Walter, came into the kitchen after my grandmother had just baked the cake. She turned around to find him trying to cut the cake for a bite before she’d even put on the icing, so she grabbed the dish towel and chased him out! You don’t mess around with Grandma’s kitchen!” For more information on the Little Walter Foundation, visit: littlewalterfoundation.org.

“Hate to See You Go” Butter Pound Cake 3 sticks salted butter (softened) 3 cups sugar 6 eggs 3 cups cake flour or 3 cups regular flour with 1 tsp baking powder

8 ounces cream cheese 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 tsp almond extract 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and grease (I use Baker’s Joy Spray) and lightly flour a 10-inch tube pan. Combine your butter, sugar and cream cheese until it’s creamy, then add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat well. Alternately add 1 egg and 1 cup flour at a time, beating well after each addition. Add milk and beat well. Pour into prepared tube pan. Bake approximately 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Enjoy plain or with any icing you like!

The Violin Sings the Blues By Anne Harris When I was three, I remember sitting in a movie theater with my mother and sister, watching Fiddler on the Roof. In the opening sequence, a silhouetted Isaac Stern plays a violin on a rooftop. I turned to my mother and pointed at the screen and said, “Mommy, that’s what I want to do!” And I pretty much wouldn’t stop bugging her about it. For years. My persistence won its case, and when I was around eight, I finally began formal training. I studied with a private instructor for the next 10 years – all classical repertoire. I was trained in the Suzuki Method, which emphasizes beginning at a very young age, learning to play by ear and the importance of environment – being saturated in a musical community. The head of the school orchestra, Shirley Mullins, along with my private teacher, Mary Schumacher, were two vibrant souls who were critical to my formative years as a musician. I learned technique and a deep respect for not only the instrument, but for music in general. I was fortunate to be raised in a small, extremely liberal college town in southwest Ohio that placed an exceedingly high value on music in the public schools. Additionally, my parents had a big LP collection that was incredibly diverse – from operas to gospel to blues to pop to rock, classical and beyond. I soaked it all up, finding beauty and connection in all of it. R&B, funk, soul and blues became my passionate spirit food. Description of the Violin The violin is the smallest and highest pitched member of the violin family, which includes violins, violas, cellos and double basses. Traditionally made of wood, this is a bowed instrument with four strings tuned in fifths, strung across a fretless fingerboard. The bows are traditionally strung with horsehair. The most common question I get asked is if a violin and a fiddle

Blues Festival Guide 2019

depostiphotos.com

are two different instruments. The answer is no, these are simply two different names used to describe the stylistic differences in playing – the violin being more commonly associated with classical music and the fiddle being associated with folk and roots styles of music. I consider myself a fiddle player. Many people feel the violin resembles the human voice more than any other instrument, which is why it has such an emotional resonance with people. It is also why the voice of a fiddle can fit such a wide range of musical genres so perfectly, and why I feel it has such a beautiful range of expression for blues music. I only have one violin, and it’s the same one my parents bought me when I grew into a full-size instrument: a 1961 Roth violin that is a reproduction of a 1734 Guarnarni. I installed a LR Baggs pickup on it to amplify the sound and I play through a LR Baggs D.I. I play in standard tuning. As far as using pedals, it really depends on the gig, but in general I only use a few pedals and pretty sparingly. In most of the scenarios I play, I don’t mess with the natural sound of my fiddle too much. I love its natural, rich tone. History of the Violin Although the Italian luthier Andrea Amati is widely credited with creating the modern template for the violin and violin family in the 16th century, bowed stringed instruments were around long before in many places around the world. While there are records of stringed instruments existing in Europe in the Middle Ages, it is thought that some of the first bowed stringed instruments may have originated in Central Asia with instruments such as the morin khuur from Mongolia. These Central Asian instruments then traveled via trade routes to other parts of the world. Africa also has a rich history of one-stringed, bowed instruments dating back to the Stone Age, found all over the

Henry "Son" Simms (left) and Muddy Waters at Stovall Plantation in the early 1940s. Photo by John W. Work, courtesy BluEsoterica Archives

continent. The goje is a one or two-string fiddle from Nigeria. Snakeskin covers a gourd bowl to create a membrane head similar to a banjo. Horsehair strings are suspended on a bridge. In Mali, the soku is a similar instrument. It uses snake or lizard skin as well. It’s very possible that the early prototype for the modern-day violin could have come to Europe by way of the Moorish incursions. Of course, there were a wide variety of stringed instruments around in 16th century Europe that the modern-day violin and its family could have eventually evolved from as well, such as the lira da braccio, a bowed stringed instrument much like the violin that was popular in the Renaissance period. The oldest surviving violin is named Charles IX, made by Andrea Amati in 1564, which supports the theory that Amati did indeed create the first standard prototype of modern violins, or at least provides physical evidence to justify this claim. The Violin and the Blues Early blues music emerged from the Black string band traditions of the 19th century where fiddles and banjos were the predominant voices, and guitars, a rarity. But Africans were first exposed to European instruments on the slave ships that carried them to the new world. Slave fiddling was documented as early as the 1690s, and by the 1700s, Black fiddlers were as prevalent as Black banjo players. Slave fiddlers would play for whites at plantation balls and other entertainments. They were also often encouraged by their masters to play for the dancing of their fellow slaves. Black music thrived in ports along the Mississippi River, and by the 1840s, New Orleans was known as the center of Black fiddle music. Slaves in the region were often sent there to learn the instrument, returning as trained entertainers to their home plantations. Following the Emancipation, many former slave musicians continued to play professionally locally and as traveling musicians, in places like town squares, local square dances and traveling medicine shows. The fiddle remained hugely popular due, in part, to its low cost and portability.

As blues music emerged as a popular form and a dominant force among African Americans in the early 1900s, many string bands and jug bands began to incorporate blues repertoires in order to stay relevant. Lonnie Johnson, widely recognized as a blues guitar virtuoso, claimed the fiddle as his first love and spent the early part of his career in New Orleans honing his skills as a fiddle player. He played in his father’s string band as well as on excursion boats along the Mississippi. He signed with Okeh records in 1925 and went on to record violin on nearly a dozen early recordings. The Mississippi Sheiks, a guitar and fiddle band consisting mainly of members of the Chatmon family, found great success with their mix of blues and country music. Based in Jackson, MS, they scored a hit for Okeh in 1930 with “Sitting on Top of the World,” which was popular among Black and white musicians, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. Joe Thompson, 1918–2012, was one of the last fiddle players in the Black string band tradition from the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Thompson played fiddle and called dance sets in a band with his brother, Nate, and their cousin, Odell, both on banjo. They played for dances, both Black and white. He learned to fiddle from his father, who in turn learned from his own father, a slave. “Fiddle has been in the blues from the beginning,” says blues violinist Lionel Young, citing Charlie Patton, who often was accompanied by Henry “Son” Simms. Simms led a Mississippi

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. Photo by BluesPhotosbyDonMcGhee

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Lionel Young, winner of two International Blues Challenges: as a solo-duo artist in 2008 and with his band in 2011. Photo by BluesPhotosbyDonMcGhee

quartet that included Muddy Waters in the 1940s. “Both Bo Diddley and Big Bill Broonzy played fiddle before they played guitar. Lonnie Johnson played violin and, of course, there was Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown – he did stuff I couldn’t do. He has all the rhythm and he could put it on any instrument.” Indeed, Brown, who played multiple instruments and blended various genres of music, is regarded as one of the most influential musicians to advance the use of the fiddle in blues music. As the blues went from being acoustic to electric in the 1940s, and as waves of African Americans migrated north in attempts to leave a history of oppressive rural Southern roots in the past, the use of the fiddle in Black blues music dwindled. Young, though, foresees a possible revival. Young, who plays fiddle about 75 percent of his time on stage (guitar the other 25 percent), plays several violins, including a five-string electric violin. “There’s a resurgence because now there are electric instruments that are violins. In a generation or two, you will see a lot more violin players trying to play blues.” Contemporary Blues and Roots Fiddlers Some of the violin players that have been inspiring to me include Don “Sugarcane” Harris (no relation), Papa John Creach, Regina Carter, Liz Carroll and Natalie MacMaster. All of these artists have taken the instrument and infused it with their own unique sonic signatures, and that is what I aspire to do. Another of my inspirations, Rhiannon Giddens, has grown from her beginnings as a founding member of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops (playing fiddle and banjo) to become a singular force of nature in the American roots genre, earning her countless accolades and a Grammy nomination as a solo artist. Other blues violinists on the scene include Ilana Katz, a Boston-based blues and old-time fiddle player who is a preservationist, carrying the styles, traditions and tunes of another era for a new generation of blues fans to dive into. There’s also Cedric Watson, a four-time Grammy-nominated fiddler, singer-songwriter and accordionist who has emerged as a rising star in the Cajun, Creole and Zydeco traditions. You

Blues Festival Guide 2019

can find violinists of other genres blending into the blues – like bluegrass, folk, Americana and country – who are also keeping the violin relevant in music today. My own blues indoctrination was sparked upon meeting Otis Taylor at Buddy Guy’s Legends during a kick-off event for the Chicago Blues Festival in 2008. I hadn’t heard his music at that point, but listened to it in my car on the way home and became immediately entranced with his unique sound and vision. I accepted his offer to sit in on a few of his shows over the weekend, and after that, I toured internationally with him for nine years and appeared on four of his records. During this period, I dove deeply into the blues and discovered a new chamber of my heart. The rich and varied role of the violin in blues music may not be widely known or understood by many, but it played a critical role in the birthing of the genre, and its presence is a testament to the depth and diversity of the African American culture at large. Chicago-based fiddle player and singer-songwriter Anne Harris has long been crafting her unique sound, producing six indie studio records and playing countless performances in the U.S. and abroad. Her collaborations, live and in-studio, span a large and diverse group of artists and genres, and her uniquely expressive performance style has made her an audience favorite. Check out Anne’s latest instrumental, folk fiddle record, Roots, and connect with her on all social media platforms. www.anneharris.com Resources: “Violin, Sing The Blues For Me / African-American Fiddlers on Early Phonograph Records” by Marshall Wyatt, oldhatrecords.com/ResearchAAViolin.html “Why Black Folks Don’t Fiddle” by Tony Thomas, www.bluegrasswest.com/ideas/why_black

Fiddler, singer, songwriter and this feature’s author, Anne Harris. Photo by Ÿ Marilyn Stringer

Blues Festival Guide 2019

The Art of

the Blues

From the Editor: The blues is all-encompassing – it’s a music, a culture, a history, a community, a mode of expression, an art – which is why it’s so satisfying to dive in deep to the blues, there’s so much to submerge yourself in. In this ocean of the blues, I keep coming across incredible art from a wide array of mediums that all reflect the deep essence of the blues. Art – I should say, good art – has the ability to reach each of us in our core, helping us understand just a bit more about the human condition. And the blues, originating from the collective sound of the disenfranchised seeking salvation and comfort from the weight of their existence, has the ability to connect to our raw emotions and directly to our soul. As such, the blues is perfectly positioned to prompt other art forms. Here, we share just a few perspectives of artists whose creations are inspired by the blues. Enjoy! 61_49. Ÿ Stan Street, 2013

Scott Cawood I’ve loved the blues for years. I’d say the blues is, far and away, my favorite music – what I’ve always come back to over the course of my lifetime. It’s very similar to the feeling I get when coming home after a long absence, I return to feeling comfortable, happy and complete. It’s the musical destination on the map of my being where I feel known and loved like nowhere else, the place of unconditional acceptance and understanding. That sounds weird I know, but it provides me an inner comfort by soothing me in the one place that other music, try as it might, simply is unable to reach... and that place is my soul. I got into the blues in the 1970s, and in those days in New Orleans, it was still possible to see many of the old blues musicians live. I had the good fortune to see Muddy Waters, Lightin’ Hopkins, Earl King, James Cotton, B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Big Mama Thornton, Roosevelt Sykes, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Etta James, Champion Jack Dupree, Furry Lewis, Clifton Chenier, Gatemouth Brown, James Booker, Professor Longhair and countless others, almost always in a local bar or other small venue. Each performer had a dynamic impact on me, and witnessing them perform live cut deep into my inner being. Fast forward to the present. I became an artist – a metal sculptor. My present work incorporates steel as my medium,

