Terry Hanck has assembled a tightly woven outfit featuring top tier talent from the West Coast. Ace guitarist Kid Andersen is once again on hand lending not only his incredible six-string attack to the proceedings, but also his engineering wizardry courtesy of his own Greaseland Studios. Also highlighted is current guitarist Johnny Cat, who replaced Andersen back in 2004. Rounding out the rhythm section is drummer Butch Cousins, along with bassist Tim Wagar, replacing Terry's longtime friend and bandmate Michael "Fly" Brooks who unfortunately passed away on September 20, 2010. Additionally the album features Nightcats' bassist Lorenzo Farrell, the multi-talented Bob Welsh on piano and B-3, and Dennis Dove on backing vocals as well as drums on "Girl, Girl, Girl." At 66, Terry Hanck is singing better and playing better than he ever has. He's delivered his strongest album yet - chock full of swinging grooves, inspired musicianship, as well as witty and insightful lyrics. It's no wonder he's been twice recognized in recent years with Blues Music Award nominations in 2009 and 2011. So "LOOK OUT"!...'cause Terry Hanck is on the move and he's headed to a town near you!

 

EG KIGHT has honed her Country-Flavored Southern-Fried Blues with five CDs and headline touring at clubs and festivals across America and Europe.   Her rural Georgia roots go deep, and that comes through in her music, a Blues/country hybrid that encompasses elements of americana, jazz, gospel and pop.  EG tours as a solo artist and with a band, and recently performed with a symphony orchestra one weekend, and three weeks later on NPR’s famed “A Prairie Home Companion”.  Her five previous CDs have consistently hit the Blues radio charts, and she has been acclaimed as a performer and as a songwriter—she has been honored with six Blues Music Award nominations, twice for Song of the Year; her original composition won the People’s Choice Award in an international Peace Song Challenge, and her songs have appeared on two Grammy nominated albums.

 

On LIP SERVICE, EG KIGHT beefs up her Country-Flavored Southern-Fried Blues with some very heavy hitters from the world of Southern Rock: producer/keyboardist PAUL HORNSBY (Marshall Tucker, Charlie Daniels, etc.), keyboardist RANDALL BRAMBLETT (Sea Leavell, Bonnie Raitt, etc.),  guitarist TOMMY TALTON (Cowboy), Capricorn Records session drummer BILL STEWART,  and horn players EARL FORD and MARCUS HENDERSON.  The CD also features her great road band and a duet with rising Blues star John Németh.

 

 

 

RUSKIN GROUNDS, UK - Organisers of the annual folk and blues festival managed to raise £1,000 for Great Ormand Street Hospital.

 

The festival was held in the grounds of Ruskin House on July 9 from 12pm until 11pm.

 

The rock n’roll Rob family band kicked off the festival with nine-year-old Tommy playing the drums and they were followed by country and yiddish music from Butt of Lewis, bluegrass from the Ruskin Hillbillies and jazz music from the Hot Club of Purley, which included young Matthew Tighe on fiddle.

 

As well as great music, there was also stalls and a BBQ with a bouncy castle for children.

 

A spokesman said: “There was poetry in the air with Bart Wolffe, a poet and author exiled from Zimbabwee and an inspiring performance of music and dancing by a Russian/Ukrainian children's choir in national costume.

 

(AUBURN, Calif.) - Get ready for one of California's biggest Family-Friendly Blues events of the Summer - the 11th Annual Northern California Blues Festival, Friday, August 5 (5-10 p.m.) and Saturday, August 6 (11 a.m.-10 p.m.) at the Auburn Regional Park, 3770 Richardson Dr. (off Highway 49 at Dry Creek Rd.), Auburn. Tickets: Friday - $7 advance/$10 gate (12 & under), $25 advance/$30 gate (General Admission); $65 advance/ $80 gate (V.I.P.); Saturday - $8 advance/$10 gate (12 and under), $33 advance/$40 gate (General Admission); $97 advance/$120 gate (V.I.P.). Weekend Pass - $12 advance/$15 gate (12 and under), $55 advance/$60 gate (General Admission), $150 advance/$180 gate (V.I.P.). More ticket info. available at http://www.showclix.com/event/30383. V.I.P. level ticket holders will have full access to air-conditioned cocktail lounge, shaded seating, meet-and-greet opportunities with the performing artists in the V.I.P. Lounge Area, and more. Portions of the proceeds benefit both the Auburn Recreation District Youth Assistance Fund and the Sacramento Blues Society's Blues In The Schools program. Four twin-tower misting fans with large outdoor "cool-down" areas; huge arts and crafts (and) food vendors area; and free Kids Zone with water rides on Saturday (no kids Zone on Friday night). $4 parking at Parkside Church across the street from the Festival. Info: (916) 350-4640 log onto www.NorCalBluesFest.com.

