Blues Festival Guide Magazine

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Blues Festival Guide 2016

dba BLUES FESTIVAL GUIDE

In this Magazine

www.BluesFestivalGuide.com

FEATURED FESTIVALS............................... 6-43

PUBLISHED BY RBA Publishing Inc.

P.O. Box 920, Arcata, CA 95518 - 775/846-8238 facebook.com/bluesfestivalguide twitter.com/bluesfestguide

TO HAVE A COPY MAILED TO YOU Send $7.00 ($12.00 overseas) PUBLISHER Kaati: Kaati@BluesFestivalGuide.com EDITOR Irene Johnson BLUES FESTIVAL E-GUIDE NEWSLETTER EDITOR Michele Lundeen SALES MANAGER/MARKETING DIRECTOR Cheryl O’Grady-Yearnshaw: cogblues@att.net EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Bing Futch, Kate Martinelli, Kenny Neal, Tim Parsons, John Porter, Brian Reiser, CC Rider, Ronnie K. Stewart, T. Watts PHOTO & Art CONTRIBUTORS Courtesy B.B. King Museum, Courtesy Chenango Blues Festival, Exclusive Image, Bing Futch, Jae Futch, Rick Gould, Courtesy GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi: photographer Rory Doyle, Courtesy Kenny Neal, Bruce Newman, PHOTOFEST, Wendy Podmenik Darugar, Marco van Rooijen, © Joseph A. Rosen, © Marilyn Stringer, Kurt Swanson, Bob Trester, James Wessel, Bob White/CRW Photography, Holly Whitfield

ADVERTISING SALES Cheryl O’Grady-Yearnshaw, Heather Penrod-Rudd, Tom Andrews

ADVERTISING TRAFFIC COORDINATOR Heather Penrod-Rudd Administrative/Database Management Heather Penrod-Rudd DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Heather Penrod-Rudd DESIGN AND PRODUCTION/WEBSITE Goran Petko/Aqua Design CONSULTANTS Nancy Edwards, Michele Lundeen, Tom Yearnshaw The opinions of the contributors are not necessarily the views of RBA Publishing Inc. Front Cover Here’s high-octane boogie, soul, powerhouse bluesman, the multi-award winning Victor Wainwright, the “Piana from Savannah,” doing what he does best at the 2015 Bonita Blues Festival in Bonita Springs, FL. That’s JP Soars to his right. Victor is a 2016 Blues Music Award Nominee for B.B. King Entertainer of The Year, Band of The Year, and Piano Player of The Year! Everything about him is simply infectious! www.vwwroots.com FRONT COVER PHOTOGRAPHER Soulshine Photographix by Rick Lewis www.SoulshinePhotographix.com

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KBA Festival Recipients .................................................................................. 44 Oakland Walk of Fame by Ronnie K. Stewart .................................................... 46 Mississippi’s GRAMMY Museum by Tim Parsons.................................................. 50 Fueling the Passion for Music by Brian Reiser..................................................... 54 The Dulcimer Pimp by Bing Futch ...................................................................... 56 Barbara Newman Takes Lead by Tim Parsons . ................................................. 60 Nicknames and the Blues by CC Rider ............................................................. 62 Cookin' In Louisiana by Kenny Neal................................................................... 66 Living Legend: Sugar Pie DeSanto by T. Watts................................................... 68 Blues Radio compiled by Irene Johnson................................................................ 70 Cruising to NOLA on a Virgin Voyage by Kate Martinelli..................................... 72 Blues Societies… Join One! ............................................................................. 75 Young Guns Blazing by John Porter................................................................... 76 Plan Your Blues Festival Calendar................................................................... 85

Greetings Fellow Blues Fans!

We are pleased to bring you the 14th annual Blues Festival Guide, which is produced both in print and digital formats once a year. For blues news, music and community updates year round, visit us at bluesfestivalguide.com. Stop by and play on our website – you can listen to music on the jukebox; search for festivals by name, date or city; read the latest blues news from around the world; and find bands, blues societies and more.

We are proud to have the Big Blues Bender as our sponsor this year. Downtown Las Vegas serves as the backdrop for this premier event, which will once again take over the Plaza Hotel & Casino September 8-11, 2016. We know every festival claims to have the top blues artists, but seriously, have you seen the Bender's lineup this year? It's crazy!! Artists perform on three indoor stages and a rooftop pool stage – as producer A.J. Gross likes to say, “Everything, An Elevator Ride Away!”

Our new magazine editor, Irene Johnson, has put together a thoughtful and interesting collection of features to connect you, the reader, to the greater blues community. From a cruise up the Mississippi River, to a family recipe shared by Kenny Neal, to Joe Bonamassa's music education non-profit, to the comprehensive festival calendar, we offer something for everyone. You know that feeling of standing in front of a festival stage, reveling in the camaraderie of your fellow festival-goers as your spirits lift together in response to the music? The Blues Festival Guide is that in print – as Bobby Rush always says, it's "your roadmap to all things blues."

Enjoy!

Kaati, Publisher

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.

2 Left Feet Blues Festival............................. 34 Alpine Country Blues Festival...................... 10 Baja Blues Fest........................................... 28 Bentonia Blues Festival............................... 11 Big Blues Bender........................................ 33 Billtown Blues Festival................................ 13 Black Prairie Blues Fest............................... 31 Bloomington Boogies.................................. 25 Bluefield Blues Festival............................... 29 Blues from the Top..................................... 15 Blues on the Chippewa............................... 22 Blues on the Fox......................................... 10 Bogalusa Blues & Heritage Festival............. 37 Bona Fide Blues Festival............................. 38 Bradenton Blues Festival............................ 43 Bridging the Blues...................................... 37 Bronze Blues & Brews................................ 24 Bukka White Blues Festival......................... 41 Calgary Internation Blues Festival............... 20 California WorldFest................................... 19 Canal Winchester Blues & Ribfest................ 21 Canton Blues Festival.................................. 12 Cape Fear Blues Festival............................. 13 Carolina Blues Festival................................. 7 Chain O' Lakes Blues Festival...................... 38 Chenango Blues Fest................................... 26 Cincy Blues Fest.......................................... 24 Columbia's Blues Festival............................ 41 Crescent City Blues and BBQ Fest.................. 3 Dauphin County Music & Wine Festival....... 12 Daytona Blues Festival............................... 40 Doheny Blues Festival................................. 35 Dusk Til Dawn Blues Festival...................... 32 European Blues Cruise................................ 31 Exit 56 Blues Fest......................................... 9 Fargo Blues Festival................................... 21 Festival Series .......................................... 34 Fountain Blues Fest..................................... 14 Frederikshavn Blues Festival....................... 87 Gainesville Downtown Concert................... 42

Gator by the Bay ........................................ 6 Grassroots Blues Festival............................ 16 Hayward/Russell City Blues Festival........... 18 Heritage Music BluesFest............................ 25 Jammin' in J.C. Blues and Barbecue Festival... 36 Keeping the Blues Alives.............................. 6 King Biscuit Blues Festival........................... 39 Kitchener Blues Festival.............................. 23 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise.............. 63 Little Walter Music Festival........................... 8 Long Beach Bayou Festival......................... 14 Mac Arnold's Cornbread & Collard Greens Blues Festival.................................. 43 Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival.... 27 Mammoth Festival of Beers & Bluesapalooza... 22 Mighty Mississippi Music Festival................ 39 Mississippi Valley Blues Festival................. 15 Navasota Bluesfest.................................... 23 Nickel Plate 4th Annual Blues Fest.............. 32 Roadhouse BluesFest Summer Music Festival... 19 Russian River Jazz and Blues Festival......... 35 San Diego Blues Festival............................. 36 Seafood Blues and Jazz Festival................. 41 Simply Jazz and Blues Festival.................... 26 Simply Texas Blues Festival.......................... 7 Spa City Blues Festival................................ 33 Spirit of Kansas Blues Festival.................... 16 Steppingstone Blues and Brews Festival...... 20 T-Bone Walker Blues Festival........................ 9 Tall City Blues Fest...................................... 17 Thunder Bay Blues Festival......................... 17 Trinidaddio Blues Fest................................. 30 Waukesha BluesFest................................... 27 White Mountain Boogie n' Blues Festival..... 29

The King of the Bender, Tab Benoit, slaying his fans at the 2015 Big Blues Bender!

Photo by ŠErikkabik.com/Šerik_kabik

The publisher, the venues, the promoters and the musicians are not responsible for any changes or cancellation of events.

So call before you go & have a bluesy time!

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May 5 - 8

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Gator by the Bay

San Diego, CA

Keeping the Blues Alive Various Cities

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May 14

Simply Texas Blues Festival

May 21 Carolina Blues Festival

San Angelo, TX

Greensboro, NC

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May 27-28 Little Walter Music Festival Alexandria, LA

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May 28 - 29 Exit 56 Blues Fest

Brownsville, TN

June 3 - 4 T-Bone Walker Blues Festival Longview, TX

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June 17 - 18

Blues on the Fox Aurora, IL

June 17 - 19 Alpine Country Blues Festival Alpine, AZ

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June 18

Bentonia Blues Festival

Bentonia, MS

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June 10 - 11 Canton Blues Festival Canton, OH

June 11 - 12

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Dauphin County Music & Wine Festival Harrisburg, PA

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June 17 - 19 Cape Fear Blues Festival

June 18

Wilmington, NC

Billtown Blues Festival Hughesville, PA

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June 18 - 19 Long Beach Bayou Festival Long Beach, CA

June 25

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Fountain Blues Fest

San Jose, CA

June 25 - 26

July 1 - 2

Blues from the Top

Winter Park, CO

Mississippi Valley Blues Festival

Davenport, MS

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July 4

July 8 - 9

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Spirit of Kansas Blues Festival Topeka, KS

Grassroots Blues Festival

Duck Hill, MS

July 8 - 10 Tall City Blues Fest

Midland, TX

July 9 Thunder Bay Blues Festival Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

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July 9 - 10 Hayward/Russell City Blues Festival Hayward, CA

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July 14 - 17 California WorldFest

Grass Valley, CA

July 16 Roadhouse BluesFest Summer Music Festival

Magnolia, DE

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July 23

Steppingstone Blues and Brews Festival Havre de Grace, MD

July 28 - 31 Calgary International Blues Festival Calgary, AB, Canada

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July 29 - 30 Canal Winchester Blues & Ribfest Canal Winchester, OH

July 29 - 30

Fargo Blues Festival

Fargo, ND

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Aug 4 - 7 Mammoth Festival of Beers & Bluesapalooza

Aug 5 - 7

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Blues on the Chippewa

Mammoth Lakes, CA

Durand, WI

Aug 4 - 7

Aug 12 - 13

Kitchener Blues Festival

Navasota Bluesfest

Kitchener, ON, Canada

Navasota, TX

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Aug 12 - 13

Bronze Blues & Brews

Joseph, OR

Aug 12 - 13 Cincy Blues Fest Cincinnati, OH

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Aug 12 - 14 Heritage Music BluesFest

Aug 14

Bloomington Boogies

Wheeling, WV

Bloomington, IN

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Aug 19 - 21

Simply Jazz and Blues Festival

Aug 19 - 20 Chenango Blues Fest

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Beckley, WV

Norwich, NY

Aug 12 - 13

Waukesha BluesFest

Delafield, WI

Aug 19 - 20

Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival

Madison, IN

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Aug 19 - 21

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Baja Blues Fest Rosarito, Baja

Aug 19 - 21

Aug 27

White Mountain Boogie n' Blues Festival Thornton, NH

Bluefield Blues Festival

Bluefield, WV

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Aug 27 Trinidaddio Blues Fest Trinidad, CO

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Aug 27 - Sept 1 European Blues Cruise

Sept 2

Black Prairie Blues Fest

Marseilles, France

West Point, MS

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Sept 2 - 3

Nickel Plate 4th Annual Blues Fest

Sept 3 - 5

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Fishers, IN

Dusk Til Dawn Blues Festival Rentiesville, OK

Sept 3 - 4

Sept 8 - 11

Spa City Blues Festival Hot Springs, AR

Big Blues Bender Las Vegas, NV

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Sept 17

Sept 17 - Oct 2

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2 Left Feet Blues Festival

Festival Series

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Middlefield, CT

Greenville-Washington County, MS

Sept 10 - 11 Russian River Jazz and Blues Festival

Guerneville, CA

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Sept 10

Sept 23 - 24

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San Diego Blues Festival

Jammin' in J.C. Blues and Barbecue Festival

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San Diego, CA

Junction City, KS

Sept 23 - 24

Sept 30 - Oct 8

Bogalusa Blues & Heritage Festival

Bogalusa, LA

Bridging the Blues

Greenville, MS

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Sept 30 - Oct 1

Bona Fide Blues Festival

Oct 7 - 8 Chain O' Lakes Blues Festival

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Memphis, TN

Waupaca, WI

Sept 30 - Oct 2

Oct 5 - 8

Mighty Mississippi Music Festival

Greenville, MS

King Biscuit Blues Festival Helena, AR

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Oct 7 - 9

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Daytona Blues Festival

Daytona, FL

Oct 8 - 9

Seafood Blues and Jazz Festival Carolina Beach, NC

Oct 15 Columbia's Blues Festival Columbia, SC

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Oct 14 - 15

Nov 4

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Bukka White Blues Festival Aberdeen, MS

Gainesville Downtown Concert

Gainesville, FL

Dec 3

Bradenton Blues Festival

Bradenton, FL

May 12-14

Mac Arnold's Blues Festival

Key Largo, FL

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Celebrating Two Special Blues Festivals Every year, the Blues Foundation presents Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) awards to both an international and a U.S. blues festival, in recognition of their significant contributions to the blues community. This year, honors went to the Cahors Blues Festival and the Chenango Blues Festival.

Cahors Blues Festival

Chenango Blues Festival

Founded in 1982 by Gérard Tertre, the Cahors Blues Festival is the oldest blues festival in France. Tens of thousands of people from all over Europe are attracted every July to Cahors, France, for the festival’s free afternoon concerts, evening main stage concerts, and “blues in the city” evening in which Cahors’ sidewalk cafes and restaurants host blues performances, giving Cahors the look of a town in the Mississippi Delta. Not only does the festival feature renowned Delta bluesmen and Memphis artists, but it also reveals little-known musicians to the public through its talent competition. Organized and implemented by thousands of passionate and enthusiastic volunteers over the past 30+ years, the festival is deeply dedicated to promoting the culture and further development of the blues.