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Skip James by steel sculptor Scott Cawood

and mostly scrap steel at that. Over the years, I’ve created sculptures small enough to fit into the palm of one’s hand, right on up to large public commissions – some over 20 feet high. My work is the physical extension and creative outlet for my rather lively imagination. I believe I was blessed, probably by my dear mother’s prayers, to walk down this path in life and do it long enough to tell about it. And that is a common thread I’ve come to believe I share with surviving blues artists. At one point, I realized the need to bring a large presence of human emotion into my work. Steel by its physical nature is rather linear, cold and impenetrable, so transforming it into an understanding of human emotion was quite a challenge. I thought about it for a long time and finally figured out that deep emotions inside are quietly telegraphed to the outside world by the expressions worn on our faces, often without realizing it. It’s a human thing, something we project to other humans; a silent but universally understood communication. My next hurdle was exactly whose faces were going to get me as deep as I wanted to go. I was listening to the blues one night while thumbing through Blues Who’s Who, and all of the sudden it hit me like a brick in the night. The emotion I saw in the faces of those blues artists was what I had been visually searching for all along. Even though I love them all, the Delta blues spoke to me more than other blues styles, largely because of its uncluttered rawness and honesty. What I saw in their faces and heard in their music was the language of despair of the human soul, addressed the only way it could be – through the invention of their own art form. They had nothing to work with, so they reworked or reinvented the few scraps left to them by an unjust white society. They created it solely out of the human need to express it and find immediate relief from it, if only temporarily. It’s in that emotional turmoil where I found the human dynamic I was seeking to be the visual voice for my “Blues Portrait” pieces – each speaking strongly to the creation of an art form birthed out of the ashes of despair from nothing but need and scraps. I believe my “Blues Portraits in Steel” series of sculptures on exhibit at the Delta Blues Museum owes much of its effectiveness to the elements I just discussed, in combination with the fact that I was able to personally experience many of the old blues artists perform live and incorporate how each artist’s music influenced me. So, in some small way, each one of my “Blues Portraits” becomes a kind of selfportrait. It’s my wish that everyone who sees them in person come away with some feeling of that personal dynamic, and hopefully through the magic of art, recognize some small part of themselves in each piece. I think that the bluesmen themselves, as true artists, would smile favorably upon that. Scott Cawood is a self-taught metal artist and sculptor

from the historic village of Antietam, MD, former site of the Antietam Iron Works. He utilizes scrap steel in his work as an environmental statement. His popular national works include: “Blues Portraits in Steel,” Delta Blues Museum, Clarksdale, MS; “Siren Of TI,” Treasure Island Casino, Las Vegas, NV; and “Lingerie in Steel,” MTV’s Real World New Orleans. Gallery Rep: Galleryat105.com / Artist: CawoodArt.com Stan Street I have always loved blues music – I developed a love for it from an early age. My dad and uncle were percussionists for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, so I learned drums first, and when I got older, I developed some skill on the harmonica and tenor sax. When I started a blues band, I eventually started singing also. I’ve always enjoyed drawing, and my father used to tell my mom that I would be an artist one day. I started my family at a young age, so I had to put my two loves, art and music, on the back burner in order to start a tree and landscape business down in southern Florida and support my family. But the music, of course, found me. After years as a recognized blues musician in Florida, I visited New Orleans and was inspired by the art and music there. I started painting portraits in bold strokes and colors

“Baptized By The Blues” by musician and artist Stan Street. Ÿ Stan Street, 2014

Blues Festival Guide 2019

on found wood, of bluesmen like Muddy Waters, Elmore James and Robert Johnson. I eventually started selling my work from a blues bar in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and since then have also done festival poster artwork and t-shirt art for over 60 festivals. I am a self-taught artist and always experimenting with different styles, including techniques from the Impressionists and Expressionists, but my art almost always relates to the music and blues culture that I love. It will always have a primitive feel to it, and I try to give it movement and life. In 2005, I opened The Hambone Gallery in Clarksdale, MS, home of the blues, in a building that I also live in. It’s a venue that welcomes art lovers, artists, musicians and storytellers from around the globe, and has become a muststop when visiting Clarksdale. I am proud to say that we have live music in Clarksdale seven days a week, 365 days a year, and Tuesday night is my night at the Hambone Gallery. Music and art are similar in that they both elicit emotions – whether light or dark, there is a process involved in the creation of a song or a painting. I always have music on when I paint, the music depends on the mood. People have said that they could hear the music in my art. Pretty cool. Stan Street – artist, musician and owner of The Hambone Gallery in Clarksdale, MS – has been called an ambassador of the blues. He has played across the U.S., Canada and Europe, and his artwork is known and valued throughout the global blues community. In creating both blues music and art, he readily acknowledges that one art form supports the other, leaving open the question, “Does the music support the art or does the art support the music?” To the fans of Stan Street, that question will hopefully never be answered! For more, visit stanstreet.com William Wise Painting for me, as a portraitist, is all about telling a story and relaying feelings and emotions. My watercolors of blues musicians challenge me to capture a moment when the musician is at one with the performance. Whether the moment is during a riff, singing a lyric or interacting with the audience, I find their expressions captivating and want to translate that onto paper. Live music provides me opportunities to capture and convey performers’ oneness with music. Sketching during live performances is fun for me. I engage most of my senses. The music guides my hand to gesturally draw what I see and feel, and a simple sketch is helpful if I choose to develop a painting or just recall that moment. Whether my art is a small gestural sketch or a more formal studio painting, my goal is to produce art that tells a story.

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Dawn Taylor Watson by watercolor portraitist William Wise. Ÿ Williamwiseart

For example, I took a photo of Dawn Tyler Watson looking at the crowd and holding up her hand, and asked myself, “What story is there?” Is the captured moment telling us she’s happy to be here, she’s happy the audience is there or is it an expressive part of the song? My hope is that people who view my paintings pause and imagine the moment for themselves. Sketching and painting people in the crowd is just as fun and challenging as the performers. Audience members express their sheer enjoyment of the music through their smiles, dancing and overall appreciation of the music – becoming just as intriguing to capture. I take and use photographs for reference when painting. The ability to combine multiple photographic images is part of my process in creating an interesting painting. I can move the microphone or raise an arm; I can interchange a guitar or change colors. This manipulation helps create a lively and compelling painting of the musician. I like to listen to the particular genre of music while I am painting to help me reconnect with it. The type of music directs how I produce my art. Blues can be upbeat and fast, or slow and mellow; the same is true for classical and folk music. The tempo and sound have an effect on my brush strokes and the colors I use. High energy, fast tempo music generally results in bright colors and bold brushstrokes, compared to softer colors and gentler brushstrokes with slower music. Every performer and audience member tells a story through their actions and expressions. Music brings all of us pleasure and, in the end, I aim for my art to evoke a sense

of joy in the music and its energy, and to create a story in the viewer’s mind. William Wise of Duluth, MN, is a man of many interests and trades, including painting watercolor portraits and teaching others to draw and paint at the Duluth Art Institute. Focusing on face and figure allows him to capture emotion and story, while painting in watercolor provides both control and accuracy of the drawing, as well as the freedom, spontaneity and luminosity of the medium. WilliamWiseArt.com James “Super Chikan” Johnson James “Super Chikan” Johnson is one of the last of the original Delta blues musicians – born with the blues in his blood, tracing back to his uncle Big Jack Johnson, grandfather Ellis Johnson, and the infamous Robert Johnson (a distant cousin). He grew up listening to front porch jam sessions with musicians we consider today to be blues legends, picking cotton in the fields with his family, minding the chickens and making his own toys and instruments out of recycled objects as a kid. By his early 20s, Super Chikan played bass in local clubs with Big Jack’s band, and went on to play bass and guitar for a number of Delta blues bandleaders like Frank Frost and Sam Carr. In his later adult years, Johnson wrote his own songs while he worked as a truck driver, and eventually released his first album, Blues Come Home to Roost, in 1997. Since then, he’s toured the world and released eight other albums. Super Chikan is an artist, not only when it comes to playing the guitar, but also in the making of instruments into functional pieces of folk art. Reminiscent of his childhood, he uses repurposed items to create guitars, diddley bows and banjos with names like “Chi-kan-tar,” “Cigar-gantar,” “Bow-Jo” and “Shot-Tar.” A Chi-kan-tar, for example, is made from discarded guitar parts and an old Army gas can, hand-painted in a custom design with acrylic paint. A “GuiJo” is made from a ceiling fan motor casing and a guitar neck. His one-of-a-kind instruments have become coveted by collectors, and garnered him an Artist Fellowship in 2005 from the Mississippi Arts Commission. As one of the last original Delta blues musicians, Super Chikan’s music and art have become his legacy. James “Super Chikan” Johnson shared the following with the Blues Festival Guide: I was born February 16, 1951, in Darling, MS, in the house of my grandparents, Ellis and Pearl Johnson. My mom was young and still in school, so my grandmother raised me, during which time I became my grandfather’s favorite grandchild. Grandpa Ellis Johnson talked about his cousin, Robert Johnson, whom he called Robert Lee, which was not interesting to me at the time because I was so young. But I remember some things he said when I was

older and discovered who he was talking about, and he would look at me, rub my head and say, “I made Robert Lee a promise I did not keep.” When Grandpa wasn’t fishing or on the road, he played a fiddle. I’d sit and watch and listen. One day, he made me a diddley bow with broom wire and a stick of wood. Later on, I copied it and built one on the wall of the house. One day he heard me plucking on it, and he was amazed at the sound it made resonating on the wall. He smiled and said, “I wish Robert Lee could see this.” Grandpa often had his front porch parties, and I loved to listen to him and the other musicians. They called each other “Bro” with their last names, like “Bro Reed,” “Bro Williams,” “Bro Morganfield” and so on. At least once or twice a month, he had a front porch party with lots of men playing guitars, fiddles, buckets and harmonicas. Some of the songs they sang on the front porch, I also heard in the cotton fields. That makes me feel a part of it all – those days will never be seen again unless you paint a picture of it. Black men and cotton fields – it’s just black and white until you add the blues. It brings color to life. Writing a song is just words until the words are put to poetry. It takes the right words to add color to a song. You can paint it blue, you can paint it happy or sad or angry. And in your artwork, the wrong colors can make a happy picture look sad. Music and art have voices and they will guide, lead and speak to you, after all is said and done. The art of blues is forever. Find Super Chikan at riggsentertainmentllc. com/entertainers/james-super-chikanjohnson

Musician and artist James “Super Chikan” Johnson playing one of his creations, the “Gui-Jo,” a guitar resembling a banjo, using a ceiling fan motor cover Photo by Ÿ Marilyn Stringer

For more blues art, check out the Blues Festival Guide online archives – in the past we’ve featured artists including Kreg Yingst, Dane Tilghman, Sharon McConnell, Grego Anderson, George Hunt and Phil Chesnut, among others!

Blues Festival Guide 2019

The Redmen Blues Band: Cecil Gray (lt), Terry Tsotigh (ctr) and Patrick Tointigh (rt). Photos by Nancy Smith, Lightninghorse Photography

The Emergence of Native American Blues By Murphy Platero

Some years ago, I saw a picture of the infamous and influential bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughan in a magazine, and he was not wearing his usual hat, but a colorful Native American headdress. He wasn’t Native, but the only reason I could figure why he had changed his look was to make a statement and honor a People he admired, just like how he wore Indigenous jewelry when he came on the scene. I believe he was making a prophetic statement among those who loved and followed this amazing music called blues: look out, it’s coming and it’s going be spectacular – Native American blues. And Stevie was right – he foretold the coming like John the Baptist making the way in the wilderness for the coming of a new and wonderful message and sound. Today, we see this prophecy coming to the forefront of blues music through the voices of many Native American artists. As musicians, most of us hear something that catches our ear or our curiosity. At first, it’s just a melody, lyric, a note or a riff, and from down within, we are drawn to it. Each of us has our story, and though they differ from one another, one thing is always true: we make a choice, a decision, a commitment, and we start this journey. Music has always been a huge part of Native American culture. Through the changes from one generation to the next, from the very beginning of the first wave of modern music, each generation of Indian country was there – drawn to the sound. In most tribes in North America, each generation is taught by the elders that we have a song and a prayer for everything that surrounds us, for everything has life and is sacred. One of the genres blasted through the radios on the reservations in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s was the blues. With its

Blues Festival Guide 2019

lush melody and tender lyrical sound, slow soothing guitar solos to explosive riffs, words of hardship, pain and tears – the blues imparts a story that many Native Americans know all too well. Those who were told that everything has a song, now took the blues and made it their own. But it wasn’t new – it’s been there all along – the blues was a part of Indian country. I think it’s worth mentioning that when we look deep under the surface to the actual creation of the blues – the Delta blues in particular – one name raises to the top: the “Father of the Delta Blues,” Charlie Patton. This Black man from the Delta was half Native American, born on a plantation to his mother who was a full-blooded Choctaw, which just goes to show we’ve been there from the beginning. One of the first Native bands to emerge on the blues scene came from the plains of South Dakota. A young Lakota family formed the band Indigenous, with the guidance of their father, Greg Zephier, Sr., a well-known spiritual advisor, spokesperson for the International Indian Treaty Council and accomplished musician in the band The Vanishing Americans. Indigenous debuted in the mid-1990s and became known by the blues community within a matter of years. Featuring older brother Mato Nanji on vocals and guitar, sister Wanbdi on drums, brother Pte on bass guitar and cousin Horse on bongos, Indigenous brought a tremendous pride to the Native community. Let me pause here to tell you how I fit into all this. From the Eastern Agency of Navajo Nation, I started a family band in 2004, The Plateros, and we toured the U.S., performing at some of the most amazing venues. Just a year later in 2005, we performed at the largest Pow Wow in the world, The Gathering of Nations. As I handled vocals and bass guitar, and his cousin