 

Blues guitar lovers will be in virtual 7th Heaven with the headlining appearances of Kenny Neal, Dennis Jones, and Carolyn Wonderland.

ARTICLE LINK
By Chris Smith

SONOMA, CA. - Normally by this point in summer, KRSH deejay Bill Bowker is talking up the lineup for his Blues Festival at the Sonoma County Fair.

 

But today Bill is a shade bluer than usual. He says there won’t be a Blues Fest this year, but he vows it will be back.

 

“It’s time for a brief break,” he said, “a regrouping of sorts and a renewal of enthusiasm to gear up for a more than stellar event in 2012.”

 

Bill is working to locate a new venue for the 30-year-old Blues Festival, which thrived for a good long time at the county fair, but not any more. Early in 2010, fair officials scrubbed the event to cut costs but later reinstated it.

 

Bill’s now ready to move it. One venue he’s seriously considering is the gorgeous, open lawn area at the Earle Baum Center of the Blind on Occidental Road, just west of Santa Rosa.

 

 

The 12th Annual Hayward-Russell City Blues Festival took place on the lawn near City Hall in Hayward, California, over July 9-10, 2011. This festival celebrates the rich musical history of Russell City, a long gone, semi-rural area near San Francisco Bay on the western fringes of modern day Hayward.

 

 

 

Some of the highlights included:

 

On Saturday the Delta Wires, performed a high energy horns and harmonica set with a delta style flavor to their music. Alabama Mike provided us with some “Old School” blues. The Russell City Memorial Blues Band showed us a variety of styles and showed us a glimpse of the music once available 24 hours a day in old Russell City. The band featured Curtis Lawson, Big Cat Tolefree, Fillmore Slim, Billy Dunn, Lee Ashford, Bobby Webb, Dalhart Johnson, Gino Landers, Big Bob Deance and Ronnie Stewart. Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers hit the stage with their electrifying “West Coast Blues,” and it’s immediately easy to understand why Rod is considered a “blues harp maestro.”  He is also a seasoned showman who comfortably connects with and involves the audience. Rod’s wife, Honey, doesn’t trail behind with her piano, either, even standing to play tap the keys with her feet at one point to loud response from the crowd. A King and Two Queens (Taildragger, Deitra Farr and Demetria Taylor) dished up a huge plate of Chicago Blues, just as they did last week in Portland. Johnny Rawls closed out the show with his “Smooth Soul Blues”.

 

On Sunday Bobby Joe Neely and “his one man band” got the crowd going while playing a variety of instruments. Of course, he had to demonstrate just how easy it is to play several instruments more or less simultaneously, though few seemed convinced. The Caravan of Allstars took the stage next, showcasing some of the best in “West Coast Blues”. They even called upon Bob White, a retired police officer who was helping with festival security, for an impressive rendition of a Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Lenny Williams finished the show with some smooth and passionate R& B vocals.

 

Thanks to Paula and Ronnie Stewart and the Bay Area Blues Society for another year of great music. See ya next year!

 

Cheryl and Tom Yearnshaw

WASHINGTON, DC. - The 8th Annual Congressional Blues Festival will take place on July 27th, 2011 at the National Building Museum in Washington DC. The festival is an effort to honor and showcase American Roots music and help those who helped create this great art form.

 

The 'Blues' is America's own creation and tradition, and is at the heart of our cultural identity and the root of American music. Born from the streets and hearts of Americans, The Blues is recognized and respected globally--reaching every corner of the earth while serving as the core of inspiration for every successful top-performing artist. The Blues epitomizes our cultural identity, and yet the opportunity to learn from its creators is slipping away. Many original Blues pioneers are struggling to make a living through their art as they try to pass on this tradition to future generations, and the Congressional Blues Festival (congressionalbluesfestival.com) was created to raise funds and to spread the word for this cause.

 

ARTICLE LINK
By Chris Cobb

 

OTTAWA, CANADA — It felt like a true blues festival.

 

The near capacity crowd crammed in front of the Subway stage soaked up the brilliance of Buddy Guy and his band with something close to reverence.

 

Guy introduced himself with two searing guitar solos as if to say: “Here I am folks and this is just a taste of what’s to come.”

 

It’s no wonder that of the few remaining living blues legends, Guy has the respect — of not awe — of many great players: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Keith Richards among them.

 

Weathered though he looks, Guy belies his age — 75 at the end of this month. He lives his music and is clearly still enjoying himself.

 

As a teen, Charlie worked in Memphis as a ditch digger, concrete layer and moonshine runner while soaking up the music of legends like Furrey Lewis, Will Shade and Gus Cannon. 

 

Charlie moved to Chicago in search of better work and while he drove an exterminator truck by day he hung around Blues clubs at night and became friends with Little Walter, Big Walter, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters and others.

