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2009 Magazine available On-Line for FREE
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OUR MAGAZINE IS NOW ALSO DIGITAL!
CLICK HERE
No need to worry if you don't receive a copy of the 2009 BLUES FESTIVAL GUIDE magazine from your local blues society or festival this year, because our magazine is now also digital!
Regardless of whether you are in Timbuktu or Los Angeles, you can now read the ENTIRE magazine ONLINE by simply clicking through page by page, or go directly to the page number you wish using the Table of Contents as your guide. You can even click through to advertiser’s website or search for a particular festival or use the Search function.
Email a page or the whole magazine to a friend on the other part of the earth with a simple click. Or you can print out your favorite article as a keepsake. Lots of fun bells and whistles make this Digital magazine a welcome addition to the media products of RBA Publishing.
This helps us distribute more copies of the magazine without using natural resources.
Viewers can find the link on our homepage at bluesfestivalguide.com or click
here: CLICK
Click, read, enjoy and have a bluesy summer!
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BIG PETE PEARSON : : FINGER IN YOUR EYE
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Born in Jamaica in 1936, Big Pete Pearson relocated to Texas with his parents as a child. He began his musical career in the juke joints of Austin’s East side, playing bass alongside the likes of T.D. Bell, Blues Boy Hubbard, and Pete’s younger cousin, W.C. Clark. After playing a few gigs in Phoenix, Arizona in the late 50’s, Pete relocated there and quickly became the de facto King of the Arizona blues scene. BigPete remained a pretty well-kept local secret until his 2007 release, I’m Here Baby on Blue Witch Records, which introduced Pete to the worldwide blues community as a first-class Blues shouter.
Finger In Your Eye, released by Southwest Musical Arts Foundation Records through the VizzTone label group, promises to solidify his stature as a veteran master of the blues. By now, Big Pete Pearson’s powerhouse vocals and larger-than-life stage persona have delighted audiences around the world.
Produced by Bob Corritore, Finger In Your Eye is Pete’s first all-original blues album, featuring 10 of his own compositions. Big Pete is nimbly backed on this CD by his touring band, the Rhythm Room Allstars: Bob Corritore (harp), Chris James (guitar), Patrick Rynn (bass), and Brian Fahey (drums). As usual, Pete has attracted a bevy of very special guests, including Pinetop Perkins, Duke Robillard, Henry Gray, Billy Flynn, Doug James, and Eddie Taylor, Jr.
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Winner of the 2008 Independent Music Award - Blues category
• Previous CD hit #1 on French Power Blues charts
• New CD features 10 original Big Pete compositions
• Special guests include Pinetop Perkins, Duke Robillard, etc.
• Advertising in Blues magazines, websites
• In-house publicity and promotion by VizzTone label group
• Produced by Grammy-nominated Bob Corritore
For more: CLICK
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WATERMELON SLIM : : ESCAPE FROM THE CHICKEN COOP
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At least once in every man's life everything seems to come together magically. When the road leading to such times is long and grueling, the zenith becomes exponentially more rewarding. Bill Homans a.k.a. Watermelon Slim is the extraordinary wheel man behind this redemption story road trip.
In December 2006 Watermelon Slim garnered a record-tying six 2007 Blues Music Award nominations for Artist, Entertainer, Album, Band, Song, and Traditional Album of the Year. Only the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray have ever landed six. His 2006 self-titled release was ranked #1 in MOJO Magazine's 2006 Top Blues CDs, won the 2006 Independent Music Award for Blues Album of the Year, hit #1 on the Living Blues Radio Chart, debuted at #13 on the Billboard Blues Radio Chart ahead of both Robert Cray and North Mississippi Allstars, and won the Blues Critic Award for 2006 Album of the Year.
Escape from the Chicken Coop features the best musicians in Nashville, and was recorded at the same studio as O Brother, Where Art Thou? Two songs were co-written with Gary Nicholson, who writes a lot of songs for Delbert McClinton (who came in to watch Slim record in Nashville).