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Martha Redbone. Photo by Craig Bailey, Perspective Photo

kept beat on drums, my 12-year-old son Levi amazed the audience on lead guitar as he slid across the stage, shredding the blues. The band evolved into Levi and the Plateros, consisting of Levi on guitar, cousins Douglas Platero on drums and Bronson Begay on bass guitar. In 2012, they joined with Indigenous for The Kinship Tour, and have continued forward screaming notes that shatter across every stage they hit, joining Indigenous on their national tours off and on, to date. Recently, Levi Platero has launched his career as a solo artist. It’s been amazing to have the privilege of playing music across the country. I’ve shared stages with gifted musicians, such as Grammy and Native American Music Award (NAMA) winners Bill Miller (Mohican) and Micki Free (Comanche/ Cherokee), among so many others. From coast to coast, Native artists and bands are emerging onto the blues scene in a big way, telling their unique stories, changing preconceptions and making their mark in blues history. The first national tour The Plateros were asked to be a part of was The Native Music Rock Tour, sponsored by the Seminole tribe of Florida and International Hard Rock Cafe, where I first met Martha Redbone. I was so taken by her voice that flowed with a strong conviction, yet so smoothly. Born in Kentucky of Cherokee, Choctaw and African-American descent, she rose to the calling with her style of R&B, Appalachian folk and a solid flare of blues under the surface. This award-winning songstress gave us a closer look into ourselves with her powerful lyrics of love and conviction with her husband, pianist Aaron Whitby. One year, we were invited to a Native American music festival in downtown Fort Collins, CO, where we had the privilege of meeting an amazing blues solo acoustic guitarist

Blues Festival Guide 2019

from the Crow Nation. Cary Morin, a soulful blues musician, caught my ear with his beautiful, simple presentation and powerful voice. He has toured parts of Europe and the U.S., and his scope of music makes the statement that Natives sure can sing the Delta blues. In California, you’ll encounter a great talent from the La Jolla Indian Reservation in San Diego, CA: Tracy Lee Nelson. With his hard-hitting perspective of the blues on an Indian reservation, Tracey’s unique voice, original lyrics and blues guitar work come straight from his heart – writing, singing and performing songs that should have been spoken of long ago. In 2018, he won a NAMA for Best Blues Recording for Blues Loving Man. A bit north in Los Angeles clubs, you will find the Hopi Blues Band, a collection of eclectic musicians from around the country who have joined forces with LA HOPI, singing the blues on heartache, the destruction of the earth, the sorrows of colonization and bringing light to sustaining Hopiland. Over in Arizona, the Cody Blackbird Band (Cherokee/ Dakota) fuses traditional Native American flute music with blues, rock and a jam-band sensibility. In 2017, they won a NAMA for Group of the Year. I’ve also come across Oklahoma bands including Blues Nation; Cecil Gray Native Blues – who was inducted into the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame in 2015, nominated six times for a NAMA and won a NAMA in 2004 for Best Blues/Jazz Recording; and The Redmen Blues Band, a three-man band of Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame artists, consisting of Terry Tsotigh

Pura Fé. Photo by Ÿ Clement Puig

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Robert “Freightrain” Parker. Photo by Aaron Winters

Levi Platero. Photo by Nancy Smith, Lightninghorse Photography

(Kiowa) on harmonica, drums and vocals, Cecil Gray (Kiowa) on guitar, harmonica and vocals and Patrick Tointigh (Kiowa/ Apache) on bass and vocals. From Buffalo, NY, of the Seneca Nation, The Iroquois Confederacy, there is bassist Robert “Freightrain” Parker, who – among other recognitions – was the first Indigenous artist inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame in 2015, won the 2018 Best Blues Album at the Indigenous Music Awards for Freightrain Live and is nominated again this year. His Indigenous heritage infuses sensibility and passion into the messages he delivers in his music. Then there is a whole section of great blues bands that have made the blues part of their lives from the First Nations, north of the border, like Juno Award-winning artist Derek Miller of the Mohawk Nation, who I met years ago in Hollywood, FL, at the Seminole Hard Rock concert stage. He joined us on stage and we belted out a Stevie Ray Vaughan tune as the crowd went wild. Born in Ontario into the Cayuga Nation of The Iroquois Confederacy, there is the amazing Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers. Then there’s Murray Porter, a Mohawk piano player from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, with a voice that shows a bona fide bluesman who has known about troubled times and grace. There is also Pura Fé, who grew up in New York City, moved to North Carolina and relocated to Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, a few years ago. She comes from a musical family, claiming no less than eight generations of Tuscarora women singers through her maternal line of the Indigenous Tuscarora Deer Clan. Her slide guitar skill and powerful voice have made her one of the most talented Native blues artists in Indian country. I could go on and on about the Native American artists in the blues scene, all of whom are out there and rising to their calling. The plain and simple thing about Native blues music is that it is spiritual – the connection with a song is personal and true. I love its power; how a song with only three chords can move the human soul.

In tribal levels, singers are able to make connections with the spiritual realm of this world and sometimes beyond. The best way I can explain this is from one of the greatest influences – Jimi Hendrix, part African American, part Cherokee – who brought modern blues rock to the forefront in the late ’60s, when he got on stage with his style of pure raw music. When he played his guitar, his entire performance was a spiritual experience to those who saw and heard him, to some it was a life-changing moment. Although we Native artists are of different tribes, our customs and culture differ, we speak different languages and we all know we are not the same, we have respect for one another. In a wider spectrum, we are One Nation, playing the blues.

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Murphy Platero is from the Eastern Agency of the Navajo Nation, and is Sagebrush Hill clan-born for Edgewater People clan. He is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who started playing music in 1975. He gives credit to his father for his musical education, who was a Christian minister and guitarist himself. In 2004, Murphy started playing blues as a bassist in the award-winning family band, The Plateros. Today, Murphy continues writing and recording his music. He lives with his wife and family in To’Hajiilee, NM.

Mato Nanji of Indigenous. Photo by Ron Adelberg

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Celebrating 25 Years Preserving the Blues Elusive legend Guitar Gabriel was among the first artists to inspire the creation of the Foundation. Photo courtesy of the Music Maker Relief Foundation

Blues Festival Guide 2019

What music do we lose to obscurity simply because the artists, the bearers of these traditions, are overlooked, not given the opportunity to share their talents? The nonprofit Music Maker Relief Foundation has forged a people-centered approach to preserving the musical traditions of the South by helping pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day-to-day needs. This year, the Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary. Music Maker preserves these musical traditions by providing resources to elderly Southern musicians living in poverty, recording albums, arranging concerts, organizing museum exhibitions, publishing books and more. In the past 25 years, the Foundation has directly supported 435 musicians through more than 12,000 musician grants, over 7,000 performances and the release of over 2,400 songs, thus ensuring that these musicians not be silenced by poverty and time. The seeds of Music Maker were planted while Tim Duffy was studying folklore at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Here, he was inspired by the vibrant community of traditional blues musicians to find a way to preserve their traditions – not just through documentation and archiving, but by first taking care of the artists themselves. After a prolonged search, Duffy heard the elusive legend Guitar Gabriel, and set to work trying to introduce Gabe and his music to any possible audience. Gabe introduced Tim to a community of artists steeped in the kinds of Southern traditions that had been overlooked or given up on by many folklorists, like his fellow performer Captain Luke. The two artists had been acquainted since the early ‘70s, and had became fixtures in the Winston-Salem drink-house scene in North Carolina. Other artists like Willa Mae Buckner, Preston Fulp, Mr. Q and Macavine Hayes also played music that tapped deep into the circulatory system of American culture and identity, yet they lived in total poverty. Duffy tried to get them all gigs and help with their bills. But he wanted to do more. So, in 1994, Tim and Denise Duffy officially founded the Music Maker Relief Foundation. “The Foundation started as a very heartfelt response to the very real needs of a small group of people,” says Denise Duffy. Once Music Maker was off the ground, bookings began rolling in. Music Maker artists regularly toured Europe and the States and graced high-profile stages like Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center. The organization broadened its circle, connecting with artists from Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and other places throughout the South. Not only did Music Maker help these artists with their basic needs and careers, but the artists developed relationships with each other. It is one of the “most significant things” about the organization, says Denise. “We didn’t even intentionally plan on doing it. [But] in playing together, they build this really strong community of artists. They become friends independent of the organization. And that’s meant more to artists a lot of times than even the financial help.” Music Maker strives towards its mission through several initiatives. By bringing live performances to underserved populations, offering free access to music and educational

programming, and maintaining a multi-media archive for historic preservation, it builds knowledge and appreciation of these almost-lost traditions. It promotes artist music development by providing professional career development, an in-house booking agency, tour management and instrument, equipment and merchandise grants. Ultimately, the Foundation improves the lives of artists by affording monthly stipends for food, shelter and medical care, supplying emergency aid for artists in crisis, and connecting artists with nonprofit and government resources. For Captain Luke, for example, Music Maker has provided grants for sustenance and emergency relief, a monthly stipend for prescription medicine, help with car maintenance, assistance in setting up European and U.S. tours and production of his own two albums. This people-centered approach to musical preservation has proven successful time and time again. The little bit that Music Maker gives artists gets multiplied exponentially as the artists sharpen and share their gifts, build and nurture community, and rekindle a passion for traditional music among themselves, their peers and their fans. As part of the Music Maker Relief Foundation’s 25th anniversary celebration, several special projects were released in early 2019, including the book Blue Muse: Timothy Duffy’s Southern Photographs and its companion album, Blue Muse. Featuring 21 tracks mostly recorded by Tim Duffy, Blue Muse captures the complexity of traditional American music – from the hill-country blues of North Mississippi native Willie Farmer, to the gospel of southern Georgia’s Theotis Taylor, to Piedmont blues artists Algia Mae Hinton and John Dee Holeman, to old favorites like Guitar Gabriel and Captain Luke. The book and album are truly testaments to Music Maker’s history and its deep commitment to sustaining the roots-music heritage of the South. Through its efforts, the Music Maker Relief Foundation not only changes the lives of these blues artists, but it presents these musical traditions to the world – building knowledge and appreciation of America’s musical treasures and giving future generations access to their heritage. To learn more and support the Music Maker Relief Foundation, visit musicmaker.org. Ironing Board Sam is just one of many artists aided by Music Maker, having received financial help with medical care, vehicle repairs and relocation to Chapel Hill, NC. Photo courtesy of the Music Maker Relief Foundation

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Czech Republic’s Oldest Blues Festival Keeps the Blues Alive

The Blues Alive Festival, the oldest blues festival in the Czech Republic, came into being in the Šumperk Arts Centre in 1996. During the 23 years of its existence, the then one-day local event staging six Czech bands has become a three-day festival attracting artists and fans from around the world. Having gained global prestige, it is frequented by the biggest stars of the blues. Throughout the evolution of the Blues Alive Festival, three basic themes have remained constant. The first is the effort to make up, if possible, what blues, rock and jazz fans missed during the era of communist totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia from 1948–1989. At that time, it was unthinkable for artists from the Western world – but especially America – to perform on Czech stages. After 1989, the Šumperk Arts Centre festival hosted legendary blues performers such as James Cotton, Hubert Sumlin, Louisiana Red, Cephas & Wiggins and Johnny Winter for the first time, bringing foreign blues to the Czech Republic. The second theme concentrates on featuring contemporary blues artists in their prime. Many current representatives of the blues have performed at Blues Alive, including Chris Thomas King,

Ondrej Bezr and Štepán Suchochleb of the Blues Alive Festival team accepted the KBA Award at the ceremony in Memphis on January 25, 2019. Photo Ÿ Roger Stephenson

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, Warren Haynes, Shemekia Copeland, Lurrie Bell, Eric Bibb, Otis Taylor, Fantastic Negrito and Mr. Sipp. Every year, many Blues Alive performers can be found among the nominees or winners of prestigious music accolades like the Blues Music Awards or Grammy Awards. And thirdly, Blues Alive continues its scouting role. It carefully follows the events in the hotbed of the music world and brings new artists, often at the beginning of stellar careers, to Šumperk. Blues Alive has enabled a number of artists to make their debut on the Šumperk stage in front of a Czech audience, many of whom become popular with fans and are then invited to other Czech festivals and clubs. The festival has hosted its Blues Aperitif scouting competition for 20 years, an opportunity for promising Czech musicians, as well as talents from neighboring countries like Poland, Slovakia and Austria. Winning the competition, or even just going through to the finals, has helped many musicians enter the industry. The Blues Alive Festival prides itself on media attention both at home and abroad. Many years of Blues Alive have been recorded and broadcasted by public Czech Television and Czech Radio. The festival’s announcements, reviews, and interviews with artists and organizers are regularly published both in press and specialized music periodicals. The festival has twice won the “Event of the Year – World” award in the annual Blues Top poll by the prestigious Polish music magazine Twój Blues. So far, the biggest success abroad for the Blues Alive Festival came from the United States in 2019 when it was presented the most important award a blues festival can achieve: the Keeping the Blues Alive Award. Representatives of the festival collected the award personally at the ceremony in Memphis on January 25, 2019. This year, Blues Alive celebrates its 24th festival November 14–16, welcoming fans from around the world to celebrate the blues. For more information, visit www.bluesalive.cz.