In 2006, Robert Mauriès became the festival’s president and CEO to continue Tertre’s vision. In 2014, Cahors was granted a Mississippi Trail Marker, the second in Europe. Johnny Winter’s last performance was on the Cahors Blues Festival stage in 2014 and a year later, Mauriès inaugurated a street of Cahors in his name to commemorate the artist. In 2015, the European Blues Union awarded Mauriès and the Cahors Blues Festival with the Behind The Stage European Award. And now in 2016, the Cahors Blues Festival is honored to receive the Keeping the Blues Alive award.

This year’s festival is July 12th-16th and features artists including Shakura S’Aida, Vintage Trouble, Taj Mahal, Eric Bibb and JJ Milteau, Sugaray Rayford, Gaelle Buswel and The JB’s – The Original James Brown Band featuring Martha High. For more information, visit www.cahorsbluesfestival. com or find them on Facebook!

The Chenango Blues Festival in Norwich, NY, is a nonprofit event run entirely by a group of volunteers committed to presenting music “by fans, for fans.” What began as an afternoon event with four bands has evolved into a two-day festival drawing artists and fans from around the country to the beautiful Chenango valley to enjoy world class musicians, great food and craft vendors, children’s activities and on-site camping.

This year, the 24th Annual Chenango Blues Festival kicks off with a free concert on Friday, August 19th. Headliner Davina and the Vagabonds, a show-stopping band playing music rooted in early 20th century blues and jazz, will be preceded by young British guitar slinger, Laurence Jones. Saturday will feature nine bands on two stages with artists such as Canned Heat, Carolyn Wonderland, Curtis Salgado and more.

A unique feature of the festival is their tent stage, where many performers play acoustic style. One act you won’t want to miss is the Northwest roots music duo Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons, winners of the 2016 International Blues Challenge Solo/Duo division.

The Chenango Blues Festival is something of a throwback – operating without paid staff or profit motive, it’s about as different from the mega music events as you can get. It’s friendly, inexpensive and everything about it is comfortable. The familyfriendly vibe has helped attract a great group of attendees whose networking has largely fueled the event’s growth over the years. “By fans, for fans” is a street that happily runs both ways.

Full information on this year’s festival can be found at www.chenangobluesfest.org, or look them up on Facebook.

They would love to see you this August to help them celebrate this year’s Keeping the Blues Alive Award!

Robert Mauriès (center), President and CEO of the Cahors Blues Festival, celebrates their KBA award, joined here by Blues Foundation’s Barbara Newman and Paul Benjamin Photo by James Wessel

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Fans flock to the beautiful site of the Chenango Blues Festival to enjoy a wide variety of artists Photo courtesy Chenango Blues Festival

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The Music They Played on 7th Street

Oakland Walk of Fame

By Ronnie K. Stewart, Executive Director, West Coast Blues Society

The Music They Played on 7th Street Oakland Walk of Fame pays tribute to the great musicians, club owners, record companies and related independent businesses that put 7th Street in Oakland, CA, on the map as a top entertainment destination.

Over the years, a plethora of top performers – some already established and some just starting their careers – graced the famed entertainment district. Such performers included Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Sugar Pie DeSanto, B.B. King, Nat King Cole, Louis Jordan, Etta James, Ike and Tina Turner, Sammy Davis, Jr., Big Mama Thornton, Lowell Fulson and many more.

The Flynn Saloon opened in 1886 and was the first social place on 7th Street (then called Railroad Ave.). However, it wasn’t until 1918, with the opening of Sid Deering’s Creole Café – a famous venue of New Orleans-style jazz and big band dance – that 7th Street began to gain notoriety.

Lenny Williams, soul crooner and Oakland native, was one of 85 artists honored with a plaque Photo by Bob White/ CRW Photography

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Gathered for the Walk of Fame’s unveiling in March 2015, (l to r) “Terrible” Tom Bowden, vocalist and unofficial Mayor of West Oakland; Pastor Greggory Brown, of Oakland’s Miracles of Faith Community Church; Ronnie K. Stewart, Executive Director of the West Coast Blues Society; City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney; Mayor Libby Schaaf; and Henry Delton Williams, celebrity clothing designer and community activist. Photo by Bob White/ CRW Photography

Special recognition must also be given to club owners Harold “Slim” Jenkins and Esther Mabry. Jenkins opened Slim Jenkins Supper Club on the day Prohibition ended in 1933, and the club quickly became the place to “see and be seen.” Operated

by Esther and William Mabry, the landmark Esther’s Orbit Room operated for over 40 years, the longest running club on 7th Street. Esther, the grand dame of 7th Street, was able to continue the club’s operation by evolving her soul food breakfast club into a popular cocktail bar and restaurant showcasing live music.

7th Street was the entertainment and social center for the local African American community, and these two remarkable venues were the heart and soul of it.

7th Street shined into the 1970s, affectionately referred to as “The Harlem of the West Coast,” where world-class entertainers performed nightly in its lively clubs, bars and dance halls that lined the thoroughfare. Established and upcoming artists flocked to 7th Street because its clubs and businesses offered good pay and steady work. The style of music varied from blues, R&B, gospel and jazz to supper club music.

Time passed and urban renewal destroyed the entire 7th Street corridor. As a testament to the history of one of the most important entertainment districts in the U.S., The Music They Played on 7th Street Oakland Walk of Fame unveiled its first installation in 2015. It currently consists of 88 bronze plaques dedicated to 7th Street legends and the organizations that were fundamental in implementing this project. Funding has already been secured for another 120 plaques that will be installed at the site of the Slim Jenkins Supper Club. Come visit the Walk of Fame and pay homage to those who created, produced, presented and played America’s indigenous musical art forms.

Oakland, CA, native Ronnie K. Stewart – guitarist turned historian, music teacher and blues community activist – founded the Bay Area Blues Society and the West Coast Blues Society, the latter of which he serves as the executive director. Stewart produces three major festivals that have been held annually for 17 years, as well as the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame & Award Show.

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More than 2,000 people attended the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi’s grand opening celebrations Photo courtesy GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi, Photographer Rory Doyle

GRAMMY Museum Opens in Blues Epicenter

By Tim Parsons It’s been said, “If you don’t dig the blues, you have a hole in your soul.” The movers and shakers at the Recording Academy also say: If you don’t know about the blues, you don’t know the whole history of American music.

On March 5, 2016, the Recording Academy opened the doors of the GRAMMY Museum in Cleveland, Mississippi, the epicenter of where blues music and its offshoots – jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll – began. The museum is the second GRAMMY Museum in the nation, the first opened in Los Angeles in 2008.

The outside of the museum is adorned like a metal sharecropper’s cabin and the expansive front porch and lobby are decorated in tile that emulates cypress wood. It is a blend of modern and historical Mississippi. More than 5,600 people visited the museum in its first five weeks.

“Many people are surprised by how many items and exhibits are interactive with touch screen and audio, and can be experienced by listening, touching and reading,” said Executive Director Emily Havens. “The Music Table is probably our biggest success. You can explore music and discover where different forms of music in Mississippi come from, as well as the artists, songwriters and people in the music industry who have shaped what Mississippi has given to the world. The technology is really unbelievable.”

The 15 permanent exhibits include Mono To Surround, which allows visitors to hear the evolution of sound; History Of Dance, featuring a touch-sensitive, multicolored dance floor and tutorial video; and an interactive exhibit allowing visitors to produce a record with contemporary bluesman Keb’ Mo’.

Others, such as the Mississippi Music Legends, Mississippi Music Bar and Mississippi Music Trail And Timeline exhibits, explore Mississippi’s musical heritage and contribution to American music culture. While some visitors spend an hour or two at the

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museum, there are several 17 to 22-minute films offered in a 130seat theater, along with countless artifacts and extensive archives to peruse – so visitors might want to plan their trip for a full day.

“The response from the public has been overwhelming,” Havens said. “We’ve had visitors from all over the world. And students of all ages have come from as far away as Lawrence, KS, to experience it and to learn where American music was born in this state, in all of its different forms.”

The blues was born on the Mississippi Delta, and the site of the GRAMMY Museum is a most appropriate location. It’s just five miles from Dockery Farms cotton plantation where Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf and Pops Staples had lived.

The site is also located on the Delta State University campus, a school with just 4,000 students but offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Entertainment with 90 different majors. Students can minor in Blues Studies, which someday will be offered as a major, according to the Director of the Entertainment Industry Program, Trisha Walker, who played an integral role in the creation of the GRAMMY Museum.

“This is the academic home of the blues and all that surrounds it – heritage, foods, landscapes – everything that contributed to the blues,” said Walker.

A native of Mississippi, Walker was a songwriter and entertainer in Nashville, TN, for 26 years before moving back home nearly a decade ago. Shortly after her return, she and civic leaders brainstormed the idea of building a music museum of some kind in Cleveland. They had a donor with artifacts, but that project didn’t come to fruition. However, blues preservation advocate Allan Hammons was undaunted.

Hammons was the person behind the creation of the interpretive Mississippi Blues Trail which opened in 2006 and continues to grow. He was also the main visionary for the B.B.

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King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, which opened its doors in 2008 in Indianola, MS. “If there is any one person who really helped get this vision to reality – a lot of people raised a lot of money, but in terms of the vision – I would point to Allan,” Walker said. “He is tremendously creative.”

Walker and Hammons started the non-profit Cleveland Music Foundation in 2011. Soon thereafter, they contacted the Recording Academy, also known as the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the major music industry organization perhaps best known for its GRAMMY Awards.

“The GRAMMY people were impressed that there was a

Miss Mississippi and youth learn iconic dances in the interactive History of Dance exhibit Photo courtesy GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi, Photographer Rory Doyle

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group of civic leaders, county leaders and even people at the state level that wanted to do this,” Walker said. “The Los Angeles museum was very interested in having a museum on or near a college campus, particularly one that has a recording program, and would let the state foot the bill.”

Funding for the $20 million museum was split almost equally from three sources: the state of Mississippi, Bolivar County and the city of Cleveland, and $8 million from private donations.

“It makes sense to have it here because the Mississippi Delta is considered the birthplace of American music, and, of course, the Delta blues being the genesis of so many great forms of American music,” Walker said. “Mississippi’s Elvis Presley is the king of rock and roll, Jimmie Rodgers is the king of country music and the king of the blues, of course, is B.B. King.”

The executive director of the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, Bob Santelli, agreed. “You take the state of Mississippi out of American music history and you have a very large gap to fill,” Santelli told the Associated Press, which also reported the museum could generate around $20 million a year in tourist revenue to the region.

Dedicated to “celebrat[ing] the enduring legacies of all forms of music; the creative process; the art and technology of the recording process; and the history of the Grammy Awards,” as stated on its website, the GRAMMY Museum encourages visitors to “explore the past, present and future of music, and the cultural context from which it emerges.”

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Fueling the Passion for Music Bonamassa promotes music education first-hand at his in-school clinic Photo by Marco van Rooijen

By Brian Reiser Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation fuels the passion for music by funding programs and scholarships for students and teachers who possess the desire for quality music education but lack the resources.

Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation was founded by bluesrock guitar star Joe Bonamassa in order to foster and cultivate a love of music in future generations and to help them acquire the musical skills that will benefit them in all areas of life. As blues and blues-rock have been inspirational forms of music for Joe since he was a small child, the blues genre is the vehicle through which he most often expresses himself musically and, in terms of this organization, inspired its name.

Why is music education so important? For one, research shows that music education enhances students’ abilities to comprehend and excel in other subjects, increases their skills in other areas of life and helps to develop language skills in young students. Evidence supports the notion that music education can increase I.Q. It enhances general cognitive development by forming unique neural pathways in the brain, improves spatialtemporal skills and leads to higher scores on standardized testing. Being musical and learning about music also taps into the creativity of the human mind, one of the cornerstones of all cultures. The cliché that music is a universal language is very much true – it speaks to all of our hearts and enhances all of our lives in one way or another.

As an organization, Keeping The Blues Alive (KTBA) makes a difference by helping to finance musical resources in disadvantaged schools and by offering scholarships to students who would not otherwise be able to finance a music education.

To further this mission, KTBA partners with such enterprises as

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Guitar Center, Ernie Ball and the J&R Adventures record label.

For example, KTBA has created a scholarship for Musicians Institute (MI) – the College of Contemporary Music in Hollywood – called the Joe Bonamassa Torch Bearer Scholarship, offering $35,000 in tuition credit to support the educational growth of a newly enrolling MI Guitar Program student.

In the public education sector, KTBA instills the message that music is a critical asset to any public education curriculum by spreading awareness about the benefits of adding arts to the core fields of studies – science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – that are integrated in the classroom. The positive return of investing in the arts can be measured both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Just recently, KTBA announced its third annual music festival with Sixthman and Norwegian Cruise Lines, called Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea. The last cruise was able to raise over $52,000 to help fund KTBA weekly programming and scholarships!

Approximately $20,000 of this money was donated by Joe Bonamassa, $5,000 was donated by Norwegian Cruise Lines, and over $25,000 was raised through the generosity of the cruise guests from their direct donations and participation in various foundation activities aboard the ship. All in all, a great success!

Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation often receives letters of gratitude from teachers and students alike. For example, Mrs. Arellano from Chicago, IL, wrote, “In my name, my teacher’s assistant’s and my future students for next school year’s name, we would love to thank you for your kindness in giving us new musical instruments. I am pretty sure that they will love to play these new instruments during our music time next school year.

Especially playing new, different, and cultural instruments that probably they have never seen nor heard before in their lives.” And one student from Muncie, IN, wrote, “Without your donation our band wouldn’t be possible! Thank you so much for supporting our classroom and for giving us the gift of music!”

Blues – the unique American art form – has evolved over the Joe Bonamassa, founder of Keeping The Blues past 100 years from Alive Foundation Photo by Rick Gould African American poetry, spirituals and work-songs into a thriving musical movement that incorporates a wide array of musical elements and inspiration. In fact, many genres of music, including jazz, rock, R&B and soul, can trace their roots back to the blues. Joe’s personal experience and growth within the blues/rock community over the past 20+ years is reflected in the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation. The website offers a wealth of information about both blues history and contemporary blues, in the interest of continuing to foster a love and passion for the music.