For more: CLICK
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Enter this contest and win!
ENTER TO BE ON ELWOOD'S GUEST LIST
AND ENJOY LIVE SUMMERTIME BLUES
Elwood Blues (aka Dan Aykroyd), The BluesMobile.com, and The Blues Festival Guide want to get you into a local Blues music festival FOR FREE! We're giving away tickets to over 50 Blues festivals all across the continent, all summer long. 40 Blues fans will each win a pair of tickets to a Blues festival in their area.
The festivals range from small, unique gatherings to large, multiple-stage events. Each festival has its own character. Enter for your chance to win a pair of tickets and choose a festival in your region. 10 winners will be chosen each month in May, June, July, and August, 2009.
There is nothing to purchase, and we'll never sell your information. Entrants must be 18 or older. One winner per household, prizes do not include transportation, accommodations, food, drink, etc. unless otherwise specified. Void where prohibited.
For your chance to get on Elwood's Guest List visit TheBluesMobile.com.
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BLUES FOUNDATION NEWS
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Blues City Cigars Benefit The Blues Foundation
Blues Foundation member Kjeld Petersen of the Memphis Tobacco Bowl has introduced its new line of Memphis-inspired cigars, "Blues City Cigars." They are designating 10% of the proceeds of the sales of Blues City Cigars for the benefit the Blues Foundation.
Lansky's at the Peabody Hotel carries both individual cigars and commemorative three cigar packs - with art by noted Memphis artist David Lynch commemorating the Blues.
A portion of all proceeds from the sales of Blues City Cigars will be donated to the Blues Foundation in support of their work to promote blues music around the world and Memphis. Blues City Cigars is proud to be a member of the Blues Foundation.
Blues City Cigars are also being promoted with full-color advertisements in Travel Host Magazine and the Downtown Merchant Guide.
As our online presence becomes more viable they will have additional information about ordering cigars. In support of the line, they will also have a number of shirt designs and accessories reflecting the 'spirit' of Blues City Cigars.
For more: CLICK
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"THE BEATLES ROCK BAND" ANNOUNCES 15 NEW TRACKS
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The debut of The Beatles: Rock Band is still well over a month away, but early glimpses of the video game suggest another wave of Fab Four hysteria can’t be far off. On his current tour (and at Coachella), Paul McCartney has already revealed some charming animated footage from the game. And at a recent preview session at MTV in Santa Monica, California, Rolling Stone got an up-close look at the most exciting version of Rock Band yet.
As RS previously reported, the game comes with 45 remastered tracks, and Abbey Road will become available for download at the same time as the title’s September 9th release for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. Fifteen more tracks — and their venues — have been announced today, including “Can’t Buy Me Love” at the Ed Sullivan Theater, “Paperback Writer” at Budokan and “I’ve Got A Feeling” at the rooftop concert (full list below).
A hands-on test of the game suggests it could sometimes be a challenge to keep up with George Harrison’s guitar on “Day Tripper” and “Here Comes the Sun.” And your luck singing along (and actually hitting the right notes) with John Lennon and McCartney is measured within the game. As previously reported, The Beatles: Rock Band allows for three-part harmony (a vocal training session in the game will help with that) and rocking on the Beatles’ signature instruments: a Höfner bass, Rickenbacker and Gretsch guitars and Ludwig drums.
Fans will also find rare bits of Fab ephemera otherwise unavailable on the albums embedded in the game. According to a spokesman for MTV Games/Harmonix, McCartney personally did some unofficial fact-checking for the game, making small adjustments in the chronology. Before now, the Beatles have been totally unavailable to fans of Rock Band (or rival Guitar Hero), but the delay has led to a Beatles version of the game that pushes the technology further, finally offering a digitized magical mystery tour that is a vivid, multi-layered experience for a new era.