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Living Legend:

Beverly “Guitar” Watkins By Jed Finley

Beverly “Guitar” Watkins. Photo by Tim Duffy

Though she has captured the rapt attention of audiences across the U.S. since the 1950s, the story of Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, the 80-year-old guitar-slinging grandma, actually begins in the early 1920s when a nationwide “blues craze” swept across the African American community. When we talk about the blues, usually we talk about bluesmen: electric guitar slingers, acoustic pickers, harpblowers and the list goes on. But blueswomen have numbered among the ranks of blues greats since the very first proper blues song, “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith. “Crazy Blues” was the first popular “race record,” a turn-ofthe-20th-century designation for any music recorded for African American audiences. For a long time, however, the blues weren’t just segregated, they were also divided by gender. There were urban blues, which were sung by women in a kind of jazzier style in the tradition of vaudeville, and there were downhome blues, acoustic blues performed by men, accompanying themselves on acoustic guitar. In the 1950s, these racial and gendered fissures in the blues music scene began to crack. Artists like Big Mama Thornton and Sister Rosetta Tharpe broke down these barriers, performing more masculine styles for more white audiences. These women, like Mamie Smith before them, paved the way for Beverly “Guitar” Watkins and a whole new generation of women in blues. Born in 1939 in Atlanta, GA, Beverly’s affinity for music was in her blood, in her bones. Her grandfather, Luke Hayes, was a proficient banjo picker, while her aunts sang in the Hayes Family quartet. Family gatherings were a time for playing and sharing music. As a sophomore at Archer High School in Atlanta, Beverly studied with Count Basie’s trumpeter, Clark Terry, who purchased her first real guitar for her and taught her the fundamentals of playing. However, Beverly’s musical education truly began when

Blues Festival Guide 2019

she was introduced to Piano Red, with whom she later toured during the 1950s and '60s as a part of Piano Red and the Metertones (later also known as Piano Red & the Interns, Dr. Feelgood & the Interns, and The Interns & the Nurse). It was as a guitar player with Doctor Feelgood & the Interns that Beverly cut her teeth, honing her guitar skills by playing powerful solos with the instrument hoisted behind her head or suspended like a machine gun between her knees. The band carried on in various forms through the mid-1970s. After it broke up, Beverly was forced to take on various odd jobs to supplement her income: “I worked at car washes, I worked at office buildings, I cleaned people’s houses,” Watkins says, but, “I never did let my music go. I always found somewhere that I could go out and play.” After working multiple jobs for years, Watkins joined the Atlanta-based group Leroy Redding & the Houserockers until

Beverly in Piano Red’s band, Dr. Feelgood & the Interns. Photo from booklet "Piano Red, Dr. Feelgood," by Norbert Hess

Beverly sure plays a mean guitar. Photo by Tim Duffy

the 1980s. Then, Beverly got connected with Eddie Tigner, an original member of the Ink Spots and a mainstay of the Atlanta music scene. By the late ‘80s, in addition to her domestic jobs during the day, Beverly played the night clubs, especially the Atlanta Underground. “I paid my dues in the Underground,” Watkins remembers.. “Sometimes I would go down there and I would only make $30 or $40, but I didn’t stop.” In spite of all of her crowd-pleasing antics, Beverly had a hard time breaking into the mainstream until she was re-discovered by the folks at the Music Maker Relief Foundation. From 1997 to 1999, Music Maker Relief Foundation founder and photographer Timothy Duffy booked Beverly on the 42–city Winston Blues Revival Tour alongside blues heroes like Taj Mahal, along with other unseen and under-appreciated blues acts like the blind bluesman Cootie Stark, and the one-armed harmonica player Neal Pattman. Through Beverly, Music Maker was introduced to an entire community of blues legends from Atlanta, of which many partnerships still exist today. “I met Beverly playing on the streets of the Atlanta underground and have seen her receive standing ovations at Lincoln Center and festivals throughout Europe and Australia,” says Duffy. “She’s the greatest guitar-pickin’ grandma alive and exemplifies a critical and all-too-hidden part of our musical history – the fact that women shaped the sound of the blues just as much as men did.” In addition to the Winston Blues Revival, Music Maker has booked hundreds of performances for Beverly in Europe and Australia to share her unique style with an international audience. The Foundation also released her four albums, capturing the breadth of her style, from gospel to hard blues. Her W.C. Handy Award-winning debut album, Back in Business, was released in 1999, featuring a sound Watkins refers to as “hard classic blues, hard stompin’ blues, you know... railroad smokin’ blues.” Since then, she has also released The Feelings of Beverly “Guitar” Watkins (2005), Don’t Mess With Miss Watkins (2007) and The Spiritual Expressions of Beverly “Guitar” Watkins (2009). Recently the spotlight on this American musical gem has shined even more brightly through a CNN Great Big Story piece that ran in 2017 and a recent viral video of Miss Watkins shredding at a school in Atlanta – both videos have several million views! Today, at 80 years old, Beverly enjoys a revitalized career, playing with her band and teaching young women around the world how to rock better than any man. She remains a force to be reckoned with on and off the stage, demonstrating her mastery

Beverly on tour with fellow Music Maker artists Cootie Stark (lt) and Neal Pattman (rt). Photo by Tim Duffy

of the blues with her unmatched charisma and technical prowess on her guitar night after night. If you have the opportunity to catch Beverly on stage this summer, you won’t be disappointed. Jed Finley first joined Music Maker as an intern in the summer of 2017. After earning his bachelor’s degree at Yale University in 2018, Jed returned to Music Maker to coordinate performance and exhibition programming.

Beverly “Guitar” Watkins is known for her crowd-pleasing antics. Photo by Tim Duffy

Blues Festival Guide 2019

American Blues Museum Tour depostiphotos.com

From state-of-the-art interactive exhibits to a three-room shack with a tin roof, blues museums across the country celebrate the music, history and artists of the blues. Take this directory of mustsee U.S. blues destinations to help guide your tour – whether you’re a blues novice or aficionado, there’s something for everyone! Note: Be sure to check with the facilities in advance to confirm offerings, admission times and rates. Happy travels! ALABAMA W.C. Handy Home, Museum & Library Florence, AL Phone: 256/760-6434 visitflorenceal.com/things_to_do/w-c-handy-birthplace-museum-library W.C. Handy, the “Father of the Blues,” composed such wellknown blues jewels as “St. Louis Blues,” “Beale Street Blues” and “Memphis Blues.” Visit the simple cabin in Florence, AL, where was he born in 1873, which now houses a large collection of his personal papers, memorabilia and artifacts, including his trumpet, piano and handwritten music sheets.

GEORGIA Ma Rainey House & Blues Museum Columbus, GA Phone: 706/653-4960 parks.columbusga.gov/Parks/MA-Rainey-Home Visit the Ma Rainey House & Blues Museum to learn about legendary “Mother of Blues,” Gertrude “Ma” Rainey. As one of the earliest professional blues singers who made over 100 recordings with Paramount Records, Ma Rainey unquestionably played a key role in the development of the blues.

ARKANSAS Delta Cultural Center Helena, AR Phone: 870/338-4350 - www.deltaculturalcenter.com The Delta Cultural Center is dedicated to interpreting and presenting the cultural heritage of the Arkansas Delta region through exhibits, educational programs, annual events and guided tours. Blues fans will particularly want to explore the Delta Sounds Exhibit featuring the gospel, rockabilly and blues legends of the Arkansas Delta, and the King Biscuit Time Exhibit about the longest running blues radio show in the nation.

Blues Festival Guide 2019

W.C. Handy Home, Museum and Library in Florence, AL. Photo courtesy of The George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

LOUISIANA Delta Music Museum Ferriday, LA Phone: 318/757-4297 - www.deltamusicmuseum.com The Delta Music Museum’s mission is to collect, preserve and exhibit the musical heritage along the Mississippi River Delta region. Visit the museum to see the memorabilia, learn the history and watch video performance clips of each regional musical celebrity. MISSISSIPPI B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center Indianola, MS Phone: 662/887-9539 - bbkingmuseum.org The B.B. King Museum may be the most inspiring stop you’ll ever make. Through thousands of rare artifacts, award-winning films, computer interactives and more, the museum’s exhibits bring you along the journey of Riley B. King’s life as he became a blues legend who was always connected to the Delta.

The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, MS. Photo by Ken Murphy for Belinda Stewart Architects

Delta Blues Museum Clarksdale, MS Phone: 662/627-6820 - www.deltabluesmuseum.org Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Delta Blues Museum preserves, interprets and encourages a deep interest in the story of the blues. Explore the museum’s blues artifacts, memorabilia, photographs, stories and art portraying the blues tradition, as well as multimedia exhibits dedicated to pioneers of the Delta blues. The Delta Center for Culture and Learning Delta State University, Cleveland, MS Phone: 662/846-4311 - deltacenterdsu.com The Delta Center advances Delta State University’s participation in promoting and celebrating the unique heritage of the Delta, while also addressing the longstanding social, economic and cultural challenges that inhibit regional advancement. Of particular interest to blues fans, check out the Center’s International Delta Blues Project – featuring an International Conference on the Blues, a Blues Studies program and a Blues Leadership Incubator.

The Delta Cultural Center in Helena, AR. Photo courtesy of the Delta Cultural Center

Delta State University Archives Cleveland, MS Phone: 662/846-4780 deltastate.edu/library/departments/archives-museum The Delta State University Archives Department collects, preserves and makes accessible historical manuscript collections that document the history and culture of Mississippi in general, and the Mississippi Delta region, in particular. In addition to exhibits on the region’s history, blues lovers should be sure to see “A Cast of Blues” – a collection of 55 life-masks of legendary blues musicians by artist Sharon McConnell. Dockery Farms Foundation Cleveland, MS Phone: 662/719-1048 - dockeryfarms.org Peruse the historic property and beautifully restored buildings of Dockery Farms, a cotton plantation of the Mississippi Delta established in 1895, that was known for offering its laborers fairer contracts and treatment. African Americans who worked at Dockery, including blues pioneers Henry Sloan and Charley Patton, created a culture that inspired the blues. To arrange a tour, contact Bill Lester: wclester@gmail.com. Elvis Presley Birthplace Tupelo, MS Phone: 662/841-1245 - elvispresleybirthplace.com Elvis revolutionized popular music by blending the blues he first heard as a youth in Tupelo with country, pop and gospel. Many of his first recorded songs were covers of earlier blues recordings, and he continued to incorporate blues into his music for the remainder of his career. The Elvis Presley Center includes the house where he was born, the Elvis Presley Museum and Memorial Chapel, and Elvis Presley Park. Gateway to the Blues Museum Tunica Resorts, MS Phone: 888/488-6422 - www.TunicaTravel.com/Blues At Tunica’s Gateway to the Blues Museum, see the story of the blues come to life. You’ll experience interactive exhibits,

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Rodgers’ memorabilia, photographs and history, will reopen in the Historic Train Depot in downtown Meridian in Fall 2019.