KTBA preaches the message that although music is an innate and accessible outlet for creativity, realizing your dreams in the music industry requires discipline, perseverance and extreme dedication. Becoming a professional musician is a difficult task, and requires an amazing amount of ambition, discipline, education and even financial resources. It is KTBA’s mission to help students achieve their goals as aspiring musicians and help get them on the path to success. Today’s music students are tomorrow’s opera singers, first violinists, maestros and blues guitarists. It is never too early to begin aiding these students on the path to musical success, which in turn helps to breed success in all the various facets of their lives.

To date, KTBA has donated over $100K in every state in the country. Eight scholarships have provided students access to higher education, and over 35,000 students have gained access to new instruments, sheet music, supplies and field trips!

If you would like to help Joe Bonamassa keep music alive in schools by making a donation or if you know a school that could use some “TLC” in their music department, please visit keepingthebluesalive.org to learn how to get involved!

Brian Reiser currently works as the content manager for J&R Adventures and as a copywriter for Keeping The Blues Alive. Before his writing career, Brian earned degrees in both management and philosophy, but he’s always had a passion for music. Favorite blues artists include Joe Bonamassa, Keb’ Mo’, Joanne Shaw Taylor and, of course, B.B. King.

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Bing Futch:

The Dulcimer Pimp

By Bing Futch

Bing Futch on Beale St. in Memphis, TN, where he won "Best Solo Guitar" at the 2016 IBC Photo by Jae Futch

When I take one of my mountain dulcimers out of its case, the first question people usually ask is, “What the heck is that?” Folks who haven’t spent time journeying the highways and backroads of the Appalachian region probably wouldn’t be familiar with the traditional lap instrument that can be found hanging just about everywhere you look. The Appalachian mountain dulcimer, also known as mountain dulcimer, dulcimore or hog fiddle, is a fretted string instrument related to the German zither and scheitholt. It also shares possible origins with the Norwegian langeleik, the Swedish hummel and the French epinette des vosges. It usually has three or four string courses that stretch along a fretboard running the length of a traditionally hourglass or teardrop-shaped body. The unusual fret pattern, featuring wide and narrow spaces, comes from its diatonic configuration. Based on a basic seven-

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note major scale, the traditional mountain dulcimer is missing five notes that are normally found on guitars, mandolins, banjos and other chromatic fretted instruments. Due to a scarcity of written records on the instrument, historians have had to try and fill in the gaps regarding its development.

The mountain dulcimer first appeared in the early 19th century where Scottish and Irish immigrants had settled in the Appalachian Mountains. Lacking the tools and skills to build the more popular violin, researchers theorize that the mountain dulcimer was a blend of old world memories and designed in the easiest way possible. Often called “a bagpipe with strings,” players would sit the dulcimer on their lap and strum using a feathered quill. The other hand held a small piece of wood called a noter, sliding it up and down the string closest to the player.

The other two strings were left to drone open like a bagpipe, and its distinct hypnotic sound worked perfectly for playing fiddle tunes and hymns.

The mountain dulcimer languished in relative obscurity until the late ‘50s when folk songstress Jean Ritchie brought it out of the Kentucky hills and onto stages in New York City. Richard Farina, who was a friend and contemporary of Bob Dylan, is often cited by many dulcimer players as the man who brought the instrument to their attention. In the ‘70s, Joni Mitchell popularized The mountain dulcimer first alternate tunings on the mountain appeared in the early 19th dulcimer, using the instrument to century in the Appalachian Mountains Photo by Bing Futch compose and perform songs such as “California” and “A Case of You.” Many years later, Texas-born David Schnaufer brought the humble instrument to Nashville, TN, where he was featured on albums by Johnny Cash, The Judds, Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. Perhaps the most high-profile artist to take up playing the mountain dulcimer is pop diva Cyndi Lauper, who was a student of Schnaufer and used it to compose her hits “Time After Time” and “True Colors.”

I first encountered the mountain dulcimer in 1986 as a 17-year-old budding musician working at Knott’s Berry Farm theme park in California. I was fascinated with the dulcimer’s sound and ease of play, and it’s been my main songwriting and performance tool for 30 years. Modern dulcimers are equipped with extra frets, specialized body designs and electronics. There are a number of models that include banjo-style, cello-style and even resonators. As a full-time touring musician who specializes in Americana music, I’ve taken the mountain dulcimer from one side of the country to the other, performing in concert, presenting at school and library programs and teaching workshops on how to play it.

In 2015, I competed in the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, TN, and, using only my double-fretboard and resonator dulcimers, advanced to the semifinals. Before then, the only mountain dulcimer I’d heard at the IBC was played

by David Kimbrough III, son of blues legend Junior Kimbrough.

When I asked David how the instrument was received when he competed in 2002, he replied, “Well, the judges didn’t really understand, but what are you gonna do?”

When I returned to the IBC in 2016, it became clear that the judges were feeling very favorable about roots-based blues, whether by style, content or instrumentation. It felt fantastic to make the semifinals once again and was extremely satisfying to advance to the finals. But anyone at The Orpheum Theatre on Saturday night knows I was completely mind-blown when I was

named the winner of the solo-duo “Best Guitar” award. Holy cow! I’m still pinching myself over that one.

One of the reasons I entered the IBC was to expose a new audience to the Appalachian mountain dulcimer. I like to think of myself as a dulcimer pimp; someone who enjoys turning people onto its charms. My goal is to see a mountain dulcimer in every household, because I think strumming this little three-stringed wonder is one of life’s most sublime joys. To demonstrate that the blues can be played on it has also become a passion. I’ve taught Mississippi Delta Blues workshops from California to New York, publishing Blues Method For Mountain Dulcimer 101 along the way and recording the album Unresolved Blues, using it as the primary instrument. It truly is a remarkable thing and a warmly expressive tool for the guitarist's toolbox. My IBC win has already resulted in a flurry of new bookings at blues festivals across the country, and I’m looking forward to taking the mountain dulcimer into new settings to be heard by new audiences. If you see me at a festival, be sure to stop me and ask to see one. Once I get it into your hands, you’re going to fall in love just like so many others have.

You’ll want one and I’ll hook you up. That’s just what a dulcimer pimp does.

Bing Futch is a full-time musician who has also worked as a print journalist. His work has appeared in The Orlando Weekly, Connections, Ink-19, InSite, Axis and Jam. He lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife, Jae. www.bingfutch.com.

Author Bing Futch describes playing the dulcimer as “one of life's most sublime joys.”

Photo by Bob Trester

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Barbara Newman: Barbara Newman became the Blues Foundation’s President and CEO in late 2015 Photo by Holly Whitfield

Taking Lead of the Blues Foundation

By Tim Parsons Through a window in her new office, Barbara Newman can look across a hallway and see an art exhibit.

“I am staring at Charlie Musselwhite’s face,” she said.

“Charlie and I have a thing going on right now. He doesn’t realize this, but we’ve got a thing happening. His eyes are closed but mine are open. We’re simpatico here.”

The lifecast of Musselwhite is one of 40 pieces on temporary display upstairs at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, TN, – the headquarters for the Blues Foundation and Blues Hall of Fame, which opened in 2015. Newman became the organization’s president and CEO on October 1 that same year, replacing Jay Sieleman, who held the job for nearly 13 years after he saved the not-for-profit organization from financial ruin.

“The transition’s been really great, and I have to give a big shout out to Jay,” Newman said. “It’s an absolute gift to be able to walk into an organization that has a solid base because it allows me to be very creative. It opened doors for me to be creative about ways to grow, engage and build upon what’s here, rather than having to narrow my focus to keeping the doors open.”

Years ago, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the first blues artist to strike a chord for Newman. “She opened the doors for me to all of that acoustic, older blues music, and the door got wider and wider,” she said. “It’s a huge door and it’s been a really fun one to walk through.”

The job is a perfect match for Newman, an Ivy Leagueeducated financial expert and a fourth-generation Memphis resident. She’s been around music her whole life; her uncle Eddie Freudberg was a session violin player at Stax Records. Newman studied economics and political science at Brown University, and upon graduation, went to work at the New York National Westminster Bank.

“I read lots of financial statements and learned how to analyze them and ended up a middle market lender,” she said. “I managed a $40 million loan portfolio and was an account executive that worked with mostly West Side Manhattan

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businesses.” One of those businesses was the Power Station, a recording studio partly owned by Tony Bon Jovi, the cousin of the rock musician Jon Bon Jovi. Here, she learned the financial side of running a recording studio, plus, she also got to meet artists like David Bowie.

In 1986, she married Bruce Newman, an entertainment attorney who had a list of clients that included jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan and doo-wap singer Earl “Speedoo” Carroll of Speedoo and the Cadillacs. After the Newmans had a child, they moved to Memphis in 1989, where there were plenty of music business opportunities for Bruce. The couple collaborated to present musical programs as fundraising events: the first, a Woody Guthrie retrospective at Theatre Memphis starring artists such as Richie Havens, Odetta and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot.

“We’ve done large events and small events,” she said. “We went through the folklore and that opened me up to the blues more.”

Barbara Newman worked with various not-for-profit organizations, including eight years as the executive director of a synagogue.

“Any not-for-profit, whether it’s faith-based or a general not-for-profit, has the same structure, dealing with budgets and strategic plans and facility management,” she said. “You are dealing with meeting the needs of lots of members, while also trying to fulfill the mission of the organization at the same time.”

One of the first projects under Newman’s direction with the Blues Foundation was to rewrite the mission statement to four concise goals: “To preserve blues heritage. To celebrate blues recording and performance. To expand worldwide awareness of the blues. To ensure the future of this uniquely American art form.”

The Blues Foundation is a multimillion dollar operation that presents two major events, the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in late January and the Blues Music Awards (BMA) in early May. Newman had a full month to meet people and learn about the Blues Foundation, and then she spent another two weeks in

office with Sieleman before she officially went to work. Sieleman remains with the organization as a consultant.

“Jay’s been extremely available and accessible,” she said.

“He’s helped close out some things that he’d started. Some of the different award processes were already begun before I walked in the door; he stuck around and helped close them out. It’s given me a little more space to get up to speed. This transition will probably be the most intense year since everything’s taking a little longer to do because I have to learn what I’m doing.”

The IBC this year, which had 257 acts with nearly 900 musicians from 14 countries, went “phenomenally well,” Newman said. Newman and the Foundation’s Board President Paul Benjamin made a point to squeeze into each of the 20 venues on the opening night to welcome everyone.

“I learned that I have an amazing staff. Everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to do. I needed to be able to trust what they do because it’s a giant operation… I am a person who needs eight hours of sleep each night. That was the thing I was most nervous about – how I could make it Tuesday through Sunday with that little amount of sleep. But I was so energized by the IBCs that I didn’t even realize I wasn’t sleeping.”

While overseeing the Blues Foundation is a daunting task, it’s one that seems ideal for Newman. During her short commute to 421 S. Main Street, she listens to music. The CDs in her car at the moment are Buddy Guy, Harrison Kennedy and Shakura S’Aida, and, of course, there is WEVL, a blues-based volunteer radio station that features a Wednesday morning folk show hosted by Bruce Newman.

“Music is key, but the blues represents a very important part of American history,” Barbara Newman said. “It’s something that we have to be aware of, and we have to respect and honor it by keeping the music in the forefront. That’s what we’re doing.”

Tim Parsons is the 2011 recipient of the Blues Foundation’s Keeping the Blues Alive award for Journalism. He lives at Lake Tahoe and is the editor-in-chief of the online music magazine Tahoe Onstage, www.tahoeonstage.com. He also is a contributing writer for Blues Music Magazine.

Newman with statue of Little Milton in front of the Blues Hall of Fame Photo by Bruce Newman

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Kings and Queens, Dogs and T-Bones:

Nicknames and the Blues

By CC Rider Stage names are common in the music industry, but nowhere are they so prevalent – and so colorful – as in the blues. Of course you’ve got the Big and the Little, the Slim and the Blind – but there are far more than that. Ever wondered how your favorite blues musician got his or her name? I’ll tell ya. Here’s a list of some of the most famous blues men and women, their pseudonyms, and how they got ‘em.

Riley B. King a.k.a B.B. King Photo courtesy B.B. King Museum

B.B. King: King of the Blues, Riley B. King got his start at a Memphis radio station while working as a singer and disc jockey. It was on air that he took the name now synonymous with the blues: “All the deejays had nicknames, so the station started calling me the Beale Street Blues Boy," he said. "That was three Bs and it was a mouthful. Soon I was getting letters to just the Blues Boy...

From Blues Boy it was shortened to just Bee Bee, and then B.B.” And that’s how we came to know B.B. King.

Koko Taylor: Queen of the Blues Cora Walton Taylor’s story is much simpler than that. She got her name Koko ‘cause she loved chocolate!

Cora Walton Taylor a.k.a Koko Taylor Photo by Ÿ Marilyn Stringer

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T-Bone Walker: The origin of Aaron “T-Bone” Walker’s stage name is pretty straightforward.

Take his middle name – Thibeaux – and consider that it’s French, so it’s pronounced “Tee-Bo.” Not so much of a stretch to T-Bone from there. And that’s pretty tasty.

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Skip James: Nehemiah Curtis James is a pretty heavy handle for everyday use. So Mr. James took the name Skip. It’s said the Bentonia-based picker could be like sunshine or lightning at any given moment. “I never was in anything too long or deep,” he once said, “that’s why I reckon they called me Skip.”

Nehemiah Curtis James a.k.a Skip James

Lightnin’ Hopkins: The official story goes that Sam Hopkins got his nickname as many bluesmen did – from a record company. While recording his first session in 1946 with piano-man Wilson Smith, an Aladdin Records exec thought their names could use a little more fire. So he dubbed Smith “Thunder” and Hopkins “Lightnin’.”

But Lightnin’ himself told a different tale – two different ones in fact. The first goes that his mentor Blind Lemon Jefferson gave him the name: “Blind Lemon said that when I sang and played, I electrified people. He was the one that started callin’ me Lightnin’.” And the second? Hopkins told drummer Doyle Bramhall that he took his name after he was struck by, yep, lightning, while sitting on his front porch.