 

It didn't take long before Musslewhite was sitting in on Harp with the Chicago masters and carving out  his own reputation in the Blues.

 

 

 

 

 

By Lois Wheatley

 

WILMINGTON, NC. - Your doctor called. He said you could go off the Prozac long enough to get down to Wilmington for the 16th Annual Cape Fear Blues Festival, July 29-31 – as long as you’re well chaperoned.

 

Friday night kicks off the festival with the ever-popular Blues Cruise aboard the Henrietta III riverboat (Water Street at Dock Street). Beginning at 5:30 p.m.on the dock, blues soloist Rick Tobey entertains boarding passengers, and the cruise departs at 7:30 p.m.Henrietta is an authentic replica paddleboat with three decks, which will mean three cash bars and three bands:  Nashville guitarist Rickey Godfrey on the main deck, Wilmington’s own Ten Dollar Thrill on the upper deck, and Southern Pines blues artist Tampa Blue on the atrium level. Advance tickets are $49. Call 910-350-8822 or visit www.wilmingtontickets.com.

 

ARTICLE LINK
By Mark Bialczak

 

SYRACUSE, NY. - A fine time in the Inner Harbor for blues fans. They gathered at the Syracuse Inner Harbor last weekend to celebrate the rebirth of the New York State Blues Festival.

 

Music lovers mixed with boaters and families for the 20th edition of the festival back after taking last year off because of the challenging economic climate.

 

And if you happened to be a music lover who owned a boat and had children to bring along? Bingo.

 

MARYPORT, UK. - Maryport will have two open air stages for this year’s blues festival after all.

 

Organisers of the annual event had to pull plans for an outdoor stage on Shipping Brow due to health and safety issues and spiralling costs.

 

But they looked at alternatives and a new stage will be erected behind the Captain Nelson Tavern and the McMenamins building, off Irish Street, while an outdoor stage will also be at Maryport Rugby Club on Mealpot Road over the last weekend in July.

 

Debra Park, blues committee spokeswoman, said the group was delighted there would be a stage, on private land behind the harbourside pubs.

 

She added: “I hope it goes some way to making sure that there is something going on in the town as well as what is happening in the pubs on the blues trail.”

 

It is good news for the group which lost its bid this week to resurrect the Shipping Brow stage after being refused a road closure permit.

 

Around 50 people attended a public meeting at the Lifeboat Inn on Wednesday to form the Solway Trust, a charity that will look at raising money throughout the year to ensure that the Shipping Brow stage can be reinstated next year.

 

OCEANPORT, NJ. - It’s a trifecta kind of day Saturday (July 16) at Monmouth Park racetrack, with a triple treat of bonafide blues stars coming into the storied Oceanport venue. Robert Cray, Shemekia Copeland and Jonny Lang will be performing at the track for the inaugural Monmouth Park blues festival.

 

The “Blues in the Park Cajun Cookout” will include Cajun and New Orleans-style food vendors and performances from the Rebirth Brass Band at 3:30 p.m., Shemekia Copeland at 4 p.m., Robert Cray and his band at 5:15 p.m. and Jonny Lang and his band at 6:45 p.m. The festival is scheduled to wrap up by 8:30 p.m., but the music continues at 9:15 or so at Chico’s House of Jazz, 631 Lake Ave., Asbury Park, where the Rebirth Brass Band will perform at an after party.

 

 

A tribute album to Chicago blues wouldn’t be complete without an appearance by two of the city’s most beloved bluesmen, Buddy Guy and James Cotton. Both appear on the all-star recording, “Chicago Blues: A Living History - The Revolution Continues.”

 

    

 

Joe Bonamassa, proud blues rocker, joins Elwood. He talks about growing up in his folks’ guitar shop, the ups and downs of DIY, and cites some influences. These will be played: Led Zeppelin, BB King, Otis Rush. A busy man, Joe also has a side project with former members of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, Black Country Communion. Elwood will spin a track from that. Also: brand new music from the eclectic Soul of John Black. This week, a chance for five of you to win Bluesland, a new CD from Juno winner Bill Bourne and the Free Radio Band. Don’t forget to register to win a gorgeous, custom Jorma Kaukonen Model Martin Acoustic Guitar. All right here.

 

RBA Publishing Inc is based in Reno, NV with a satellite office in Beverly Hills, Florida. We produce the annual Blues Festival Guide magazine (now in its 7th year), the top-ranking website: www.BluesFestivalGuide.com, and this weekly blues newsletter: The Blues Festival E-Guide with approximately 20,000 weekly subscribers. We look forward to your suggestions, critiques, questions, etc.

Reach the E-Guide editor, Yvonne Varner, editor@bluesfestivaleguide.com

or contact our home office at 775-337-8626, eguide@bluesfestivalguide.com
 

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