Gateway to the Blues Museum in Tunica Resorts, MS. Photo courtesy of the Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau

artwork and more – including a recording studio where you’ll learn the basics of blues music with a chance to record your very own blues song. This must-see attraction for all music lovers will tell the remarkable story of how the blues was born and the role Tunica played in building the genre’s legacy. GRAMMY Museum Mississippi Cleveland, MS Phone: 662/441-0100 - www.grammymuseumms.org GRAMMY Museum Mississippi aims to educate individuals about the history and cultural significance of American music, and to inspire the next generation to explore and create new forms of music using the roots that have existed in this country for centuries. The Museum accomplishes this through innovative programming, cutting-edge interactives and exciting exhibitions. Highway 61 Blues Museum Leland, MS Phone: 662/686-7646 & 866/285-7646 www.highway61blues.com Housed in the old Montgomery Hotel, this small blues museum honors around 80 mid-Mississippi Delta bluesmen with photos and memorabilia. If you’re lucky, bluesman Pat Thomas, son of James “Son” Thomas, will play guitar as you peruse the exhibits. The Leland Blues Project, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization, runs the museum and puts on two festivals each year to help support it. Howlin’ Wolf Museum West Point, MS By appointment only, contact Jeremy Klutts: 662/295-8361 www.wpnet.org/index.php/attractions/howlin_wolf Run by the Howlin’ Wolf Blues Society of West Point, MS, the Howlin’ Wolf Blues Museum houses memorabilia and promotes the historical blues education of North Mississippi, perpetuating the musical achievements of Chester Arthur Burnett – The Howlin’ Wolf – as well as other regional musicians. Jimmie Rodgers Museum Meridian, MS Phone: 601/485-1908 - www.jimmierodgers.com Jimmie Rodgers, also known as the “Father of Country Music” and “The Blue Yodeler,” was the first major star of country music, but also introduced the blues to a far wider audience than any other artist of his time. The museum, which houses Jimmie

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience Meridian, MS Phone: 601/581-1550 - www.msarts.org The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience, also known as The MAX, showcases Mississippi’s legacy in every area of the arts – including the blues – honoring Mississippi’s legends in arts and entertainment through exhibitions, performances, classes and events, including a Mississippi Walk of Fame. Mississippi John Hurt Museum Carollton, MS Phone: 803/645-6898 - facebook.com/johnhurtfoundation Built inside the humble three-room shack that was John Hurt’s home, visit the museum dedicated to the life and music of John Hurt, the gentle songster who enraptured the world during the folk blues revival of the 1960s with his syncopated fingerpicked rhythms and kindly voice. You’ll find the house filled with artifacts and memorabilia from his life and career, as well as his gravesite nearby. North Delta Museum Friars Point, MS Phone: 662/902-7642 - facebook.com/northdeltamuseum Described by the Memphis Commercial Appeal like “crawling through someone’s attic,” the North Delta Museum is an interesting stop to check out artifacts from the Mississippi Delta, ranging from prehistoric fossils to early 20th century agricultural and household items, including visuals from the steamboat days of the historic Friars Point port. University of Mississippi Blues Archive Oxford, MS Phone: 662/232-7753 olemiss.edu/depts/general_library/archives/blues The Blues Archive at the University of Mississippi acquires and preserves blues and blues-related materials in a variety of formats for scholars of the blues, African American studies and Southern culture. With 60,000+ sound recordings, 20,000+ photographs, 1,000+ videos, 34,000+ books, periodicals and newsletters, and numerous manuscripts and ephemera, the Blues Archive houses one of the largest collections of blues recordings, publications and memorabilia in the world. MISSOURI National Blues Museum St. Louis, MO Phone: 314/925-0016 - www.nationalbluesmuseum.org The National Blues Museum is the only museum dedicated exclusively to preserving and honoring the national and international story of the blues and its impact on American culture. Through interactive displays, photographs, memorabilia, traveling exhibits and live music events, the National Blues Museum explores and preserves the historic significance of the

blues as the foundation of American music, celebrates the genre’s various styles and recognizes the musicians who created, sustain and continue to advance the art form. TENNESSEE Bessie Smith Cultural Center Chattanooga, TN Phone: 423/266-8658 - www.bessiesmithcc.org Chattanooga-born Bessie Smith, “The Empress of the Blues,” forever changed the game for African American blueswomen. In addition to featuring artifacts and exhibits about Smith and other notable figures, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center preserves and celebrates African American history and culture in Chattanooga through art, education, research and entertainment. Blues Hall of Fame Museum Memphis, TN Phone: 901/527-2583 - blues.org/hall-of-fame-museum The Blues Hall of Fame Museum features robust exhibits and in-depth history. It exposes, educates and entertains visitors with “all that is blues” culture, while highlighting over 400 inductees. There are 10 individualized galleries with interactive touchscreen displays, along with three master databases to hear music, watch videos and read the stories of each inductee. In addition, each gallery houses one-of-a-kind iconic memorabilia. You’ll enjoy viewing hard-to-find album covers and photographs, important awards, unique art, musical instruments, costumes, tour jackets and more. Graceland Memphis, TN Phone: 901/332-3322 - www.graceland.com The blues was Elvis Presley’s earliest musical influence. Visit Graceland to fully immerse yourself in the life and career of the rock star he would become – explore the beautiful mansion, walk the gardens, tour his aircraft and be sure to visit Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment/exhibit complex featuring legendary costumes, artifacts and personal mementos from Elvis and his family. Memphis Rock & Soul Museum Memphis, TN Phone: 901/205-2533 - www.memphisrocknsoul.org The Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, created by the Smithsonian Institution, presents the birth of rock and soul music and the story of musical pioneers who, for the love of music, overcame racial and socio-economic barriers to create the music that shook the world. The museum’s 300+ minute digital audio tour – spanning Memphis’ musical history from the rural field hollers and sharecroppers of the 1930s, to the explosion of Sun, Stax, and Hi Records, to Memphis’ musical heyday in the 70s, to its global musical influence – guides visitors through seven galleries featuring three audio-visual programs, over 100 songs, 30+ instruments, 40 costumes and other musical treasures. Stax Museum of American Soul Music Memphis, TN Phone: 901/942-7685 - staxmuseum.com

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, TN. Photo by Ronnie Booze

The Stax Museum offers a tremendous experience that includes state-of-the-art interactive exhibits, music videos, instruments, items of stage clothing, records, filmed interviews, vintage recording equipment and other items of memorabilia that tell the story, from beginning to present, of American soul music, with particular focus on Stax Records – which also released gospel, funk and blues recordings. Sun Studio Memphis, TN Phone: 901/521-0664 - www.sunstudio.com Sun Studio is known worldwide as “The Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” It is the discovery location of musical legends and genres of the 1950s from B.B. King and Elvis Presley, to Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis; from blues and gospel to country and rock ‘n’ roll. In addition to hearing the inside stories of B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Ike Turner, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison, view priceless memorabilia, hear the voices of musicians from outtakes of recording sessions, and feel the energy of the music created here by the musical legends who were all drawn to the “Sun Sound.” W.C. Handy Memphis Home & Museum Memphis, TN Phone: 901/527-3427 & 901/522-1556 www.wchandymemphis.org Step back to Old Beale Street in a tour of W.C. Handy’s turn-of-the-century home, which depicts the humble beginnings of the “Father of the Blues” through artifacts, memorabilia and a featured exhibit. TEXAS Houston Blues Museum Houston, TX Phone: 713/489-4628 - houstonbluesmuseum.org The Houston Blues Museum is dedicated to the acquisition, historical preservation, study and education of art and artifacts honoring the rich blues heritage in Houston, TX, and the surrounding area. While working to secure a permanent space, the museum sponsors temporary exhibits in the Houston area and increases community awareness and involvement by collaborating with local institutions.

Blues Festival Guide 2019

A View from the Crow’s Nest By Michele Lundeen

Randy Oxford (trombone) hosting Jamarama. Photo by Kathy Rankin Photography

You never know who just might pop into a jam. This is especially true at the Crow’s Nest Pro-Am Jamarama on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise (LRBC). Many passengers are also musicians that sail each year to enjoy all the varied shows featuring their favorite artists, as well as for the opportunity to jam in the Crow’s Nest with a variety of other like-minded players. There’s a chance to make magic, have fun, network and just plain strut your stuff. There’s also room to dance, hang out and enjoy libations at the Crow’s Nest bar. I was honored to be a host for the October 2018 LRBC Crow’s Nest Jamarama where I met many wonderful and talented folks – both players, some who were in the bands on board (even the cool B.B. King house band that was off-duty that week), and cruisers, who came to enjoy the unpredictable interactions that can materialize. For an audience member, I imagine it’s like having a backstage pass. Not only are there talented cruisers ready to jam, but pros also show up, which adds to the excitement and ups the ante. I reached out to a few Jamamara hosts and players to get their take on the view from the Crow’s Nest.

me a Pro-Am Jam host position on the 2007 October cruise. Since then, I have stayed-the-course for the past 12 years and continue to host Jams and perform on LRBCs. All passengers are welcome to get on stage in the Crow’s Nest and take part in the Jams, regardless of their level of musicianship. Many of the hired pros on the LRBC also participate, which creates a unique opportunity for both amateurs and pros alike. The talent of the passengers on board never ceases to amaze. I love hosting these Jams because I am always surprised and blown away by moments that no one saw coming. It’s a kind of magic that you can never predict or plan for. The Crow’s Nest also has an amazing panoramic view of the ocean from the 12th deck that makes it even more of a unique stage experience. Magic is in the air out at sea. Bring your instruments with you when you sail on the LRBC, and get ready to jam, or just sit back and enjoy the amazing shows and a life changing experience.” ⎯ Randy Oxford, LRBC Jam Host/Performer www.oxfordentertainment.com

“My first experience on the LRBC was the 2006 inaugural West Coast Blues Cruise. I was on board as a passenger and brought my trombone with me. I proceeded to jam with everyone and anyone throughout the ship for the entire cruise and it changed my life. Soon after this first experience of bluesin’ on the high seas, LRBC CEO Roger Naber offered

“I’m a professional drummer and I own a graphics business. I connected with Roger Naber before his first West Coast Blues Cruise and did some graphics and banners for the stages and backdrops. Roger has alternated cruisers and professional artists on the LRBCs to host Jamarama. After that first year, Roger asked me to be a Jam host.

Blues Festival Guide 2019

Dan Gorrell (lt), David “T” Tschirhart (ctr) and Harmonica Mike Handler (rt) jamming on “Pajama Night.” Photo by Hollie Alcocer

I always bring up a nationally known artist to start the first set. I’ve had the opportunity to perform with some of the best blues artists in the world. The cool thing is that there are national artists as well as regional artists on board, and the Jamarama is a chance for everybody to get together and make music as well as memories. The Jamarama usually runs three to four hours. I recall a few years ago when we had a 10-hour jam as pro artists kept coming in and out. One night, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and most of their band played intermittently all the way to daybreak. I will never forget that. Due to some of my LRBC connections at the Jamarama, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with many artists and produce the music and staging of the Baja Blues Fest.” ⎯ Tom Stewart, Backwater Blues Band/San Diego, CA “First, it’s an honor to be able to host a Jamarama. Most of the jammers have been in bands or are in one now. It’s great to play with people from all over the world and see the different influences they bring to the Jam. It’s also wonderful to turn around and see one of the pros sitting in and being able to play with them. Of course, there is always one person who thinks they should be booked as the talent, and has to show off. Seeing the young ones jamming is always fun to watch, too. So much talent and so much fun!” ⎯ Mike “Hurricane” Hoover/Baja, MX

Blues Festival Guide 2019

“As one of the musicians who attends the Pro-Am Jams on the Blues Cruises, I’m always amazed by the diversity and depth of the players on stage. Musicians, mostly seasoned band members or leaders in their own right, come out and join in the fun – usually with total strangers – and it always (well, almost always) works. Plus, we get the benefit of having hosts like Randy Oxford, LA Smith, Billy Price and Michele Lundeen sit in and make it real for all of us. I, myself, have written songs and played them at the Jams and made real friends amongst the players. There’s a great listening vibe in the room and positive feeling between the players and the audience – many cruisers say the Jams are their favorite part of their musical day. So, play on, jammers!” ⎯ Harmonica Mike Handler, Blues Revue Band/Santa Fe, NM “On my very first cruise, I was playing my bass in the Crow’s Nest, when it was time to switch drummers. The new drummer was Harold Brown of The Lowrider Band, whose playing I’ve admired since the early ‘70s. We shook hands, both admitting we were not really blues players, and proceeded to put a funk groove to everything we played. Afterwards, Harold invited my wife Sue and I to share a dinner table with him. There have been many musical encounters like this on two subsequent cruises. The late-night Jams are particularly magical… Bring your instrument! You will play!” ⎯ David “T” Tschirhart/Sterling Heights, MI www.davidtmusicandstuff.com

First–time Jamarama vocalist Julie Pelton. Photo courtesy of Julie Pelton

The “Queen of Steam” Michele Lundeen, singer and feature author. Photo by Victor Rodriguez Ratliff

“As a virgin cruiser, I was curious to see how the Jams were run. All the jammers and the hosts I met were very friendly and helpful, and it appeared the hosts of each of the four Jams I sang at were able to get everyone who signed up on stage. A new experience for me was jamming at 4:30a.m. What fun! I can hardly wait for October to get here, maybe I’ll sing and play keys this time.” ⎯ Julie Pelton/DesMoines, WA

So, you see, there’s something for everyone from this view. Include the Jamarama in your LRBC experience. Magic can surely happen in the Crow’s Nest! I’ll see you onboard in October 2019. Come jam with the “Queen of Steam.” www.michelelundeen.com

Tom Stewart (drums) and a member of the B.B. King house band. Photo by Lydia Stewart

Mike “Hurricane” Hoover. Photo courtesy of Mike “Hurricane” Hoover

Nicknamed the "Queen of Steam" for her powerhouse vocals and sassy, hi-energy shows, Michele Lundeen is an awardwinning singer-songwriter, 12x San Diego Blues Music Award Nominee, Blues In The Schools presenter, vocal instructor and owner of a 1-woman graphics/print broker business. www.michelelundeen.com