Big Mama Thornton: Singer, songwriter and genderbending pioneer Willie Mae Thornton is better known as “Big Mama” Thornton. Why? She said it – or sang it, rather – best. “Well, they call me Big Mama/ ’Cause I weigh 300 pounds.” That’ll do it.

Willie Mae Thornton a.k.a

Sonny Boy Williamson II: Big Mama Thornton Aleck Miller was called “Rice” by his Photo by PHOTOFEST friends and family. But to the rest of the world, he’s known as Sonny Boy Williamson II. Why Number 2? Well, Miller’s first steady gig was on a popular Arkansas radio station. The show’s promoter wanted to capitalize on the stardom of the reigning Chicago harmonica master, Sonny Boy Williamson, so he did what anyone would do – named Miller after him. History’s tacked on the II to distinguish, but there’s nothing second rate about the second Sonny Boy. Hound Dog Taylor: Theodore Roosevelt Taylor had a pretty good name to start – but someone else had it first. So the six-fingered guitarslinger took a new name, one that fit him better. What do

you get when you got a long face, and you love women? A Hound Dog… A Hound Dog Taylor that is.

Taj Mahal: Living legend Taj Mahal was born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, which was a great given name. But he was inspired to take his stage name following a series of dreams about Gandhi and social progress. (Full disclosure: I’ve been a fan of his for years – and never made the connection to the Indian wonder of the world.)

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks a.k.a Taj Mahal Photo by Ÿ Marilyn Stringer

Muddy Waters: McKinley Morganfield was sent to live with his grandma on the Stovall Plantation just north of Clarksdale, MS, at age three. Soon enough, he developed a penchant for playin’ around in nearby creeks and puddles.

So his grandma started calling him “that little muddy baby.”

The name stuck. As he grew, he took on the “Water,” and as his talent and renown grew along with him, just Water wasn’t enough. So he added the “s” and became Muddy Waters.

Pinetop Smith: Clarence Smith was the first to call his piano style boogiewoogie. He was also the first famous bluesman to call himself Pinetop. But it’s not ‘cause he played a piano with a pine top, as I always thought. As a young man, Clarence was quite the tree climber. Always catchin’ him hangin’ out at the top of pines, his neighbors dubbed him Pinetop.

Howlin’ Wolf: Chester Burnett was a big man. Big Foot Chester and The Bull Cow were one-time nicknames. But it wasn’t his size that got him the moniker he’s famous for. As he tells it himself, it all started with some bad behavior and words of warning from his grandfather: “He gimme that name. He used to sit down and tell me tall stories about what the wolf would do. Cause I was a bad boy you know. And I was always in devilment…I got afraid…[but] they start to call me 'Wolf.' And I get mad about this. So they just kept on callin’ me 'Wolf.' I was three years old…And it upset me, you know what I mean, I didn’t know it was going to be a great name for me.”

These are all great names for sure. Makes me want a new nickname. Do you know any fantastic origin stories of blues names? Let me know what I’m missing.

CC Rider spends her time venerating the mothers and fathers of the blues – the giants on whose shoulders we now stand. Listen to her wax on the Bluesmobile Radio Hour.

Ccriderblues.com

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Cookin' In Louisiana With a Side of Blues Photo by Ÿ Joseph A. Rosen

By Kenny Neal Not only was I brought up with the blues – playing guitar and beating drums around the house as a kid – the kitchen was the next room over and there was always something stewing on the stove. In Louisiana, we have a passion for music, food and fun.

My family loves to cook outside on burners and in big cast iron skillet pots – that way, nobody gets left out, there’s enough food for everyone. We also like to compete against each other when cooking. Nowadays, being the eldest of 10, I sit back and watch my younger siblings cook because they all think they’re the best in the world. They show up for a big cookout, each bringing their own burners and covering their seasonings with duct tape so no one will find out their secret recipe. I have a great time because I leave it up to the young ones now, and I go around tasting the food, telling each one they are the best… to stay on everyone’s good side.

The biggest day for me as a kid growing up was the 4th of July. That was the day my mom relaxed and let my dad do the cooking and barbecuing. After a great day of food and fun, we’d pack up the instruments and go to my uncle’s club called Spooners Place, the only spot where teenagers could go to dance and listen to live music. It’s also where my mom and dad met each other. We always had a great time performing there

The legendary musical Neal family, circa 1970s Photo courtesy Kenny Neal

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for our hometown folks, playing the blues. At the end of the night, it was time for more food, and that’s when my Aunt Gert would be ready to sell you a potato salad, a fried chicken sandwich or a hot sausage link boiled, with a side order of crackers and mustard.

I was brought up with different types of cooks in my family. My grandmother was a slow cook, she believed in taking her time and letting the food simmer. We’d run into the house and ask if the food was ready, and she’d say, “No, and get out of here. Go back into the yard and play.” We would be really hungry when it came to eating time, but it was well worth the wait. My mom is a fast cook, she can whip it up in no time like magic and still does it today – but I guess that’s what happens when you have 10 kids.

Everyday it’s like a meeting at my mom’s house. We go by to visit and there’s always something on the stove. She can’t help it, she just has a passion for cooking and loves to see people enjoy her food. We had a restaurant at the night club called Neal’s Place, and everybody came to buy Mommy’s food. When I’m out and around town, my friends don’t ask me about my touring, they ask me what my mother has cooked, what’s on the menu for today.

My favorite dish is okra, shrimp and sausage over rice.

When I come off the road from touring, I go straight to my mom’s house and she always has okra prepared for me. This dish has been passed down from generations. I learned something about okra when I toured Africa back in the ’90s. I went to a restaurant in Nairobi and noticed the cook was preparing okra, so I asked the waiter about how they prepared it. He said, “This is not okra, this is gumbo.” That’s when it all came together for me, making my connections with Africa. After all the years I’ve been enjoying okra, I never knew it was called gumbo in Africa. Now I know why we’re all so big on gumbo down here in Louisiana – it’s our roots. Gumbo is my other favorite dish to make. A gumbo recipe is mostly just a guideline, it’s really a hands-on situation, eyeballing everything. I think it’s the most fun dish to make because it’s always different every time you make it.

I still do most of the cooking here at home, but I have changed the way I cook. I use less grease, I stay away from frying, but I can still have the same flavor and taste and enjoy my Southern dish. I remember my mother having me stand at the stove stirring

the roux, and I can still hear her say, “Keep stirring, don’t let it burn.” Nowadays, we have instant roux, which saves a lot of time and is healthier. I have to say, it’s pretty close to the real old fashioned cooking; they have mastered it. Also, down here in Louisiana, crawfish wasn’t as big as it is today. It was just for local folks then, like our own secret.

One thing I know for sure, the food here in Louisiana is different from anywhere in the United States. It’s something about our music and food – it goes together. So I’d like to leave you with my favorite recipe: Okra, Shrimp and Sausage. Please enjoy!

Kenny Neal, born in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge, began playing music at a young age. Learning the basics from his father, late singer and blues harmonica master Raful Neal, Kenny has evolved into a multi-award winning artist. He is known as a modern swamp-blues and multi-instrumentalist that draws from the sizzling sounds of his native Louisiana. www.kennyneal.net

Okra, Shrimp and Sausage Recipe 2 pounds cut okra 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 tomato, diced 1 bell pepper, finely chopped 1 big onion, finely chopped 1 stalk celery, finely chopped ½ cup green onions, chopped 1½ pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 pound smoked sausage, cut into quarter pieces Fry okra in oil, and add in vinegar, tomato, bell pepper, onion, celery and green onions. Fry it all about fifteen minutes, then add the sausage, shrimp and half a cup of water. Simmer about fifteen minutes and serve over rice.

Kenny Neal boils crawfish, a staple dish in Louisiana Photo courtesy Kenny Neal

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Living Legend:

Sugar Pie DeSanto

Queen of the West Coast Blues Photo by Ÿ Joseph A. Rosen

By T. Watts When Sugar Pie DeSanto took the stage at the San Francisco Jazz Festival on March 4, 2016, for the Women’s History Month Celebration Concert Series, it definitively marked her seventh decade as a heralded performer. As the daring, diminutive and demonstrative “Queen of the West Coast Blues,” it also gave her viable recognition in her hometown as one of the world’s most valuable entertainers.

Umpeylia Marsema Balinton was born in Brooklyn to a Filipino-American father and an African-American mother on October 16, 1935. The family moved to the Fillmore district of San Francisco when she was a toddler, and the Fillmore was where she cut her musical teeth.

At the age of 14, Peylia, as she was called, started winning talent shows at the Ellis Theater in her neighborhood. She won so many times that management asked her to stop entering.

Undeterred, she traveled to Los Angeles and, at another talent show, caught the attention of R&B impresario Johnny Otis. Otis signed her and produced her first two singles on the Federal record label in 1955, dubbing her “Little Miss Sugar Pie.” Sugar Pie married guitarist Alvin “Pee Wee” Parham a.k.a Pee Wee Kingsley in 1957, and together they recorded sides for the Godfather of Oakland Blues, Bob Geddins. When she and Kingsley recorded “I Want To Know” on Geddins’ Veltone label, it rose to #4 on the Billboard R&B chart – giving

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Sugar Pie her first bona fide hit in 1960. She then went on the road with James Brown for about two years before signing with Chess Records in 1962. During her tenure with Chess, Sugar Pie became their highest paid songwriter, writing for Etta James (who happened to be her childhood friend), and a myriad of Chess artists. She also recorded a slew of duets with James, a couple of which are DJ dancefloor gems to this day.

Sugar Pie has shared stages with Howlin’ Wolf, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Rufus Thomas, Otis Redding and countless others. She set the performance bar so high for James Brown that he told her in jest she was making him work too hard. She was the only woman on the 1964 Folk American Blues tour among blues giants such as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and others. Jackie Wilson, Rufus Thomas and Otis Redding specifically requested Sugar Pie as opening act for her ability to stir a crowd into a frenzy.

According to James Moore, Sr., Sugar Pie’s astute business manager of the past 30 years, the greatest stage show he ever witnessed was when Sugar Pie opened for Jackie Wilson at the Showcase nightclub in Oakland, CA, in the ‘60s: “Man, guys were standing on the tables to get a look when she hit the stage. I believe that was the most incredible show I’ve seen in my life. When Sugar Pie came out of the dressing room, she was already four feet off the floor. She hit the stage flying.”

When Sugar Pie was honored at the 2008 Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s Pioneer awards, the great Bonnie Raitt presented her the award. An added bonus was Sugar’s performance at the event. She did a kick-ass version of her first hit record, “I Want To Know,” including her signature back flip. In the audience was Aretha Franklin who, being moved by the spirit of Sugar Pie’s performance, subsequently invited her to perform at two private parties – that’s how much respect the Queen of Soul had for the Queen of the West Coast Blues.

Despite Sugar Pie’s talent and regard, the Chess brothers shelved much of her output, where it remained dormant until 2009 when Kent Records of England released Go Go Power, The Complete Chess Singles of Sugar Pie DeSanto 19611966. Wondrously, the disc debuted at #15 on the Billboard Blues chart. It has garnered her legions of new fans who shout “hallelujah!” and rave about her prowess – even though it has been 43 years since Queen Sugar charted!

Sugar Pie’s international stock also continues to climb. In September 2013, she traveled to Norway for The Hell Blues Festival. A Chicago Blues Band assembled by the great Willie Henderson joined Sugar Pie on the bandstand for two gigs on successive nights. On the first night, Sugar Pie received the 2013 Ambassador of Hell Blues Award. In July 2015, Sugar Pie was a headliner at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy for the third time. Graziano Uliani, prognosticator of Deep Soul and founder of the Porretta Soul Festival, held annually in Porretta, Italy, offers this sentiment: “She continues to wow our audiences. Her live performances exceed her recent recordings despite the excellent production values of Jim Moore. Sugar Pie onstage is unrivaled. Give her a stage and she will transform it.”

Though she is often classified as a blues singer while sporting the moniker “Queen of the West Coast Blues,” Sugar Pie DeSanto is a multifaceted entertainer. She has written over a hundred songs for artists including Etta James, Fontella Bass, Bobby McClure, Minnie Ripperton, The Dells, The Whispers, Little Milton and Billy Stewart. Her repertoire includes standards, soul and jazz. She plays piano and does many of her own arrangements for background vocals. Her sense of comedic timing is unparalleled. And of course, her stage presence and performance convert new believers each time she graces the stage.

Released in 2009, Go Go Power, The Complete Chess Singles of Sugar Pie DeSanto 1961-1966, debuted at #15 on the Billboard Blues chart

Ensemble of the American Folk Blues Festival in the early 1960s – (l to r) Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Sleepy John Estes, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Sunnyland Slim, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Hubert Sumlin

The work of Broadcast Music Journalist T. Watts has appeared in Players Magazine, Blues Revue Magazine, Blues Blast Magazine, Glide Magazine and several other publications. He ghostwrote the biography, Blood Is Thicker Than The Mud; Little Sister From The Inside Out for Vet Stone, youngest sister of Sly Stone. He is West Coast Correspondent for www.soul-patrol.com.

Current projects include co-writing the memoirs of Chambers Brothers frontman, Lester Chambers, and producing two weekly radio shows, Redemption Songs and The CyberSoulMan Review at KPFZ 88.1 in Lakeport, CA. He has also been on the road with Sugar Pie DeSanto several times as her road manager.

Sugar Pie DeSanto is famous for interacting with her audience Photo by Ÿ Joseph A. Rosen

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

Compiled by Irene Johnson INTERNET/SATELLITE Blues with Russell Thurs. 7pm – 9pm DJ Russell Luzio 995 Eureka Dunes Ave. Henderson, NV 89012 909/967-1330 (office) blueswithrussell@aol.com www.blueswithrussell.com The BluzNdaBlood Show Available 24/7/365 DJ BluzNdaBlood Dave Harrison PO Box 21612 Roanoke, VA 24018 540/632-2589 (office) 540/632-BLUZ (on air) dave@bluzndablood.com bluzndablood.libsyn.com Classic Blues Radio Streaming: www.radionomy.com/en/radio/ classicbluesradio Available 24/7/365 DJ Ron PO Box 1039 Oakhurst, NJ 07755-1039 732/778-1181 (office) mail@classicbluesradio.com www.classicbluesradio.com The Eclectic Chair Streaming: radiochair.podbean.com Take Your Seat 2 Hours A Week DJ Trish Lewis PO Box 25 Bay City, MI 48707-0025 810/241-0310 (office, on air) radiochair@gmail.com www.radiochair.com Hank’s Americana Radio Streaming: HanksAmericana.com Fri. 5pm – Sun. 10pm "Hank's Blues Weekend Show" c/o Scott Hankosky 3402 Englewood Dr. Pearland, TX 77584 coastaltravel.us@gmail.com www.HanksAmericana.com Find us on Facebook & Twitter!