Confirmed songs for The Beatles: Rock Band:
“Twist And Shout” / Cavern Club
“Do You Want To Know A Secret” / Cavern Club
“Can’t Buy Me Love” / Ed Sullivan Theater
“I Wanna Be Your Man” / Ed Sullivan Theater
“Eight Days A Week” / Shea Stadium
“Paperback Writer” / Budokan
“And Your Bird Can Sing” / Budokan
“Yellow Submarine” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
“With a Little Help from My Friends” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
“Within You Without You” / Tomorrow Never Knows / Abbey Road Dreamscape
“Revolution” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
“Birthday” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
“Dig A Pony” / Rooftop Concert
“I’ve Got A Feeling” / Rooftop Concert
“I Saw Her Standing There”
“I Want To Hold Your Hand”
“I Feel Fine”
“Taxman”
“Day Tripper”
“Back In The USSR”
“I Am The Walrus”
“Octopus’s Garden”
“Here Comes The Sun”
“Get Back”
(Click here to watch the newest trailer for The Beatles: Rock Band, featuring eight of the 15 newly announced tunes.)
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Artists with the Most Posthumous Album Sales
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In the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death, global sales of his albums have soared, and there are rumors that unreleased songs and albums will generate millions of more dollars. But he's not alone. The music world is full of legendary recording artists whose popularity lived on long after them. Whole generations of listeners who weren't even alive when such stars as Elvis, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Buddy Holly died continue to buy their music, whether downloading them from iTunes or purchasing them from Amazon. In fact, many late musicians saw their sales spike after their death. What were the most popular posthumous albums? Read on to find out.
Editor's Note: The Highest-charting albums refer to the Billboard 200 ranking. The Album sales come from Nielsen SoundScan and only include sales after 1991 when the company began tracking sales figures. For Michael Jackson, the company provided sales figures starting after his death on June 25.
| Artist |
Sales in Millions
(since 1991) |
| Tupac Shakur |
32.2 |
| Elvis |
31.2 |
| Frank Sinatra |
26.9 |
| Bob Marley |
25.0 |
| Kurt Cobain |
24.9 |
| Johnny Cash |
20.9 |
| Freddie Mercury |
19.3 |
| Jim Morrison |
15.9 |
| Jimi Hendrix |
15.5 |
| Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (TLC) |
15.5 |
| Jerry Garcia |
15.2 |
| Marvin Gaye |
13.1 |
| Patsy Cline |
12.7 |
| Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace |
11.9 |
| Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (aka: Selena) |
9.9 |
| Ray Charles |
9.7 |
| Aaliyah Dana Haughton (aka: Aaliyah) |
8.1 |
| Janis Joplin |
7.8 |
| Roy Orbison |
6.9 |
| James Brown |
5.0 |
| Michael Hutchence |
4.8 |
| John Lennon (w/ Beatles 57.6) |
4.4 |
| Jim Croce |
4.0 |
| Michael Jackson (since his June 25th death) |
2.3 |
| Buddy Holly |
1.5 |
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CISCO OTTAWA BLUESFEST HAS A RECORD BREAKING YEAR
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With the addition of the new Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest ByWard location, the Ottawa Bluesfest drew more than 350,000 music fans over the past 12 days. Headliners, Kiss brought Bluesfest's largest crowd to date, and surprisingly large attendance was seen for 'fest regulars Blue Rodeo, Ben Harper, Sam Roberts, and Metric.
This year's event featured a typically eclectic lineup for the Bluesfest with artists including Stone Temple Pilots, Jeff Beck, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Dead Weather, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Ludacris.
The 12-day event was produced with the help of more than 5,000 volunteers and funding assistance from more than 70 corporate sponsors, the festival was a huge success.
This year was also the first time that the Bluesfest featured significant free outdoor programming with the support of the Canadian government's Marquee Tourism Events Program (MTEP) by successfully staging the inaugural Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest in the ByWard. Along with the free outdoor programming, the event included a late-night series in 11 indoor venues.
Featured acts on the outdoor main stage included George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Arrested Development, Lee Scratch Perry, and Broken Social Scene. In all, more than 70 performances were presented at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest ByWard.