Blues Festival Guide 2019

BLUES RADIO Support your local blues station by tuning in and enjoying some bluesy tunes

SOME OF OUR FAVORITE BLUES RADIO SHOWS…

INTERNET / SATELLITE RADIO Aardvark Blues FM KBRAZ Internet Radio Streaming: www.aardvarkbluesfm.com DJ Tim Wooters PO Box 301 West Columbia, TX 77486 281/924-3974 (office) twooters@embarqmail.com www.aardvarkbluesfm.com Blues with Russell Thurs. 7pm – 9pm DJ Russell Luzio 481 Open Hill Ave. Henderson, NV 89011 909/967-1330 (office) blueswithrussell@aol.com www.blueswithrussell.com YouTube/blueswithrussell The Eclectic Chair Streaming: www.radiochair.com Available On Demand DJ Trish Lewis PO Box 25 Bay City, MI 48707-0025 810/241-0310 (office, on air) radiochair@gmail.com www.radiochair.com

CALIFORNIA NEVADA CITY KVMR 89.5 FM Streaming: www.kvmr.org Sun. 1pm – 3pm “Blues Spectrum” DJ Steve Cagle ATTN: Sean Dooley, Music Director 120 Bridge St. Nevada City, CA 95959 530/265-9073 (office) 530/265-9555 (on air) music@kvmr.org www.kvmr.org

HAWAII

HONOLULU KTUH 90.1 FM Streaming: www.ktuh.org Thurs. 9am – Noon “Somethin’ Blue” DJ Steve Stoddard 2345 Ala Wai Blvd. #814 Honolulu, HI 96815 808/926-1783 (office) 808/956-7261 (on air) stoddardsl@yahoo.com www.stoddardshale.com

ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD WQNA 88.3 FM Mon. 4pm – 7pm “WQNA’s Blues Power!” DJ Michael G 2905 Rainier Drive Springfield, IL 62704 217/679-8988 (office) mrg2455@gmail.com www.wqnaradio.org INDIANA ELKHART WVPE 88.1 FM Streaming: www.wvpe.org Sat. & Sun. 1pm – 4pm “Blues Revue” DJ Ole’ Harv 51212 Helmen Avenue South Bend, IN 46637 574/243-8327 (office) 574/674-8895 (on air) oleharve@comcast.net www.wvpe.org

Blues Festival Guide 2019

LOUISIANA NEW ORLEANS WWOZ 90.7 FM Streaming: www.wwoz.org Wed. 2pm – 4pm “Sittin’ At The Crossroad” DJ Big D 4045 Azalea Court Mandeville, LA 70448 504/568-1238 (office) 504/568-1234 (on air) wwozbigd@yahoo.com www.wwoz.org

TEXAS HOUSTON KPFT 90.1 FM Streaming: www.kpft.org Sun. 2pm – 5pm “Howlin’ the Blues” DJ The Blues Hound & DJ Baby Girl 2719 22nd Ave. North Texas City, TX 77590 409/948-8663 (office) 713/526-5738 (on air) theblueshound@comcast.net www.kpft.org/www.theblueshound.com

NORTH CAROLINA DURHAM WNCU 90.7 FM Streaming: www.wncu.org Sat. 9pm – 11pm “All Blues Central” DJ Al Dawson 1801 Fayetteville Street PO Box 19875 Durham, NC 27707 919/530-7445 (office) 919/560-9628 (on air) 919/530-5031 (fax) adawson3@nccu.edu www.wncu.org

WASHINGTON BELLINGHAM KMRE 102.3 FM Streaming: www.kmre.org Thurs. 2pm – 4pm “Bluesland” DJ Leo Schumaker 2407 Princeton Court, #13 Bellingham, WA 98229 805/766-0999 (on air) leosbluesland@yahoo.com www.kmre.org Facebook.com/LeosBluesland

TENNESSEE KNOXVILLE WDVX 89.9 FM / 102.9 FM Streaming: www.wdvx.com Fri. 9pm – 3am “Johnny Mack’s Friday Night Blues Attack” DJ Johnny Mack 301 S. Gay St. Knoxville, TN 37902 865/544-1029 (office) 865/494-2020 (on air) studio@wdvx.com www.wdvx.com

2019 BFG Sponsor

Blues Societies… Join One! CALIFORNIA

Blues Lovers United of San Diego P.O. Box 34077 San Diego, CA 92163 USA 619-630-9416 blusd.org Janine Harty, president@blusd.org Kern River Blues Society Kern County, CA 93305 USA 661-872-7517 Facebook/Kern River Blues Society kernriverbluessociety@gmail.com Orange County Blues Society 18952 E. Appletree Ln. Orange, CA 92859 USA 714-328-9375 OrangeCountyBluesSociety.com rick@orangecountybluessociety.com Santa Barbara Blues Society P.O. Box 30853 Santa Barbara, CA 93130-0853 USA 805-722-8155 www.SBBlues.org info@sbblues.org Silicon Valley Blues Society P.O. Box 5264 San Jose, CA 95125 USA 408-295-6656 http://svblues.org Merianne Adoradio, information@svblues.org West Coast Blues Society P.O. Box 6103 Vallejo, CA 94591 USA 707-647-3962 www.westcoastbluessociety.org facebook.com/WestCoastBluesSociety Executive Director: Ronnie Stewart CONNECTICUT Connecticut Blues Society P.O. Box 578 Enfield, CT 06083-0578 USA 860-741-3960 ctblues.org Ed Stack, jakecat39@gmail.com FLORIDA North Central Florida Blues Society P.O. Box 13282 Gainesville, FL 32604 USA

352-871-0676 president@ncfblues.org

evansvilleblues.com evansvilleblues.com/contact-us

Suncoast Blues Society P.O. Box 4232 Tampa, FL 33677 USA 414-416-1884 Suncoastblues.org mark@suncoastblues.org

IOWA

The Villages Blues Society 1706 Palo Alto Ave. The Villages, FL 32159 USA 404-395-1050 www.thevillagesblues.com Marcia and Mark Adams, thevillagesblues@gmail.com GEORGIA Atlanta Blues Society 2019 KBA Recipient P.O. Box 146 Tucker, GA 30085 USA 678-524-0079 www.atlantabluessociety.org George Klein, theatlantabluessociety@gmail.com ILLINOIS Crossroads Blues Society P.O. Box 840 Byron, IL 61010 USA 779-537-4006 crossroadsbluessociety.com Steve Jones, sub_insignia@yahoo.com Illinois Central Blues Club P.O. Box 603 Springfield, IL 62705 USA 217-679-8988 www.icbluesclub.com Michael Goza – President, mrg2455@sbcglobal.net Prairie Crossroads Blues Society P.O. Box 8652 Champaign, IL 61826-8652 USA 217-417-0772 http://prairiecrossroadsblues.org Bob Paleczny, prairiecrossroadsblues@gmail.com INDIANA River Basin Blues Society P.O. Box 15125 Evansville, IN 47716-0125 USA 812-484-5947

Southeast Iowa Blues Society P.O. Box 1718 Fairfield, IA 52556 USA 641-233-7438 southeastiowabluessociety.org Steve Arndt, seiowablues2018@gmail.com

Compiled by Heather Penrod-Rudd

OHIO

Northeast Ohio Blues Association (NEOBA) 12315 Springwater Ave. Uniontown, OH 44685 USA 330-877-3913 bluesNEOBA.org Andy@bluesNEOBA.org OKLAHOMA Blues Society of Tulsa P.O. Box 2836 Tulsa, OK 74101 918-520-2453 www.bluessocietyoftulsa.com Christina Rybacki, info@bluessocietyoftulsa.com

KANSAS Topeka Blues Society P.O. Box 4963 Topeka, KS 66604 USA www.topekabluessociety.org Suki Willison-Blakely, info@topekabluessociety.org

TENNESSEE

KENTUCKY Kentuckiana Blues Society P.O. Box 755 Louisville, KY 40201-0755 USA 502-641-3718 kbsblues.org prez@kbsblues.org MINNESOTA Minnesota Blues Society P.O. Box 580704 Minneapolis, MN 55458 USA 651-955-2612 www.MnBS.org info@MnBS.org MISSISSIPPI Central Mississippi Blues Society P.O. Box 8314 Jackson, MS 39284 USA 601-291-2811 or 601-613-7377 www.centralmississippibluessociety.com Malcolm Shepherd, malshep52@hotmail.com Peggy Brown, prblues22@gmail.com NEW JERSEY North Jersey Blues Alliance 4 South Orange Ave. #224 South Orange, NJ 07079 USA 973-865-5551 southmountainbluesfestival.com Aron Lifschultz, aronl99@comcast.net

Smoky Mountain Blues Society P.O. Box 52925 Knoxville, TN 37950 USA 865-288-0672 www.smokymountainblues.org smokymountainbluessociety@gmail.com WISCONSIN Chippewa Valley Blues Society P.O. Box 803 Eau Claire, WI 54702 USA 715-541-2739 www.Chippewavalleyblues.com CANADA Calgary Blues Music Association #188 A6433 Bowness Road NW Calgary, AB T3B 0E6 CANADA hotline: 403-668-7144 www.calgarybluesfest.com info@calgarybluesfest.com Ottawa Blues Society P.O. Box 8124 Station T Ottawa, ON K1G 3H6 CANADA 613-290-4840 www.ottawabluessociety.com President- Dave Brennan, ottawabluessociety@gmail.com Victoria Blues Society Box 5157 Victoria, BC V8R 6N4 CANADA 250-592-5764 victoriabluessociety.ca Deb Rhymer, debrhymer@shaw.ca

Blues Festival Guide 2019

MIssissippi Blues Trail Pilgrimage By Jim O’Neal Mississippi is a prime destination for traveling blues aficionados eager to see the historic sites associated with Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Muddy Waters and many others, as well as to witness the modern-day exponents of the blues still performing in juke joints, clubs and festivals. Tourists can find points on their paths with the convenient aid of internet sites, guidebooks, electronic apps and almost 200 Mississippi Blues Trail markers. Not so long ago, a blues trip to Mississippi was much more of a hit-and-miss adventure. Travelers had to search on their own, or hope for tips or directions from locals, until Christiane Bird, a woman traversing the country on a motorcycle, published the first guide to Delta blues sites as a chapter of The Jazz and Blues Lover’s Guide to the U.S. in 1991. I was co-owner of a record store in Clarksdale then, and after hoping inquisitive visitors could find their way from my directions, in 1991 I decided to do a Delta Blues Map Kit, printed on our Xerox machine and stapled together, with descriptions of sites, travel tips and maps of the area. Included in the Kit were sites where some of Mississippi’s major blues artists reportedly lay buried with no headstones, until the Mount Zion Memorial Fund launched its ongoing mission to

Jim O’Neal, cofounding editor of Living Blues magazine, research director with the Mississippi Blues Trail and this feature’s author, with the Sam Cooke marker in Clarksdale, MS. Photo by Brenda Haskins

Blues Festival Guide 2019

correct such grave injustice by erecting a monument to Robert Johnson – also in 1991. Mississippi blues has since been covered in many newspaper and magazine travel articles, and in books such as Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues. The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, which has played a key role both in documenting and perpetuating the blues, saw its visitor count grow and grow. As the word spread, plenty of blues pilgrims overcame fears of Mississippi and found themselves welcomed in a state where enlightened citizens had been working hard to overcome dark episodes of the past. Mississippi was also taking note of the stream of out-of-state and foreign visitors stopping for photographs of Highway 61 signs and looking for juke joints and blues artists’ gravesites. While the state had placed many historical markers, the sites were often connected to the Civil War, prominent residents, businesses and churches – but not to the blues. Only the "Father of the Blues,” W.C. Handy, was honored with a state marker at his former home site in Clarksdale. As the blues momentum grew, the state Senate finally established the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2004 “to develop a plan to promote authentic Mississippi ‘blues’ music and ‘blues culture’ for purposes of economic development” and “to purchase and erect ‘Mississippi Blues Trail’ historical markers with the assistance of the Mississippi Department of Transportation.” On December 11, 2006, the first three Mississippi Blues Trail markers were dedicated at the cemetery in Holly Ridge where Charley Patton is buried, on Nelson Street – the historic blues hub of Greenville – and at the site of WGRM radio in Greenwood where B.B. King began performing with a gospel group. A committee of scholars and representatives of the state’s heritage trails proposed a list of 100 more markers, although it’s probably fair to say that no one really thought the project would last long enough to see nearly that many markers go up. But the markers proved so popular with both tourists and locals, more towns and counties sought markers of their own, and the state continued to approve funding. The state followed up with a Mississippi Freedom Trail dedicated to civil rights history and a Mississippi Country Music Trail to honor the state’s country stars such as Charlie Pride, Conway Twitty and Tammy Wynette. The Blues Trail has expanded far beyond the state line