Nothing But The Blues Streaming: Podcast All Shows Available Online/ New Shows: Sat. 3-4pm GMT DJ Cliff 9 Hall Drive, Burton on the Wolds Loughborough, LE12 5AD, UK +44 1509 880568 (office) cliff@nothingbuttheblues.co.uk www.nothingbuttheblues.co.uk/ radio.html Wednesday's Even Worse Streaming: www.BluesandRootsRadio.com Wed. Noon - 2pm ET

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HERE IS A LIST OF some of OUR FAVORITE BLUES RADIO SHOWS Artists: Send in your latest releases for airplay. Promoters: Send in your event info so the Djs can help get the word out. Fans: Tune in and enjoy!

DJ Ian McKenzie 2 Brook Meadow Exmouth, U.K. EX8 4HH +441395273502 (office, on air) wew@bluesinthesouth.com facebook.com/ianMblues?ref=hl

SYNDICATED Elwood’s BluesMobile Streaming: www.thebluesmobile.com Days/Times: Various DJ Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) 3361 20th St. San Francisco, CA 94110 415/970-8020 (office) benm@bmpaudio.com www.thebluesmobile.com Soul Of The Blues With Cassie CJ Fox Host Cassie CJ Fox 438 Church Street Whitmire, SC 29178 803/694-2292 (home) news2cassie@yahoo.com www.cassiejfxox.webs.com facebook.com/cassie.j.fox

CALIFORNIA MORRO BAY KEBF 97.3 FM Streaming: http://EsteroBayRadio.com Mon. 4pm – 9pm “Monday Blues” DJ Dan Tower & DJ Wayne Benham 2070 Wales Rd. Cambria, CA 93428 805/203-5331 (office) 805/772-2037 (on air) dannytower@hotmail.com http://EsteroBayRadio.com NEVADA CITY KVMR 89.5 FM Streaming: www.kvmr.org Sun. 1pm – 3pm “Blues Spectrum” DJ Steve Cagle and DJ Keith Andre ATTN: Sean Doole, Music Director 120 Bridge St. Nevada City, CA 95959 530/265-9073 (office) 530/265-9555 (on air) music@kvmr.org www.kvmr.org SAN FRANCISCO KPOO 89.5 FM Streaming: www.kpoo.com/listen Wed. 9am – Noon “Wednesday Blues with Noel” DJ Noel Hayes 1109 Hillside Blvd.

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South San Francisco, CA 94080 415/516-1896 (office) 415/346-5376 (on air) noelsblues@kpoo.com www.kpoo.com KBA Recipient 2016!

GEORGIA ATLANATA WRFG 89.3 FM Streaming Live: www.wrfg.org Mon. – Fri. 6am – 10am Sun. 7am – 9am “Good Morning Blues" Various DJs 1083 Austin Ave. Atlanta, GA 30307 404/523-3471 (office) 404/523-8989 (on air) office@wrfg.org www.wrfg.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

MISSISSIPPI CLARKSDALE WROX 97.5 FM & 1450 AM Streaming: www.wroxradio.com Sat. 7pm – 9pm “Crossroads Delta Blues Show” DJ Paul Wilson 628 DeSoto Avenue Clarksdale, MS 38614 662/627-1450 (office) 662/627-3000 (on air) www.wroxradio.com

MISSOURI COLUMBIA KOPN 89.5 FM Streaming: www.kopn.org Sat. 8pm – 11pm “Blues on Broadway” DJ Chris Puyear 5201 E. Woodson Harris Rd. Columbia, MO 65201 573/874-1139 (office) 573/874-5676 (on air) request@liveblues.org www.kopn.org

KANSAS CITY KCFX 101.1 FM Sun. 8pm – 10pm “Kansas City Blues Show” DJ Lindsay Shannon 1205 E. 85th St. Kansas City, MO 64131 816/822-7427 (office) 913/312-0297 (on air) 816/333-2958 (fax) bbsbarbq@aol.com

SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA WUSC 90.5 FM Streaming: wusc.sc.edu Tues. 6pm – 8pm "Blues Moon Radio" DJ Clair DeLune PO Box 5591 Columbia, SC 29250 803/576-9872 (on air) bluesmoonradio@gmail.com www.bluesmoonradio.blogspot.com

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 PO Box 27568 Knoxville, TN 37927 865/544-1029 (office) 865/494-2020 (on air) studio@wdvx.com www.wdvx.com

TEXAS HOUSTON KPFT 90.1 FM Streaming: www.kpft.org Sun. 8am – 11am “Blues On The Move” DJs Mr. & Mrs. V with Nancy and Buddy Love 6821 Eastwood Street Houston, TX 77021 713/747-9134 (office) 713/526-5738 (on air) jovaughn@sbcglobal.net www.kpft.org 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

UTAH SALT LAKE CITY KRCL 90.9 FM Streaming: www.krcl.org Mon. 8pm – 10:30pm “Red, White & Blues” DJ Brian Kelm 3191 South Valley St. #170 South Lake City, UT 84109 801/328-9009 (office) 801/359-9191 (on air) 801/328-9019 (fax) brian@briankelm.com www.krcl.org

VIRGINIA RICHMOND WCVE 88.9 FM Streaming: http://ideastations.org/radio Sat. 11pm – Midnight “Time For The Blues” DJ Henry Cook & DJ John Porter 23 Sesame Street Richmond, VA 23235 804/320-1301 (office) 804/345-8890 (on air) 804/320-8729 (fax) timefortheblues@gmail.com http://ideastations.org

WASHINGTON OLYMPIA KAOS 89.3 FM Streaming: www.kaosradio.org Tues. 6pm – 8pm “Tuesday Blues” DJ Ruby Ru &Friends Evergreen State College – CAB 101 2700 Evergreen Pkwy. NW Olympia, WA 98505 360/867-6897 (office) 360/867-5267 (on air) 360/867-6697 (fax) brownstr@evergreen.edu www.kaosradio.org

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Cruising to New Orleans on a Virgin Voyage Buddy Guy wowed at both his standing-room-only performances Photo by Ÿ Joseph A. Rosen

By Kate Martinelli of Ozcat Radio, Vallejo, CA I’ll admit it – I was a 50-year-old New Orleans virgin. I talked a good game – I’ve seen all the documentaries, movies and TV shows; I make beignets, king cakes, muffalettas and gumbo for our annual Mardi Gras party...but I had never been to New Orleans. When Blues Festival Guide’s publisher Kaati told me about the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise (LRBC) New Orleans trip in October 2015, and described her amazing experience of coming into the Port of New Orleans via the Mississippi river, I booked passage for myself and my husband David.

I was a returning cruiser, while David was a Blues Cruise virgin as well as a NOLA virgin. It turns out our ship, Holland America’s ms Westerdam, was also a virgin – she would be making her maiden port of call in New Orleans.

On the morning of our arrival in New Orleans, I awoke to a new sound – the large waves of the Gulf of Mexico had given way to the smaller lapping waves of the Mississippi – we were on the river! Up on deck, I met the distinct earthy smell of the mighty Mississippi. My arms prickled with history and nostalgia as we wove our way towards the “Crescent City.”

Sightseeing from the top deck, I ran into singer and pianist Marcia Ball. She pointed out historical sites of note such as the site of the Battle of New Orleans. She actually sang the song impromptu for those of us gathered around her – you know the one, sung by Johnny Horton and others – it goes:

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In 1814 we took a little trip Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip’ We took a little bacon and we took a little beans And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

We noticed a flurry of activity as the ship docked and we headed out to experience New Orleans for the first time. The crew lined up along the deck to greet Carnival Corporation President and CEO Arnold W. Donald for the maiden port ceremony, and our musical experience began right away as a full New Orleans jazz band greeted the ship.

Like all newbies, we started the day shopping in the French Quarter, browsing through glittering stores filled with antiques, jewelry, Mardi Gras masks and more. We stopped for street corner buskers from all over the world who had made the NOLA pilgrimage; we even met a band called Jeez Louise playing in an intersection that was from our neck of the woods in Northern California. We meandered onto Bourbon Street where I bought an enormous Hurricane cocktail, which you can carry on the street and from bar to bar as you please, and it’s sure to last you all day. On Frenchman Street we watched group after group of musicians pop in and out of the local clubs to try their chops out in New Orleans.

We really looked forward to our stop at the world famous

Terrance Simien emanating the NOLA vibe to keep the good times rolling on board Photo by Ÿ Joseph A. Rosen

radio station WW0Z, where we were greeted with open arms by our friend, station manager Russell Shelton (we are an official simulcaster of WW0Z’s broadcast of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival). The line was out the door with musical guests visiting from our cruise. LRBC promoter Roger Nabor was actually in the booth doing a live interview when we arrived.

We grabbed a quick meal of fried catfish at a cafe across the street, where we listened to some live jazz and chatted with one-man-band Randy McQuay from the cruise. We stopped by the Louisiana Music factory record store to peruse vintage vinyl and check out Kenny Neal playing live.

We came to realize that everyone had a special connection to NOLA. For Buddy Guy, New Orleans was where he’d say goodbye after his two standing-room-only shows onboard the Blues Cruise; he was headed home to Chicago, a bit further up the river. For some of the musicians, it was home – one artist told us he jumped off to do his laundry while in port. Another band member had to turn down his nephew’s BBQ after eating so much delicious food on the ms Westerdam.

We headed back to the ship to enjoy the evening’s entertainment against the backdrop of the lights of New Orleans.

As we partied on deck, Tab Benoit’s family was celebrating a wedding at nearby condos and they waved to us on ship. Rumor has it that Tab's mother told the Port Authorities not to shut down the loud music and kick the boat out this time (the last LRBC ship in port had to leave for making too much noise). Apparently they listened to her, and the band played on.

The ride back down the Mississippi by night was magical, though bittersweet. Luckily, even as we left the “Big Easy” behind, the vibe continued throughout the cruise.

Terrance Simien could be counted on to throw out tons of Mardi Gras beads during his performances, getting us in the mood with his infectious Cajun smile! The family's musical tradition continued with his lovely daughter, Marcella, who also performed. Living legend Buckwheat Zydeco showed us another side of the New Orleans musical legacy by playing the washboard and accordion.

In addition to performing numerous shows, Tab Benoit hosted the popular charity bingo to raise money for his foundation, Voices of the Wetlands. This important environmental project was featured on the ship’s round-the-clock video programming, which also live broadcasted select shows on the ship.

Another documentary focused on Hurricane Katrina and featured the Soul Queen of New Orleans herself, Miss Irma Thomas. Irma had lost her own club to the floodwaters but didn’t let that stop her from pushing up her sleeves and helping others during the crisis. What a far cry from the glamorous Irma Thomas we saw – a vision in white – presiding over the ship’s famous Gospel Brunch.

Most poignantly, the trip was Allen Toussaint’s farewell to New Orleans. Actually, it was one of Mr. Toussaint’s last major appearances anywhere. We enjoyed a special showcase in

Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas reminisce with Bill Wax, founder of the B.B. King's Bluesville channel on Sirius XM, about the early years in New Orleans Photo by Ÿ Joseph A. Rosen

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Allen Toussaint’s exceptional performances on the LRBC became even more poignant, as they were among his last Photo by Ÿ Joseph A. Rosen

the big showroom with Mr. Tousssaint and Irma Thomas – a Q&A conducted by Bill Wax. He talked about the early days with Irma in the city as well as the post-Katrina music scene for the musicians of New Orleans.

Toussaint wrote “Mother-in-Law,” “I Like It Like That,” “Working in the Coal Mine” and “Southern Nights,” among many other hits. He was also the producer for hundreds of recordings, among the best known include Dr. John’s “Right Place, Wrong Time” and Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade.”

We were blessed to see this “behind the scenes” gentleman taking center stage for some of his final performances. He even honored us by taking the time to do a station drop for Ozcat Radio. We were stunned and saddened to hear that this great man, this American treasure, Mister New Orleans himself, passed away on November 10, 2015, just a short time after the Blues Cruise docked.

Even though we only had one full day in New Orleans, the Blues Cruise provided the full New Orleans experience.

It was a quickie, but we are virgins no more. Can’t wait until the LRBC heads back to New Orleans.

Kate Martinelli is the co-founder of Ozcat Radio 89.5 FM in Vallejo, CA, and the host of The Sunny Mix radio program.

She is a freelance writer, graphic and web designer, but most of all, devoted mother and grandmother. Find Ozcat Radio online at www.ozcatradio.com or tune in via smartphone.