hill-country patriarch Sid Hemphill in Senatobia, MS, Jackie Brenston’s recording of “Rocket ‘88’” (placed in Lyon, MS, close to the cemetery where Brenston and fellow Ike Turner band member Raymond Hill are buried), Buddy Guy in Lettsworth, LA (saluted for his connections with Mississippi blues), and the blues communities of Ocean Springs, Meridian and Newton County, MS, and Pensacola, FL (a city with a surprisingly rich musical history). The Mississippi Blues Trail website (www.msbluestrail.org) provides a wealth of information and can be downloaded as an app. The app includes a map of all markers with photos and texts from each marker; videos documenting Muddy Waters, Bobby Rush, Little Milton, the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, Trumpet Records and more; a historical timeline; latitude and longitude of each marker for GPS navigation; and a make-your-own-itinerary function. The website includes additional features, including a calendar of blues events, a blues curriculum for teachers, a list of museums, a link to Mississippi Blues Trail merchandise and information on the Mississippi Blues Foundation and the Musicians’ Aid Fund, established by the state “to provide assistance to any blues musician in need.” A detailed guide to the Mississippi Blues Trail is also available in issue #233 of Living Blues magazine. There is plenty to read, hear and watch even for those who can’t make a pilgrimage to Mississippi. But nothing compares to being there. Pick an event from the Mississippi listings in the online calendar or here in the Blues Festival Guide and map out a blues trail itinerary. You may find yourself having the blues experience of a lifetime in Mississippi. Texas Johnny Brown, a renowned guitarist born in Ackerman, MS, broke into tears when he saw photos of his father, blind guitarist Cranston "Clarence" Brown, on the marker in Ackerman named after Brown's song, "Two Steps from the Blues." Photo by Wanda Clark, courtesy of the Mississippi Blues Trail

to honor the connections and contributions of Mississippi blues with markers in Memphis, Chicago, Florida, Wisconsin, Maine, Norway, France and elsewhere, with more still to come. The Blues Trail honors many legendary heroes of the blues with markers at their birthplaces or gravesites, especially in the Delta region, but it also celebrates hometown performers who kept the blues alive in places like McComb, Gulfport, Natchez, Pontotoc, Tupelo, Grenada and Meridian. The markers cover nightclubs, juke joints, record companies, hotels, radio stations and plantations, as well as topics including race, gambling, cotton and transportation. The chronicles of local blues history in many towns and counties have never been published in any book. Scott Barretta and I research and write the marker texts, and we have used the opportunity to dig deeper into regional history and genealogy, rather than simply relying on previous biographies and accounts. With so much more data available now, even the basic details of many artists’ lives, such as dates and places of birth, have been revised. The most recent markers honor Prince McCoy (whose music was a major inspiration to W.C. Handy) in Greenville, MS,

Jim O’Neal is a cofounding editor of Living Blues magazine, research director with the Mississippi Blues Trail and coeditor of the book The Voice of the Blues. He operates a mail order business (Stackhouse & BluEsoterica, 3516 Holmes St., Kansas City MO 64109, www.bluesoterica.com) buying and selling records, magazines and memorabilia.

Located in the Belmont-DeVilliers historic African American neighborhood, the Blues Trail marker in Pensacola, FL, was unveiled in January 2019. Photo by Brenda Haskins

Blues Festival Guide 2019

PLAN YOUR BLUES

2019 BFG Sponsor

FESTIVAL CALENDAR

Grab a pen and circle the festivals you want to attend this season. INFORMATION BELIEVED TO BE CORRECT BUT NOT GUARANTEED. CHECK BEFORE YOU GO! DATE

FESTIVAL NAME

CITY/STATE/COUNTRY

WEBSITE

May 4

White Lake Blues Festival

Whitehall, Michigan, USA

killerblues.net

May 4

Crossroads Blues Society 25th Anniversary Party

Mount Carroll, Illinois, USA

facebook.com/events/239734783608203

May 9 - 12

Redwood Coast Music Festival

Eureka, California, USA

rcmfest.org

May 9 - 12

Gator By The Bay

San Diego, California, USA

gatorbythebay.com

May 11

Clarksdale Caravan Music Fest

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

cathead.biz/music-calendar

May 11

Northeast Blues Guitar Summit

Hartford, Connecticut, USA

eventbrite.com/e/northeast-blues-guitar-summit-tickets56714566796?aff=eac2

May 16 - 19

Blues on Broadbeach

Gold Coast, Australia

bluesonbroadbeach.com

May 18 - 19

Doheny Blues Festival

Dana Point, California, USA

DohenyBluesFestival.com

May 18

Stomp The Blues Out of Homelessness

Springfield, Missouri, USA

stomptheblues.net

May 18 - 25

Bluesfestival Baden

Baden, , Switzerland

bluesfestival-baden.ch

May 19

North Central Florida Women in Blues Showcase

Gainesville, Florida, USA

facebook.com/North-Central-Florida-Women-inBlues-1713546345529823

May 23 - 26

World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest & Festival

Oxford, Mississippi, USA

oldtimepianocontest.com

May 24 - 26

Silver City Blues Festival

Silver City, New Mexico, USA

silvercitybluesfestival.org

May 24 - 25

Blues Rules Crissier Festival

Crissier, , Switzerland

blues-rules.com

May 24 - June 9

Piccolo Spoleto Blues Series

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

piccolospoleto.com

May 25 - 26

Exit 56 Blues Fest

Brownsville, Tennessee, USA

exit56blues.com

May 25 - 26

Baton Rouge Soul Food Festival 2nd Annual

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

brsoulfoodfest.com

May 25 - 26

Duvelblues

Ruisbroek - Puurs, , Belgium

duvelblues.be

May 25

Red's Old-Timers Blues Festival

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

gofundme.com/red039s-oldtimers-blues-festival

May 25

Kearney Blues Fest 2019

Kearney, Missouri, USA

kearneyamphitheater.com

May 25

Nurs'n Blues Music Festival

Buffalo, New York, USA

musicisart.org

May 26

Avila Beach Blues Festival, 26th Annual

Avila Beach, California, USA

otterproductionsinc.com/events/26th-annual-avila-beach-bluesfestival

May 26

Blues Between The Bridges

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

gbusyblues.com

May 26

Wall Hill Blues Festival

Byhalia, Mississippi, USA

eventbrite.com/e/the-9th-annual-wall-hill-blues-festtickets-55177086150

May 31 - June 1

Smokin' in Steele

Owatonna, Minnesota, USA

smokininsteele.com

May 31 - June 1

Germantown Schnitzelburg Blues Festival

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

facebook.com/events/318519725515994/?event_time_ id=318519732182660

June 1

Graham Blues Fest

Safford, Arizona, USA

graham-chamber.com

June 1

Horse Town Brew n Que Festival

Norco, California, USA

brewnquefestival.com

June 1

Wine, Blues, Beer and Hot Air Balloon Festival

Springfield , Nevada, USA

soaringwingswine.com

June 6 - 17

The KOOL FM Barrie Jazz And Blues Festival XXIV

Barrie - Simcoe County , Ontario, Canada

barriejazzbluesfest.com

June 7 - 8

Canton Blues Fest

Canton, Ohio, USA

cantonchamber.org/canton-blues-fest

June 7 - 9

Havre de Grace Jazz & Blues Fest

Havre de Grace, Maryland, Maryland, USA hdgjazzbluesfestival.org

June 7 - 8

Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest

Gladstone, Missouri, USA

gladstonechamber.com

June 7 - 8

Flagstaff Blues and Brews Festival

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

flagstaffblue.com

June 7 - 9

Chicago Blues Festival, 36th Annual

Chicago, Illinois, USA

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_blues_festival. html

June 7 - 9

Pender Harbour Blues Festival, 16th Annual

Madeira Park, British Columbia, Canada

penderharbourbluesfestival.com

June 8

Blues, Brews & Barbecue

Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA

downtownallentown.com

June 8

North Carolina Cigar Box Guitar Festival

Gibsonville, North Carolina, USA

northcarolinacigarboxguitarfestival.org

June 8

Blues for the Soldiers

Brantford, Ontario, Canada

facebook.com/events/276899803248802

June 10 - 15

Bentonia Blues Festival

Bentonia, Mississippi, USA

visityazoo.org

Blues Festival Guide 2019

2019 BFG Sponsor

DATE

FESTIVAL NAME

CITY/STATE/COUNTRY

WEBSITE

June 12 - 15

W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival

Henderson, Kentucky, USA

handyblues.org

June 13 - 15

Sierre Blues Festival

Sierre, , Switzerland

sierreblues.ch

June 13 - 15

River Jam

Mystic, Connecticut, USA

mysticriverjam.com

June 14 - 15

Utah Blues Festival

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

utahbluesfest.org

June 14 - 15

Blues on the Fox

Aurora, Illinois, USA

riveredgeaurora.com/events/blues-on-the-fox-2019/?utm_ source=bfg&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=botf