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Blues Societies‌ Join One! ARKANSAS Spa City Blues Society P.O. Box 4270 Hot Springs, AR 71914 USA 501-622-8984, spacityblues.org CALIFORNIA Blues Lovers United of San Diego P.O. Box 34077 San Diego, CA 92163 USA 619-630-9416, blusd.org Golden Gate Blues Society P.O. Box 2591 Redwood City, CA 94064 USA Tggbs.org Kern River Blues Society Bakersfield, CA 93305 USA 661-872-7517 facebook.com/pages/Kern-River-BluesSociety Santa Barbara Blues Society P.O. Box 30853 Santa Barbara, CA 93130 USA 805-722-8155 SBBlues.org Silicon Valley Blues Society P.O. Box 5264 San Jose, CA 95125 USA 408-295-6656 svblues.org COLORADO Colorado Blues Society 4 Inverness Ct. East, Suite 100 Englewood, CO 80112 USA 303-694-2000 coblues.org CONNECTICUT Connecticut Blues Society P.O. Box 578 Enfield, CT 06083-0578 USA 860-741-3960 ctblues.org DELAWARE Central Delaware Blues Society P.O. Box 155 Magnolia, DE 19962 USA 302-697-8204/302-242-9997 centraldelawareblues.com FLORIDA The Blues Alliance of the Treasure Coast P.O. Box 7192 Port Saint Lucie, FL 34985-7192 USA 772-467-1851 bluesalliance.org North Central Blues Society P.O. Box 13282 Gainesville, FL 32604 USA 352-871-0676 ncfblues.org Orange Blossom Blues Society P.O. Box 533836 Orlando, FL 32853-3836 USA 407-340-7323 obbs.org

GEORGIA Atlanta Blues Society P.O. Box 146 Tucker, GA 30085 USA 404-693-1592 atlantabluessociety.org ILLINOIS Crossroads Blues Society P.O. Box 840 Byron, IL 61010 USA 779-537-4006 crossroadsbluessociety.blogspot.com Illinois Central Blues Club P.O. Box 603 Springfield, IL 62705 USA 217-899-9422 icbluesclub.org INDIANA South Central Indiana Blues Society P.O. Box 2059 Nashville, IN 47448 USA sciblues.org IOWA Central Iowa Blues Society P.O. Box 13016 Des Moines, IA 50310 USA 515-494-6033 cibs.org Southeast Iowa Blues Society P.O. Box 1718 Fairfield, IA 52556 USA 641-919-7477 southeastiowabluessociety.org KANSAS Topeka Blues Society 420 SE 6th Topeka, KS 66607 USA topekabluessociety.org Wichita Blues Society P.O. Box 2303 Wichita, KS 67201-2303 USA 316-992-9535 wichitablues.org KENTUCKY Kentuckiana Blues Society P.O. Box 755 Louisville, KY 40201 USA 502-724-9971 kbsblues.org MICHIGAN Detroit Blues Society P.O. Box 488 Goodrich, MI 48438 USA detroitbluessociety.org Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association P.O. Box 2413 Kalamazoo, MI 49003-2413 USA 269-381-6514 kvbz.org

MINNESOTA Minnesota Blues Society 325 Brooks Ave. West Roseville, MN 55113 USA 651-955-2612 MnBS.org MISSISSIPPI Central Mississippi Blues Society P.O. Box 8314 Jackson, MS 39284 USA 601-291-2811 centralmississippibluessociety.com Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola P.O. Box 2036 Baird, MS 38751 USA 662-887-4913 indianolablues.org Vicksburg Blues Society P.O. Box 373 Vicksburg, MS 39181 USA 601-634-6179 vicksburgblues.net MISSOURI Blues Society of the Ozarks 4432 S. Weller Springfield, MO 65804 USA 417-818-1864 bluessocietyoftheozarks.com NEVADA Las Vegas Blues Society P.O. 31145 Las Vegas, NV 89173 USA lasvegasblues.org NEW JERSEY Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation P.O. Box 8713 Red Band, NJ 07701 USA 732-933-1984 jsjbf.org North Jersey Blues Alliance 4 South Orange Ave. #24 South Orange, NJ 07079 USA 973-378-8973 facebook.com/northjerseyblues OHIO Northeast Ohio Blues Association (NEOBA) 12315 Springwater Ave. Uniontown, OH 44685 USA 330-877-3913 bluesNEOBA.org PENNSYLVANIA Blues Society of Central PA 1404 A V Acri Rd. Harrisburg, PA 17112 USA 717-979-0684 bscpblues.org Lehigh Valley Blues Network P.O. Box 20865 Lehigh Valley, PA 18002-0865 USA 484-695-7588 lvbn.org

TENNESSEE Music City Blues Society 3610 Old Hickory Blvd.

Old Hickory, TN 37138 USA 615-758-4743 musiccityblues.org Nashville Blues Society P.O. Box 330548, Church Street Station Nashville, TN 37203 USA 615-585-3895 nashvillebluessociety.org UTAH Utah Blues Society 3191 S. Valley St. #170 Salt Lake City, UT 84109 USA 801-328-9099 utahbluessociety.org WISCONSIN Chippewa Valley Blues Society P.O. Box 803 Eau Claire, WI 54702 USA 715-541-2739 chippewavalleyblues.com Madison Blues Society P.O. Box 3202 Madison, WI 53704-0202 USA 608-239-3787 madisonbluessociety.com WYOMING Wyoming Blues and Jazz Society P.O. Box 1643 Evansville, WY 82636 USA 307-315-1503 wyobluesandjazz.org CANADA Calgary Blues Music Association #188 A6433 Bowness Rd. NW Calgary, AB T3B 0E6 CANADA 403-668-7144 calgarybluesfest.com Edmonton Blues Society 11622-72 Ave. NW Edmonton, AB T6G 0C1 CANADA 780-717-7604 edmontonbluessociety.net Pictou County Blues Society 85 Black Point Rd. RR #1 Trenton New Glasgow, Nova Scotia B0K 1X0 CANADA 902-752-4405 pictoucoutyblues.com Saskatoon Blues Society Box 21035 Saskatoon, SK S7H 4B2 CANADA 306-955-4589 saskatoonbluessociety.ca Victoria Blues Society Box 5157 Victoria, BC V8S 2A7 CANADA 250-592-5764 victoriabluessociety.ca

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Young Guns Blazing

By John Porter

Don’t tell the likes of Cole (age 18) and Logan Layman (15), Jake Kulak (16), August Domanchuk (17), Joe Tellmann (16) and Jamiah Rogers (20) that the blues are disappearing, because these talented performers are among the next generation of blues artists working hard to keep the blues thriving. In a world driven by singers manufactured by shows like The Voice and American Idol, it’s encouraging that they found their way despite the lack of the blues on most radio stations. These young guns face the same daily routines and challenges as most youth, but at night they jump on stage and bring down the house playing the blues – which may bring criticism and misunderstanding from their peers, but makes them inspiringly unique. In a way, they are like heroes of the blues, since their passion and commitment to blues culture and music is what will keep the blues alive.

“I discovered the blues on YouTube,” says Cole Layman, “when I found Riviera Paradise, the Stevie Ray Vaughan

video. It was like someone flipped a switch and I knew this was the kind of music that excited me. I started looking at his influences and that took me deeper and deeper into the blues.

I ended up taking the entire family in with me.”

The whole family, making up their band In Layman Terms, includes his younger sister Logan, who plays bass and handles the vocals, as well as their mother Sandy, manager and occasional drummer. Father Doug heads up their road crew, and their dog Capo is the head of security.

Jake Kulak took a similar route to the blues, discovering the music via YouTube while researching the roots of musician Jack White. “A lot of his songs were covers of older blues songs,” says Kulak. “My parents bought me a guitar when I was 11 and I quickly taught myself how to play blues songs.

They arranged for me to take guitar lessons, and my guitar teacher had me performing with him in a few months. From

Cole and Logan Layman of In Layman Terms Photo by Wendy Podmenik Darugar

Jake Kulak plays blues and jazz guitar, as well as classical piano Photo by Exclusive Image

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there, I was going to blues open mics. I created my own band and within a year I started gigging and represented The Connecticut Blues Society at the International Blues Challenge (IBC).”

August Domanchuk took a slightly different route, finding his way through another music performance. “I saw a flyer for Fernando Jones’ Blues Camp while performing at a Battle of the Bands with my band Trance. I went to the try-out and joined the camp that summer in 2010.” Since then, the 17-year-old high school junior has returned to camp several times, and has even received two scholarships to attend the Corona Camp in California.

Joe Tellmann – guitarist in several bands, namely The Joe Tellmann Band – discovered his passion through exposure to his parents’ music collection, which had more than a few blues albums. Once he was bitten by the bug, it was only a matter of time before he found his way to the Dayton Blues Society open jams.

The blues has found a way into their systems and refuses to let go Jamiah Rogers was also introduced to the blues through family ties – receiving hands-on experience starting at three years old from his musician father, Tony Rogers. He recorded his first CD by the age of seven, and has been on the rise in the blues community ever since. He is currently the front man of youth band trio, Jamiah “On Fire” & The Red Machine.

Many of these young performers hone their skills at one or more of the various blues camps throughout the country. Here, they can meet, receive instruction from top blues teachers and performers, network and just feel like kids in love with the blues – instead of outsiders, as they might among their everyday peers.

Rogers found Fernando Jones’ Blues Camp at Columbia College to be “a very exciting learning experience, and an opportunity to play blues with other young blues musicians, as well as to make friends. It inspires me to have friends who enjoy playing blues.”

Sandy Layman can’t say enough about the camps her children have attended. “Our favorites are the Pinetop Perkins Master Class Workshops, with no disrespect to the others we have attended. At the workshops, we see all our closest blues family from around the states, and they are our very best friends. Bob Margolin, who runs the program, has been so much more to us than a workshop leader. He is a mentor, friend and family. He really cares about us and we talk to him all the time to get advice.”

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Blues Programs: Inspire Your Budding Artist

By John Porter

Camp and workshop programs dedicated to teaching the blues are a great way for blues’ young guns to connect with peers who share their passion, and the experience is bound to be enlightening and form friendships to last a lifetime.

“One of the things I really like about these camps is that most of today’s young players can’t get experience in the clubs like we did,” says master bluesman Bob Margolin of The Pinetop Perkins Foundation’s Master Class Workshops. “Muddy Waters used to have to make it possible for Freddie King to play with us when he was a teenager. We give them the opportunity to play in a safe environment.”

Aside from these camps, workshops and classes, there are many other youth blues programs throughout the year such as various library musical programs, opportunities with local blues societies, workshops at blues festivals, and the Blues in the Schools (BITS) programs, which expand awareness of the blues to new listeners and help develop the skills of those who participate.

While some of these opportunities come at no cost to the participants, many incur fees in order to cover costs such as running the program and bringing in top musicians as instructors.

Several programs, such as Generation Blues which is run by the Blues Foundation, offer scholarships to a number of deserving young musicians each year.

For more information, peruse the websites below, but please note – this list is not comprehensive! Do your homework and ask questions to make sure it’s the right fit for you. These programs are essential to continuing the blues into the next generation!

The Alabama Blues Project Summer Blues Camp: www.alabamablues.org Augusta Heritage Center: augustaheritagecenter.org B.B. King Museum’s Art of Living Smart Summer Program: www.bbkingmuseum.org/art-of-living-smart-summer-program Berklee College of Music Summer Programs: www.berklee.edu Blues in the Schools: www.blues.org/blues-in-the-schools Blues Lovers United of San Diego’s “Blues Music Summer Camp”: blusd.org Delta Blues Museum Blues Classes: www.deltabluesmuseum.org/programs.asp Fernando Jones’ Blues Camp: www.blueskids.com/#!chicago-il/cdhk Fur Peace Ranch: furpeaceranch.com/workshops.html Grand River Blues Camp: www.grandriverblues.org/blues-camp Harmonica Collective: www.harmonicacollective.com The Jazz Community Music School, Berkeley, CA: cjc.edu/community-music-school-youth/summer-youth-programs/girls-jazzblues-camp Paisley River Blues Festival Blues Camp, Paisley, Ontario, Canada: www.paisleyrocks.com Pinetop Perkins Foundation: www.pinetopperkinsfoundation.org Pop Ferguson Blues and Heritage Festival: cjblues.com Port Townsend Acoustic Blues: centrum.org/port-townsend-acoustic-blues-festival-workshop Roots Rock Revival: www.rootsrockrevival.com Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival: www.waterfrontbluesfest.com Sean Carney Camp Blues: www.artsinohio.com/event/camp-blues-4 Uptown Music Collective: uptowncollective.com/category/uptown-music

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Continued from page 77

Jamiah Rogers of youth band, Jamiah “On Fire” & The Red Machine Photo by Kurt Swanson

They all describe their experiences with blues camps in glowing terms. Tellmann has participated in the Pinetop Perkins Master Class, attesting, “My experiences at the camp have been fantastic. Everyone there is so nice and welcoming, and instructors like Bob Margolin and Gary Allegretto tell you stories of the blues and how their heroes kept the music alive.

Plus, being in Clarksdale, MS, you can’t help but feel the blues.”

Aside from the instruction of some of the greatest musicians working, these young guns benefit from making connections with artists their own age. For so many young artists, finding that way to fit in and still maintain their art is difficult. But it’s impossible for them to live any other way. The blues has found a way into their systems and refuses to let go.

As Logan Layman explains. “Our closest friends have been made at the camps. We stay in touch daily with some through social media and texting, and meet up with them whenever possible. It makes us feel ‘connected’ and ‘normal,’ you know? Not many teenagers get the blues, but these friends share that passion with us and it is more than friendship, it is like family.”

Kulak, who has also attended the Master Class as well as the Notodden Band Seminar and the Notodden Blues Festival in Norway, agrees: “I have made so many friends at these programs from all over the country and the world! At Pinetop, I look forward to going back every year to see everyone. A lot of us perform every year at the IBCs in Memphis, so I get to see a lot of them twice a year. It is really cool when we go to the IBC – we all support each other and attend each other’s shows. I have lots of new friends in Norway now, too. It is a great thing to be able to connect with other kids who share my love of the blues. If I didn’t go to these camps, I would not have that.”

Bob Margolin, who aside from being a well-known blues figure performing all over the world, is the music director for the Pinetop Perkins Master Class Workshops, and has a great opportunity to observe the efforts of the camps and the

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artists who come to learn. “I’m often asked about the future of blues music now that the older generation of legendary musicians is almost gone,” he says. “I’m inspired by the young musicians who are carrying on their own blues from original to traditional. I can feel the ghosts of the creators and enjoy the progress of the next generation.”

It can be tough keeping young adults focused, but parents of young blues artists face other, unique situations with extra demands in the musical world of rehearsals, concerts, competitions and possible fame. For the parents of these artists, it can be an exhilarating but occasionally exhausting task to nurture talent while helping them navigate the world of adults. But like any parenting challenge, it’s often the children themselves that will determine what needs to be done. Sandy Layman has found the way that works for her family; “Love them. LISTEN to them, support them, but follow their lead. It is a fine balance – we don’t push too hard, but have to get on them to rehearse when something big is coming up.”

Dave Tellmann sees helping his son maintain his focus as one of his primary responsibilities. “It’s essential that we keep him focused on what’s important: school, being a good person and not getting an ego. There are good role models in blues music, young and old.”

Even though the blues community may be nurturing, finding your way can be difficult if you don’t have the support of your friends. For most of these young guns, their friends have little – if any – idea about what it is that they do. Some, however, have turned the blues into a learning experience for their school friends.

Kulak says, “My school is very supportive of what I do and has let me introduce the blues to students through presentations in class. When we were discussing the play The Piano Lesson, I gave a history of the blues and played some songs on my guitar for the class.”

Likewise, the Laymans have become more known since they appeared alongside blues master Tas Cru in one of his Blues in the Schools programs. Now, more of their friends are asking questions about the music and discovering it for themselves. Domanchuk has taken it one step further from introducing his friends to the blues to inspiring them to attend his favorite blues camps.

Cole and Logan Layman, Jake Kulak, August Domanchuk, Joe Tellmann and Jamiah Rogers are just a few of the young performers striving to preserve the tradition of the blues as well as evolve the music into the future. In a genre that is little acknowledged by most youth, blues’ young guns stand out in their individuality, talent and passion.

John Porter is a blues historian, writer and the co-host with Henry Cook of Richmond, VA’s Time For The Blues heard locally on WCVE-FM and via the Internet at ideastations.org.

He regularly reviews new blues albums at professorjohnnyp.blogspot.com, and was delighted to meet so many future blues stars.

PLAN YOUR BLUES

2016 BFG Sponsored by

FESTIVAL CALENDAR Grab a pen and circle the festivals you want to attend this season.

INFORMATION BELIEVED TO BE CORRECT BUT NOT GUARANTEED. CALL BEFORE YOU GO! DATE

FESTIVAL NAME

CITY/STATE/COUNTRY

WEBSITE

May 5 - 8

Gator By The Bay

San Diego, California, USA

gatorbythebay.com

May 6 - 7

Curacao International BlueSeas Festival

Willemstad, Curacao

curacaoblueseasfestival.com

May 6 - 13

Gambia Roots Festival

Banjul, Gambia

raveaboutafrica.com

May 7

Blues Brew & Barbecue

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, USA

thecapitoltheatre.org/specialevents.html

May 7 - 8

MerleJam

Kansas City, MO, Kansas, USA

MerleJam.com

May 7

St Ives Blues, Rhythm & Rock Festival 3 - Lets keep it Live!

St Ives, United Kingdom

stivesbluesfestival.co.uk

May 7

Topanga Blues Festival

Los Angeles, California, USA

socalblues.org

May 8

Frome Blues, Rhythm & Rock Festival 4 - Let’s keep it Live!

Frome, United Kingdom

fromebluesfestival.co.uk

May 13 - 15

New England Blues Summit

Hyannis, Massachusetts, USA

newenglandbluessummit.com

May 13 - 14

Rowan Blues and Jazz Festival

Salisbury, North Carolina, USA

rowanbluesandjazz.org

May 14

Bacon, Bourbon, and Blues Festival

Oviedo, Florida, USA

sub-lime-events.com/events

May 14

Florida Jazz and Blues Jam 2016

Boca Raton, Florida, USA

musicjamproductions.com

May 14

Simply Texas, 8th Annual

San Angelo, Texas, USA

sanangelobluessociety.com

May 15

Lincoln Blues, Rhythm & Rock Festival 3 - Let’s keep it Live!

Lincoln, United Kingdom

lincolnbluesfestival.co.uk

May 20 - 21

Rally at the Border Blues Fest

Oroville, Washington, USA

orovillewashington.com/resources/rally/rally.htm

May 21

Blues Cruise

Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

voyagelabellevie.ca

May 21

Bob Sykes Blues & BBQ

Bessemer, Alabama, USA

bobsykesblues.com

May 21

Carolina Blues Festival

Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

fest.piedmontblues.org

May 21 - 22

Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival

Annapolis, Maryland, USA

bayblues.org

May 21 - 22

Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival

Annapolis, Maryland, USA

bayblues.org

May 21 - 22

Doheny Blues Festival

Dana Point, California, USA

dohenybluesfestival.com

May 21

Greater Ozarks Blues Bash Festival

West Plains, Missouri, USA

on.fb.me/1ZW5nfH

May 21

Stomp The Blues Out of Homlessness Festival

Springfield, Missouri, USA

stompthebluesoutofhomelessness.com

May 21 - 22

Women in Blues Showcase - A historical perspective.

Gainsville, Florida, USA

bridgetkellyband.com

May 26 - 28

BBQ Blues & Bikes

Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA

bbqbluesfest.com

May 26 - 28

Mojo Station Blues Festival

Rome, Italy

mojostation.net

May 26 - 30

World Championship Old-Time Piano Contest & Festival

Oxford, MS, Mississippi, USA

oldtimepianocontest.org

May 27 - 28

Little Walter Music Festival

Alexandria, Louisiana, USA

alexandriapinevillela.com/littlewalter

May 27 - June 12 Piccolo Spoleto Blues Series

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

piccolospoleto.com

May 27 - 29

Silver City Blues & Bikes Festival, 21st Annual

Silver City, New Mexico, USA

mimbresarts.org/blues-festival-homepage

May 28

B.B. King Musuem’s Homecoming Festival

Indianola, Mississippi, USA

bbkingmuseum.org

May 28 - 29

Chautauqua Hills Blues Festival

Sedan, Kansas, USA

cqbluesfest.com

May 28 - 29

Exit 56 Blues Fest

Brownsville, Tennessee, USA

exit56blues.com

May 28 - 29

Santa Cruz American Music Festival

Aptos, California, USA

santacruzamericanmusicfestival.com

May 28 - 29

Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival

Simi Valley, California, USA

simicajun.org

May 28

Slidell Jazz and Blues Festival

Slidell, Louisiana, USA

slidelljazzandblues.com

June 3 - 4

Brevard Blues & BBQ Festival

Brevard, North Carolina, USA

brevardbluesfestival.com

June 3 - 4

Germantown Schnitzelburg Blues Festival

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

facebook.com/groups/110578105688306

June 3 - 4

Smokin’ in Steele

Owatonna, Minnesota, USA

smokininsteele.com

June 3 - 4

T-Bone Walker Blues Fest, Inc.