June 14 - 15

Great Eldorado BBQ, Brews and Blues Festival, The

Reno , Nevada, USA

eldoradoreno.com

June 14 - 16

Billtown Blues Festival

Hughesville, Pennsylvania, USA

billtownblues.org

June 14 - 15

Monroe Balloon and Blues

Monroe, Wisconsin, USA

monroeballoonrally.com

June 14 - 15

Alpine Country Blues Festival

ALPINE, Arizona, USA

ALPINEAZMUSICFEST.COM

June 14 - 15

Holland International Blues Festival

Grolloo, , Netherlands

hollandinternationalbluesfestival.com

June 14 - 15

Blues on the Fox

Aurora, Illinois, USA

riveredgeaurora.com

June 14

Monroe Balloon and Blues Festival

Monroe, Wisconsin, USA

monroeballoonrally.com

June 15

Birthplace of American Music (BAM) Festival

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

facebook.com/events/2083561385254352

June 15 - 16

Franklin Blues and Barbecue

Franklin, Pennsylvania, USA

franklinbluesandbbq.org

June 15 - 16

REZ Blues Festival

Irving, New York, USA

facebook.com/RezBluesFest

June 15 - 16

Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival

Croton-on-Hudson, New York, USA

clearwaterfestival.com

June 19 - Sept. 4

Tony Mart Presents Mardi Gras AC

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Tonymart.com

June 20 - 22

Torrita Blues Festival

Torrita Di Siena, , Italy

torritablues.com

June 20 - 23

Pembroke Blues Festival

Upper Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, Canada

nspembrokemusicfestival.com

June 21 - 22

Northwoods Blues Festival

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, USA

northwoodsbluesfestival.com

June 21 - Sept. 6

AtlantiCare Concerts on the Beach in Somers Point

Somers Point, New Jersey, USA

Somerspointbeachconcerts.com

June 21 - 22

Louisville Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

louisvillebluesandbbqfestival.com

June 27 - 29

Randers City Blues Festival

Randers C, , Denmark

randers-cityblues.dk

June 28 - 29

North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic

Waterford, Mississippi, USA

nmshillcountrypicnic.com

June 28 - 30

Blues on the Battlefield

Thorold , Ontario, Canada

bluesonthebattlefield.com

June 29

Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival

Kansas City, Kansas, USA

kckblues.com

June 29

New Glarus Blues, Brews & Food Truck Festival

New Glarus, Wisconsin, USA

facebook.com/NGBBFTF

June 29 - 30

Blues From The Top

Winter Park, Colorado, USA

bluesfromthetop.org

June 29

Florida Summer Blues Tour

Punta Gorda, Florida, USA

thephoenixradio.com

June 29

Monterey International Blues Festival

Monterey, California, USA

montereyinternationalbluesfestival.com

July 4 - 7

Waterfront Blues Festival

Portland, Oregon, USA

waterfrontbluesfest.com

July 4

Spirit of Kansas Blues Festival

Topeka, Kansas, USA

topekabluessociety.org/wp

July 5 - 28

Beaches International Jazz Festival

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

beachesjazz.com

July 5 - 7

Thunder Bay Blues Festival

Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

tbayblues.ca

July 5 - 6

Mississippi Valley Blues Festival

Davenport, Iowa, USA

mvbs.org/blues-fest.php

July 6

Red White & Blues Jam

Farragut, Tennessee, USA

farragutbusiness.com

July 11 - 14

Briggs Farm Blues Festival

Nescopeck , Pennsylvania, USA

briggsfarm.com

July 11 - 13

Greenwood Blues Cruise, 19th Annual

Greenwood, South Carolina, USA

greenwoodbluescruise.com

July 12 - 14

Tall City Blues Fest

Midland, Texas, USA

tallcitybluesfest.com

July 12 - 14

Anglesea Blues Festival

North Wildwood, New Jersey, USA

AngleseaBlues.com

July 12 - Aug. 8

Vallemaggia Magic Blues

Ticino - Vallemaggia, , Switzerland

magicblues.ch

July 12 - 13

Historic Wallace Blues Festival

Wallace, Idaho, USA

wallaceblues.com

July 12 - 13

Kalamazoo Blues Fest

Kalamazoo , Michigan, USA

facebook.com/KalamazooBluesFestival

July 12 - 13

Grassroots Blues Festival

Duck Hill, Mississippi, USA

facebook.com/grassrootsblues

July 13 - 14

North Atlantic Blues Festival

Rockland, Maine, USA

northatlanticbluesfestival.com

July 13

Playing with Fire Free Summer Concert

Omaha, Nebraska, USA

playingwithfireomaha.net

July 13

Blues & Bluegrass ft. Roomful of Blues and Twisted Pine

Westport, Massachusetts, USA

showclix.com/event/blues-and-bluegrass

July 13 - 14

Hayward Russell City Blues Festival

Hayward, California, USA

westcoastbluessociety.org/haywardrussellcitybluesfest

July 13

Blues ON in Old Town Tacoma

Tacoma, Washington, USA

bluesontacoma.com

July 18 - 21

Porretta Soul Festival

Porretta Terme, , Italy

porrettasoul.it

July 19 - 21

Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival

Winthrop, Washington, USA

winthropbluesfestival.com

100

Blues Festival Guide 2019

2019 BFG Sponsor

DATE

FESTIVAL NAME

CITY/STATE/COUNTRY

WEBSITE

July 20

Wildcat Blues Fest

Shutesbury, Massachusetts, USA

wildcatohalloran.com

July 26 - 27

Prairie Dog Blues Festival

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, USA

prairiedogblues.com

July 26 - 27

Fargo Blues Festival

Fargo, North Dakota, USA

fargobluesfest.com

July 26 - 28

Long Beach Crawfish Festival

Long Beach, CA, California, USA

LongBeachCrawfishFestival.com

July 26 - 28

Jazz In The Valley Music Festival

Ellensburg, Washington, USA

jazzinthevalley.com

July 26 - 28

Pickaxe Rhythm & Blues Festival

Republic, Washington, USA

PickaxeBlues.com

July 26 - 27

Canal Winchester Blues and Ribfest

Canal Winchester, Ohio, USA

bluesandribfest.com

July 26 - 28

Dunesville Music Festival

Lake Ann, Michigan, USA

dunesvillemusicfestival.com

July 28 - Aug. 4

Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Workshop and Festival

Port Townsend, Washington, USA

centrum.org/port-townsend-acoustic-blues-festival-workshop

July 29 - Aug. 4

Calgary International Blues Festival

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

calgarybluesfest.com

July 30 - Aug. 3

Jus' Blues Awards and Conference Week

Tunica, Mississippi, USA

jusblues.org

Aug. 1 - 4

Mammoth Festival of Beers & Bluesapalooza 24th

Mammoth Lakes, California, USA

mammothbluesbrewsfest.com

Aug. 1 - 3

Magic City Blues

Billings, Montana, USA

magiccityblues.com

Aug. 2 - 4

Blues on the Chippewa

Durand, Wisconsin, USA

bluesonthechippewa.com

Aug. 2 - 4

Erie's Blues & Jazz Festival

Erie, Pennsylvania, USA

facebook.com/BluesandJazzFestival

Aug. 2 - 4

Mount Baker R&B Festival

Bellingham, Washington, USA

bakerblues.com

Aug. 2 - 4

Big Sky Blues Festival

Noxon , Montana, USA

bigskyblues.com

Aug. 3

Blue Ribbon Blues Fest

Fairfield, Iowa, USA

southeastiowabluessociety.org

Aug. 3

In the Market for Blues

Omaha, Nebraska, USA

inthemarketforblues.tumblr.com

Aug. 3

Stafford Springs Blues Festival

Stafford Springs, Connecticut, USA

staffordspringsbluesfest.com

Aug. 8 - 11

TD Kitchener Blues Festival

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

kitchenerbluesfestival.com

Aug. 9 - 25

Jazz & Beyond

Carson City, Nevada, USA

jazzcarsoncity.com

Aug. 9 - 10

Waukesha BluesFest

Delafield, Wisconsin, USA

waukeshabluesfest.com

Aug. 9 - 11

Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

sunflowerfest.org

Aug. 9 - 11

Baja Blues Fest

Rosarito Beach, , Mexico

BajaBluesFest.org

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2019 BFG Sponsor

DATE

FESTIVAL NAME

CITY/STATE/COUNTRY

WEBSITE

Aug. 9 - 11

Heritage Music BluesFest

Wheeling, West Virginia, USA

heritagemusicfest.com

Aug. 9 - 11

Bayfront Blues Festival, 31st Annual

Duluth, Minnesota, USA

bayfrontblues.com

Aug. 9 - 11

San Jose Jazz Summer Fest

San Jose, California, USA

summerfest.sanjosejazz.org

Aug. 10

Gloucester Blues Festival

Gloucester, Maine, USA

gloucesterbluesfestival.com

Aug. 10 - 11

RI Blues Fest

Cranston, Rhode Island, USA

ribluesfest.com/

Aug. 11 - 12

Bloomington Boogies: The Bloomington Blues & Boogie Woogie Piano Festival

Bloomington, Indiana, USA

bloomingtonboogies.com

Aug. 11

Cat Head 17th Anniversary!

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

cathead.biz/music-calendar

Aug. 16 - 17

Big Bull Falls Blues Fest

Wausau, Wisconsin, USA

wausauevents.org/big-bull-falls-blues-fest.html

Aug. 16 - 17

Chenango Blues Festival

Norwich, New York, USA

chenangobluesfest.org

Aug. 16 - 18

Ann Arbor Blues Festival

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

a2bluesfestival.com

Aug. 16 - 17

Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues

Madison, Indiana, USA

madisonribberfest.com

Aug. 16 - 18

Blues, Brews & BBQ

McHenry, Illinois, USA

mrbbb.com

Aug. 16 - 18

White Mountain Boogie & Blues Festival

Thornton, New Hampshire, USA

whitemountainboogie.com/

Aug. 17

Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival

Morristown, New Jersey, USA

morristownjazzandblues.com

Aug. 22 - 24

Hot August Blues Festival

Hardin, Kentucky, USA

kenlakeblues.com

Aug. 22 - 25

Trois-Rivieres en Blues

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada

3renblues.com

Aug. 22 - 25

Summertime Blues Festival

Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

nanaimobluesfestival.com

Aug. 23 - 24

Trinidaddio Blues Fest

Trinidad, Colorado, USA

trinidaddio.com

Aug. 23 - 25

Edmonton Blues Festival

Edmonton , Alberta, Canada

bluesinternationalltd.com

Aug. 23 - 24

Bean Blossom Blues Festival

Morgantown, Indiana, USA

beanblossomblues.com

Aug. 24

Crossroads Blues Festival at Lyran Park

Rockford, Illinois, USA

crossroadsbluesfestival.com

Aug. 24

Playing with Fire Free Summer Concert

Omaha, Nebraska, USA

playingwithfireomaha.net

Aug. 24

Marion County Blues & BBQ Festival

Marion, Ohio, USA

trublues975.com/event/4th-annual-marion-county-blues-bbq-festival

Aug. 30 - 31

Fishers Blues Fest

Fishers, Indiana, USA

playfishers.com/bluesfest

Aug. 30 - 31

Peoria Blues & Heritage Music Festival

Peoria, Illinois, USA

peoriabluesandheritagefestival.com

Rentiesville , Oklahoma, USA

dcminnerblues.com

Black Prairie Blues Festival

West Point, Mississippi, USA

blackprairiebluesfetival.com

Aug. 30 - Sept. 1 Marquette Area Blues Fest

Marquette , Michigan, USA

marquetteareabluessociety.org

Hot Springs Blues Festival

Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA

spacityblues.org

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

jazzvictoria.ca/blues-bash

Aug. 30 - Sept. 1 Rentiesville Dusk til Dawn Blues Festival Aug. 30 Aug. 31

Aug. 31 - Sept. 2 Vancouver Island Blues Bash Sept. 1

Bowlful of Blues

Newton, Iowa, USA

southskunkblues.org

Sept. 5 - 8

Big Blues Bender

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

bigbluesbender.com

Sept. 6 - 8

Windy City Blues Fest

Lyons, Illinois, USA

windycitybluesfest.org

Sept. 6 - 8

Tim Hortons Southside Shuffle Blues & BBQ Festival

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

southsideshuffle.ca

Sept. 7

San Diego Blues Festival

San Diego, California, USA

sdbluesfest.com

Sept. 8

Blues & BBQ

Brownsburg, Indiana, USA

brownsburgparks.com

Sept. 8

Red, White & Blues

Middleboro, Massachusetts, USA

nebluesfest.com

Sept. 8

South Mountain International Blues Festival

West Orange, New Jersey, USA

southmountainbluesfestival.com

Sept. 13 - 15

Stonebridge Wasaga Beach Blues

Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada

wasagabeachblues.com

Sept. 13 - 14

Niagara Falls Blues Festival, 12th Annual

Niagara Falls, New York, USA

niagarafallsbluesfest.org

Sept. 15

Musical Extravaganza

Berkeley, California, USA

charlottemaxwell.org

Sept. 21

Paxico Blues Festival

Paxico, Kansas, USA

paxicobluesfest.com

Sept. 27 - 28

Bogalusa Blues & Heritage Festival

Bogalusa, Louisiana, USA

bogalusablues.com

Sept. 27 - 28

New Albany Blues Brews & BBQ Festival

New Albany, Indiana, USA

nabbbfest.com

Sept. 28

Paoli Blues Fest 11th Annual

Paoli, Pennsylvania, USA

paolibluesfest.com

Sept. 30 - Oct. 4

European Blues Cruise 2019

Marseilles, France

europeanbluescruise.com

Oct. 3 - 5

Carolina Downhome Blues Festival, 23rd Annual

Camden, South Carolina, USA

fineartscenter.org

Oct. 4 - 5

Chain O' Lakes Blues Festival

Waupaca, Wisconsin, USA

ChainOLakesBluesFestival.com

Oct. 5

Deak's Harmonica Block Party

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

deakharp.com/blockparty

Oct. 5

Blues, Brews, & BBQ in da Parish

Violet, Louisiana, USA

bluesintheparish.com

Oct. 5 - 6

Southern Indiana Bacon And Blues Festival

Laconia, Indiana, USA

SouthernIndianaBaconAndBluesFestival.org

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Blues Festival Guide 2019

2019 BFG Sponsor

DATE

FESTIVAL NAME

CITY/STATE/COUNTRY

WEBSITE

Oct. 9 - 12

King Biscuit Blues Festival

Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, USA

kingbiscuitfestival.com

Oct. 10 - 12

Front Porch Blues

Helena, Arkansas, USA

deltaculturalcenter.com

Oct. 11 - 12

Garvin Gate Blues Festival

Louisville, KY, Kentucky, USA

garvingatebluesfestival.com

Oct. 13

Cat Head Mini Blues Fest II

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

cathead.biz/music-calendar

Oct. 13

Clarksdale Super Blues Sunday

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

cathead.biz/music-calendar

Oct. 17 - 20

Deep Blues Festival

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

deepbluesfest.com

Oct. 18 - 20

Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

crescentcitybluesfest.com

Oct. 20

San Francisco International Boogie Woogie Festival

San Francisco, California, USA

sfboogiewoogiefestival.com

Oct. 21 - 23

Okanagan Blues Camp

Penticton, British Columbia, Canada

okanaganblues.com

Oct. 25 - 27

Lone Star Blues and heritage Festival

Grapeland, Texas, USA

lonestarbluesfest.com

Oct. 26 - 26

Hambone Festival

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

stanstreet.com

Oct. 26 - Nov. 2

Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise #33 Mexican Riviera

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

bluescruise.com

Nov. 1 - 2

Blues Heaven

Frederikshavn, , Denmark

bluesheaven.dk

Nov. 2

Blues Stage st SC Pecan Festival

Florence, South Carolina, USA

florencedowntown.com

Nov. 2

Slidell Jazz and Blues Festival

Slidell, Louisiana, USA

slidelljazzandblues.com

Nov. 2

Tommy Johnson Blues Festival, 14th Annual

Jackson , Mississippi, USA

tommyjohnsonblues.com

Nov. 8 - 10

Signifyin' Blues

Los Angeles, California, USA

SignifyinBlues.com

Nov. 8 - 9

Forgotten Music Festival

Port St. Joe, Florida, USA

forgottenmusicfestival.com

Nov. 9

Dunedin Wines The Blues

Dunedin , Florida, USA

liveacessevents.com

Nov. 15

Gainesville Downtown Blues Concert

Gainesville, Florida, USA

ncfblues.org

Nov. 15

Wisconsin Annual Blues Harmonica Festival 2019

New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA

WisconsinAnnualBluesHarmonicaFestival2019.eventbrite.com

Nov. 22 - 24

Reading Blues Festival

Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

readingbluesfest.com

Dec. 7

Bradenton Blues Festival

Bradenton, Florida, USA

bradentonbluesfestival.org

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