Longview, Texas, USA

tbonewalkerbluesfest.com

June 4

Chester County Blues Barbecue

Elverson, Pennsylvania, USA

chestercountyblues.com

June 4

Freedom Creek Festival

Aliceville, Alabama, USA

freedomcreek.org

June 4 - 5

San Francisco’s Union Street Festival

San Francisco, California, USA

sresproductions.com/events/union-street-festival

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DATE

FESTIVAL NAME

CITY/STATE/COUNTRY

WEBSITE

June 4

Spring Wine, Beer, Blues and Balloon Festival

Springfield, Nebraska, USA

soaringwingswine.com

June 9 - 20

Barrie Jazz And Blues Festival XXI

Various Towns, Ontario, Canada

barriejazzbluesfest.com

June 10 - 11

Canton Blues Fest

Canton, Ohio, USA

cantonbluesfest.com

June 10 - 12

Chicago Blues Festival

Chicago, Illinois, USA

chicagobluesfestival.us

June 10 - 11

Greeley Blues Jam

Greeley, Colorado, USA

greeleybluesjam.com

June 10 - 12

Omaha Summer Arts Festival, 42nd Annual

Omaha, Nebraska, USA

summerarts.org

June 11

Blunderbuss Music Festival

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

drinkeatrelax.com

June 11

Brews, Blues & Barbecue

Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA

hamiltondistrictmainstreet.com

June 11 - 12

Dauphin County Music & Wine Festival

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

dauphincounty.org

June 11

Juneteenth Family Fun Festival

Horn Lake, Mississippi, USA

dcaahs.com

June 11 - 12

North Beach Festival, 62nd Annual

San Francisco, California, USA

sresproductions.com/events/north-beach-festival

June 13 - 18

Bentonia Blues Festival 44th Annual

Bentonia, Mississippi, USA

facebook.com/BentoniaBluesFestival

June 16 - 19

Eureka Springs Blues Weekend

Eureka Springs, Arkansas, USA

EurekaSpringsBlues.com

June 17 - 19

Alpine Country Blues Festival

Alpine, Arizona, USA

alpineazmusicfest.com

June 17

BBQ & Blues Bash

Buffalo, New York, USA

BBQBluesBash.com

June 17 - 19

Beaumont Blues & Roots Festival

Beaumont, Alberta, Canada

bbrf.ca

June 17 - 18

Blues on the Fox Festival, 20th Annual

Aurora, Illinois, USA

riveredgeaurora.com

June 17 - 19

Cape Fear Blues Festival

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

capefearblues.org

June 17 - 19

Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival

Gahanna, Ohio, USA

creeksidebluesandjazz.com

June 17 - 18

Great Eldorado BBQ, Brews & Blues Festival, The

Reno, Nevada, USA

eldoradoreno.com

June 17 - 18

Jefferson Street Jazz and Blues Festival 16th Annual

Nashville , Tennessee, USA

nashvillejazzandbluesfest.com

June 17 - 18

Monroe Balloon and Blues Festival

Monroe, Wi, Wisconsin, USA

monroeballoonrally.com

June 18

Billtown Blues Festival

Hughesville, Pennsylvania, USA

billtownblues.org

June 18

Brews and Blues

Lancaster, Wisconsin, USA

brewsandblueswi.com

June 18

Durham Blues, Rhythm & Rock Festival 6

Durham, United Kingdom

durhambluesfestival.co.uk

June 18

Flagstaff Blues and Brews

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

flagstaffblues.com

June 18

Florida Juneteenth Festival

ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA

150years.net

June 18

Lake Cumberland Harbor Bluesfest

Jamestown, Kentucky, USA

lakecumberlandbluesfest.com

June 18

Lansing NC Blues Festival

Lansing, North Carolina, USA

facebook.com/events/538836152941817

June 18 - 19

Long Beach Bayou Festival, 30th Annual

Long Beach, California, USA

longbeachbayou.com

June 18 - 19

San Mateo Street Festival, The 4th Annual Downtown

San Mateo, California, USA

sresproductions.com/events/downtown-san-mateosummerfest

June 18

Silver Spring Blues Festival 8th Annual

Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

facebook.com/SSBluesFest

June 18

Utah Blues Festival 2nd Annual

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

utahbluesfest.org

June 18

Wendell Wildcat Blues Festival

Wendell, Massachusetts, USA

wildcatohalloran.com

June 19

Cleethorpes Blues, Rhythm & Rock Festival 6

Cleethorpes, United Kingdom

cleethorpesbluesfestival.co.uk

June 19

Dry Bones Blues Festival XIII

Saint Paul , Minnesota, USA

mnbs.org

June 19 - 25

Wheatland Music Camp

Remus, Michigan, USA

wheatlandmusic.org

June 23 - 26

Kate Wolf Music Festival

Laytonville, California, USA

katewolfmusicfestival.com

June 23 - 25

Torrita Blues Festival

Torrita di Siena, Italy

torritablues.it

June 24 - 25

Blues Brews & BBQ Festival

Champaign, Illinois, USA

bluesbrewsandbbqfest.com

June 24

NW Ohio Music Festival

Toledo, Ohio, USA

toledofoodbank.org

June 25 - 26

Blues from the Top

Winter Park, Colorado, USA

bluesfromthetop.org

June 25 - 26

Cajun & Blues Festival

Lodi, California, USA

isletoncajunfestival.net

June 25

Canton Firemans Blues and Brews

Canton, Connecticut, USA

cantonctfireassoc.org

June 25

Fountain Blues Festival

San Jose , California, USA

fountainbluesfestival.com

June 25 - 26

San Anselmo Art & Wine Festival, The 33rd Annual

San Anselmo, California, USA

sresproductions.com

June 25

Singing The Blues Festival, 2nd Annual

Anderson, California, USA

jeffersonstateblues.com

July 1 - 3

Burton Agnes Jazz and Blues Festival

Driffield, United Kingdom

burtonagnes.com

July 1 - 2

Mississippi Valley Blues Festival

Davenport, Iowa, USA

mvbs.org

July 2 - 3

Broad Street Blues Fest

Griffith , Indiana, USA

broadstreetbluesfest.com

July 2 - 3

Fillmore Jazz Festival, 32nd Annual

San Francisco, California, USA

fillmorejazzfestival.com

July 2 - 3

Fuengirola Blues Festival

Fuengirola, Spain

fuengirolabluesfestival.com

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DATE

FESTIVAL NAME

CITY/STATE/COUNTRY

WEBSITE

July 4

Spirit of Kansas Blues Festival

Topeka, Kansas, USA

topekabluessociety.org

July 7 - 10

Amals Blues Fest

Amal, Sweden

bluesfest.net

July 7 - 9

Greenwood Blues Cruise/16th annual

Greenwood, South Carolina, USA

greenwoodbluescruise.com

July 7 - 9

Kalamazoo Blues Festival

Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

kalamazoobluesfestival.com

July 7 - 9

Sierre Blues Festival

Sierre, Switzerland

sierreblues.ch

July 8 - 10

Briggs Farm Blues Festival

Nescopeck, Pennsylvania, USA

briggsfarm.com

July 8 - 9

GrassRoots BluesFestival

Duck Hill, Mississippi, USA

GrassrootsBlues.com

July 8 - 9

New York State Blues Festival 24th Annual

Syracuse, New York, USA

nysbluesfest.com

July 8 - 10

Tall City Blues Fest

Midland, Texas, USA

tallcitybluesfest.com

July 8 - 10

Thunder Bay Blues Festival

Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

tbayblues.ca

July 8 - Aug 4

Vallemaggia Magic Blues

Vallemaggia, Switzerland

magicblues.ch

July 9 - 9

Buffalo Niagara Blues Festival, 3rd Annual

Buffalo, New York, USA

wnyblues.org

July 9 - 10

Hayward/Russell City Blues Festival, 17th Annual

Hayward,ca., California, USA

westcoastbluessociety

July 13 - 16

Tel Aviv Blues Festival

Tel Aviv, Israel

tlvbluesfest.com

July 14 - 17

Bluesfest Windsor

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

bluesfestwindsor.com

July 14 - 17

California WorldFest

Grass Valley, California, USA

worldfest.net

July 14 - 17

Great South Bay Music Festival

Patchogue, New York, USA

greatsouthbaymusicfestival.com

July 15 - 24

Birmingham & Solihull Jazz & Blues Festival

Birmingham, United Kingdom

facebook.com/Birminghamjazzfestival

July 15 - 16

Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival, 37th Annual

Natchitoches, Louisiana, USA

louisianafolklife.nsula.edu

July 15 - 17

Upton Blues Festival

Upton upon Severn, United Kingdom

uptonbluesfestival.org.uk

July 15 - 17

Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival, 29th Annual

Winthrop, Washington, USA

winthropbluesfestival.com

July 16

Animas River Blues & Brews Fest

Aztec, New Mexico, USA

animasriverblues.com

July 16 - 17

North Atlantic Blues Festival

Rockland, Maine, USA

northatlanticbluesfestival.com

July 16

Roadhouse Bluesfest 3rd Annual

Magnolia, Delaware, USA

centraldelawareblues.com

July 17

Feed More Festival

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

facebook.com/pghfoodbank

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DATE

FESTIVAL NAME

CITY/STATE/COUNTRY

WEBSITE

July 22 - 24

Louisville Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

louisvillebluesandbbqfestival.com

July 23

Blues and Brews Festival

Havre De Grace, Maryland, USA

steppingstonemuseum.org

July 23

Lowertown Blues Festival

St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

LowertownBluesFestival.com

July 25 - 31

Calgary International Blues Festival

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

calgarybluesfest.com

July 27 - 30

Blues Under the Bridge Festival, 10th Annual

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

BluesUnderTheBridge.com

July 29 - 30

Canal Winchester Blues and RibFest

Canal Winchester , Ohio, USA

bluesandribfest.com

July 29 - 30

Fargo Blues Festival

Fargo, North Dakota, USA

fargobluesfest.com

July 29 - 30

Prairie Dog Blues Festival

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, USA

prairiedogblues.com

July 30

Boomtown Blues Festival

Reno, Nevada, USA

boomtownreno.com

July 30

Harpenden Blues, Rhythm & Rock Festival

Harpenden, United Kingdom

harpendenbluesfestival.co.uk

July 31 - Aug 7

Port Townsend Acoustic Blues

Port Townsend, Washington, USA

centrum.org/blues

Aug 4 - 7

Kitchener Blues Festival

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

kitchenerbluesfestival.com

Aug 4 - 7

Mammoth Festival of Beers & Bluesapalooza, 21st Annual

Mammoth Lakes, California, USA

mammothbluesbrewsfest.com

Aug 4 - 7

Notodden Blues Festival

Notodden, Norway

bluesfest.no

Aug 5 - 14

Big Sky Rhythm and Blues

Noxon MT, Montana, USA

bigskyblues.com

Aug 5 - 7

Blue Wing Blues Festival

Upper Lake CA 95485, California, USA

bluewingsaloon.com

Aug 5 - 7

Blues On The Chippewa

Durand, Wisconsin, USA

bluesonthechippewa.com

Aug 5 - 7

Blues, Brews & BBQ’s

McHenry, Illinois, USA

mchenryrotarybluesbrewsandbbqs.com

Aug 5 - 21

Jazz & Beyond

Carson City, Nevada, USA

JazzCarsonCity.com

Aug 5 - 6

Magic City Blues

Billings, Montana, USA

magiccityblues.com

Aug 6

Blue Ribbon Blues Fest

Fairfield, Iowa, USA

southeastiowabluessociety.org

Aug 6

Gloucester Blues Festival

Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA

gloucesterbluesfestival.com

Aug 6

Santa Clarita Valley International Blues Music Day Festival

Santa Clarita, California, USA

facebook.com/LASummerFest/events

Aug 6

Stafford Springs Blues Festival

Stafford Springs, Connecticut, USA

StaffordSpringsBluesFest

Aug 12 - 13

Bronze, Blues, & Brews

Joseph, Oregon, USA

bronzebluesbrews.com

Aug 12 - 14

Calabogie Blues & Ribfest

Calabogie, Ontario, Canada

calabogieblues.com

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DATE

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WEBSITE

Aug 12 - 13

Cincy Blues Fest

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

cincybluesfest.org

Aug 12 - 14

Heritage Music BluesFest

Wheeling, West Virginia, USA

heritagemusicfest.com

Aug 12 - 14

Mystic Blues Festival

North Stonington, Connecticut, USA

mysticbluesfestival.com

Aug 12 - 13

Navasota Blues Fest

Navasota, Texas, USA

navasotabluesfest.org

Aug 12 - 14

Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival 29th Annual

Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

sunflowerfest.org

Aug 12 - 13

Waukesha BluesFest

Delafield, Wisconsin, USA

waukeshabluesfest.com

Aug 14 - 15

The Bloomington Blues & Boogie Woogie Piano Festival

Bloomington, Indiana, USA

bloomingtonboogies.com/home

Aug 18 - 21

Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival

Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada

rootsandblues.ca

Aug 18 - 21

Trois-Rivieres en Blues

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada

3renblues.com

Aug 19 - 21

Baja Blues Fest

Rosarito Beach, Baja, Mexico

bajabluesfest.org

Aug 19 - 20

Big Bull Falls Blues Fest

Wausau, Wisconsin, USA

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

Aug 19 - 20

Chenango Blues Festival

Norwich, New York, USA

chenangobluesfest.org

Aug 19 - 21

Edmonton Blues Festival

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

BluesInternationalltd.com

Aug 19 - 20

Flathead Lake Blues Festival

Polson, Montana, USA

FlatheadLakeBluesFestival.com

Aug 19 - 20

Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues

Madison, Indiana, USA

madisonribberfest.com

Aug 19 - 21

Simply Jazz and Blues Festival

Beckley, West Virginia, USA

simplyjazzandblues.com

Aug 19 - 21

The White Mountain Boogie n’ Blues Festival

Thornton, New Hampshire, USA

NHBlues.com

Aug 20

Johnny Shines Blues Festival

Tuscaloosa , Alabama, USA

JOHNNYShinesBluesFestival.Org

Aug 20

Northeast Blues Guitar Summit

Hartford, Connecticut, USA

blackeyedsallys.com

Aug 20

Rise Up Festival

Saint Louis , Missouri, USA

risestl.org/event/rise-up-festival-2016

Aug 25 - 27

Bean Blossom Blues Fest

Nashville, Indiana, USA

beanblossomblues.com

Aug 26 - 27

Hot August Blues Festival

Hardin, Kentucky, USA

hotaugustbluesfestival.com

Aug 27

Bluefiield Blues Festival

Bluefield, West Virginia, USA

bluefieldbluesfest.com

Aug 27

Crossroads Blues Festival at Lyran Park

Rockford, Illinois, USA

crossroadsbluesfestival.com

Aug 27 - 28

El Paso Blues and Jazz Festival

El Paso, Texas, USA

epbluesandjazz.org

Aug 27 - Sept 1

European Blues Cruise

MARSEILLES , France

europeanbluescruise.com

Aug 27

Trinidaddio Blues Fest

Trinidad, Colorado, USA

trinidaddio.com

Sept 2

Black Prairie Blues Fest

West Point, Mississippi, USA

wpnet.org

Sept 2 - 4

Dusk Til Dawn Blues Festival

Rentiesville, Oklahoma, USA

dcminnerblues.com

Sept 2 - 5

Hot Springs Blues Festival

Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA

spacityblues.org

Sept 2 - 3

Illinois Blues & Roots Music Festival

Peoria, Illinois, USA

bluesrootsfestival.com

Sept 2 - 4

Marquette Area Blues Fest

Marquette, Michigan, USA

marquetteareabluessociety.com

Sept 2 - 3

Nickel Plate District Amphitheater 4th Annual Blues Fest

Fishers , Indiana, USA

Fishers.in.us

Sept 2 - 4

Paramount Blues Festival

Port Washington, Wisconsin, USA

paramountmusic.org

Sept 3 - 4

Big Muddy Blues Festival, The

St. Louis, Missouri, USA

bigmuddybluesfestival.com

Sept 3 - 3

Lehrter Bluesfestival

Lehrte, Germany

blues-in-lehrte.de

Sept 3 - 4

Spa City Blues Festival

Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA

spacityblues.org

Sept 4

Bowlful of Blues 24th Annual

Newton, Iowa, USA

southskunkblues.org

Sept 4

New River Blues Fest

ASHE COUNTY, North Carolina, USA

newriverbluesfestival.info

Sept 5

Labor Day Blues BBQ 31st Annual

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

wrfg.org

Sept 8 - 11

Big Blues Bender

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

bigbluesbender.com

Sept 9 - 11

Bisbee Blues Festival

Bisbee, Arizona, USA

bisbeebluesfoundation.com

Sept 9 - 10

Greater Ozarks Blues Festival

Springfield, Missouri, USA

bluessocietyoftheozarks.com

Sept 10 - 11

Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival

Guerneville, California, USA

russianriverfestivals.com

Sept 10

San Diego Blues Festival AimLoan.com

San Diego, California, USA

sdbluesfest.com

Sept 11

The South Mountain International Blues Festival

West Orange, New Jersey, USA

southmountainbluesfestival.com

Sept 16 - 17

Michigan BluesFest

Lansing, Michigan, USA

oldtownbluesfest.com

Sept 16 - 18

Pennsylvania Blues Festival

Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania, USA

pabluesfestival.com

Sept 16 - 18

Telluride Blues & Brews Festival

Telluride, Colorado, USA

tellurideblues.com

Sept 17

BBQ and Blues at Hopewell Park

Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, USA

hopewelltwp.com/events-calendar

Sept 17

Patterson Blues and BBQ Festival

Patterson, New York, USA

pattersonBLUESandBBQ.com

Sept 17 - 18

Stonebridge Wasaga Beach Blues

Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada

wasagabeachblues.com

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WEBSITE

Sept 23 - 24

Blues and Seafood

Ilwaco, Washington, USA

funbeach.com

Sept 23 - 24

Bogalusa Blues & Heritage Festival

Bogalusa, Louisiana, USA

bogalusablues.com

Sept 23 - 24

Jammin’ in JC

Junction City, Kansas, USA

jammininjc.com

Sept 24 - 25

Bay Area Blues Festival, The 6th Annual

Martinez, California, USA

sresproductions.com/events/bay-area-blues-festival

Sept 24

Big Buggs Island Blues Bash

Clarksville, Virginia, USA

bbibb.org

Sept 24 - 25

College Corner Fall Blues Fest

College Corner, Ohio, USA

jacksonsmusic-swo.com

Sept 28 - Oct 2

Copenhagen Blues Festival

Copenhagen , Denmark

copenhagenbluesfestival.dk

Sept 30 - Oct 1

Bona Fide Blues Festival

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

bonafidebluesfestival.com

Sept 30 - Oct 8

Bridging the Blues

Greenville/Helena, AR, Mississippi, USA

bridgingtheblues.com

Sept 30 - Oct 2

Mighty Mississippi Music Festival

Greenville, Mississippi, USA

mightymississippimusicfestival.com

Sept 30 - Oct 2

Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival

Columbia, Missouri, USA

rootsnbluesnbbq.com

Oct 1

Blues by the River

Sacramento, California, USA

facebook.com/SacBluesByTheRiver

Oct 1

Paoli Blues Fest

Paoli, PA, Pennsylvania, USA

paolibluesfest.com

Oct 2

Whitby Blues, Rhythm & Rock Festival

Whitby, United Kingdom

whitbybluesfestival.co.uk

Oct 5 - 8

King Biscuit Blues Festival

Helena, Arkansas, USA

kingbiscuitfestival.com

Oct 6 - 8

Carolina Downhome Blues Festival 20th Annual

Camden, South Carolina, USA

fineartscenter.org

Oct 7 - 8

Chain O’Lakes Blues Festival

Waupaca, Wisconsin, USA

waupacamemories.com

Oct 7 - 9

Daytona Blues Festival

Daytona Beach, Florida, USA

daytonabluesfestival.com

Oct 7 - 8

Garvin Gate Blues Festival

Louisville , Kentucky, USA

garvingatebluesfestival.com

Oct 8 - 9

Seafood, Blues, and Jazz Festival

Carolina Beach, North Carolina, USA

pleasureislandnc.org/events-details.php?id=201

Oct 13 - 16

Canal Bank Shuffle Blues Festival

Thorold, Ontario, Canada

canalbankshuffle.com

Oct 14 - 15

Bukka White Blues Festival

Aberdeen, Mississippi, USA

bukkawhitefestival.com

Oct 14 - 16

Crescent City Blues & BBQ

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

crescentcitybluesfest.com

Oct 15

Belgian Blues Challenge 2016

Sint-Niklaas, Belgium

belgium.europeanbluesunion.com

Oct 15

Columbia’s Blues Festival

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

wordofmouthproductions.org

Oct 21 - 23

Camping With The Blues

Brooksville, Florida, USA

campingwiththeblues.com

Oct 22 - 29

Cruzin’ for Bluzin’ 2016

Miami, Florida, USA

facebook.com/Cruzin-for-a-Bluzin-2016-1660003700912324

Oct 27 - Nov 30

Hambone Festival

CLARKSDALE, Mississippi, USA

stanstreet.com

Oct 29 - Nov 5

Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise #27 Southeastern Caribbean

San Juan, Puerto Rico

bluescruise.com

Nov 4 - 6

Frederikshavn Bluesfestival

Frederikshavn, Denmark

bluesfestivalen.dk

Nov 4

Gainesville Downtown Blues Concert

Gainesville, Florida, USA

ncfblues.org

Nov 4 - 5

Tommy Johnson Blues Festival, 11th Annual

Jackson, Mississippi, USA

tommyjohnsonblues.com

Nov 5

College Park Blues Festival

College Park, Maryland, USA

facebook.com/CollegeParkBluesFest

Nov 11 - 13

Ilfracombe Blues, Rhythm & Rock Festival

Ilfracombe, United Kingdom

ilfracombebluesfestival.co.uk

Dec 2

Bradenton Blues Festival

Bradenton, Florida, USA

bradentonbluesfestival.org

Jan 22 - 29, 2017 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise #28 Caribbean

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

bluescruise.com

Feb 9 - Feb 12, 17 Boquete Jazz and Blues Festival

Boquete, Panama

boquetejazzandbluesfestival.com

Feb 10 - 11, 17

Winter Blues Fest

Des Moines, Iowa, USA

cibs.org

May 3 - 18, 18

Juneau Jazz & Classics

Juneau, Alaska, USA

jazzandclassics.org

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Blues Festival Guide 2016

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Blues Festival Guide 2016

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