"After a gruelling 12 days of fantastic music, fans and festival organizers should sleep well this week," says Bluesfest's executive and artistic director, Mark Monahan. "When our team returns after a well deserved rest, we'll start planning for the 2010 edition of the 'fest." - CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
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ROCK BAND OPENS PLATFORM TO INDIE MUSIC
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Getting A Song Onto Gaming Platforms Is About To Get Easier
Music is an essential part of gaming and enjoying music long side games increased exponentially with the popularity Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Until now, however, most indie and d.i.y. musicians have been shut off the gaming console.
Harmonix and MTV Games are opening access to all artists via a newly created Rock Band Network, a platform that gives musicians and record labels the ability to author their own original recordings into gameplay files and sell their music as playable Rock Band tracks through the newly-created Rock Band Network Music Store.
Artists can set their own price from 50 cents to $3 per track and will receive 30% of any sales. But there enough technical hoops to jump through that most artists may want to let their distributor or other third party do the heavy lifting. The new platform will launch in open beta in late August and offer a toolset with detailed documentation on how bands can begin authoring songs into Rock Band gameplay files. Authors will be able to submit tracks for playtesting and peer review via a specialized Web site, creators.rockband.com. Publishers will also need membership in Microsoft's XNA Creators Club Online in order to test and publish game content. The service will only be available to those who purchase a premium membership to Microsoft's XNA Creators Club for four months at $49.99 or for a year at $99.99.
"The Rock Band Network enables songwriters and musicians - at any stage of their careers - to create their own paths through the interactive music realm," said Paul DeGooyer, Senior Vice President, Electronic Games and Music, MTV Networks Music Group. "Our download store has been an extraordinary success, and it's exciting for us to provide access to our platform through this uniquely elegant solution."
The service will launch to only Xbox and PlayStation users, but other platforms are expected to be supported soon.
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ROOTS 'N BLUES PLAN INCLUDES TICKET FEES
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A plan for admission fees, street closures, open-container areas and city services for the 2009 Roots ’N Blues ’N BBQ festival has earned the approval of the Columbia City Council.
Thumper Productions, which produces the event, has been working for months with the city’s special events committee, business owners and the University of Missouri on a detailed plan to prepare for the two-day music and barbecue festival downtown. Concerns about where alcohol can be consumed and Thumper’s plan to charge admission to certain areas of the annual festival prompted months of meetings this spring and summer.
Business owners have said sales typically drop the weekend of the event, and they hoped to capitalize on the festival with food and alcohol sales outdoors. Some contend that restricting open-container use to certain areas has made it difficult for them to compete with out-of-town vendors. Matt Istwan of the Déjà Vu comedy club raised these issues again at the council meeting, but the council unanimously passed the plan with no amendments, keeping the open-container area restricted to one fenced-off area.
A new aspect of the festival, returning for its third iteration Sept. 25 and 26, will be that fenced-off area, where only ticket holders are allowed. Access to the barbecue contestant area, several streets with vendors, Flat Branch Park and a music stage will be free to the public, but a portion of the fest including two music stages and beer vendors will require tickets.
Tickets sold before Sept. 25 will cost $10 for one day and $15 for a weekend pass. Tickets sold during the festival will cost $15 for one day and $25 for the weekend.
Community activist Mary Hussmann has been an advocate of keeping the festival completely free of charge, as it was the first two years.
“I understand why Thumper wants help from the city and to only allow the main festival entertainment be for those who can pay,” Hussmann said to council members before they voted on the plan. “What I can’t get is why the people’s representatives, you, would plan to promote this previously free, uniting event, give the city’s blessing and promotion and agree to sponsor this divisive and exclusionary event.”
Thumper representative Richard King, who owns The Blue Note entertainment venue, said the footprint of the festival had been altered to try to allow access to as many downtown businesses as possible. Organizers have said they have tried to keep much of the festival open to the public, as in years past.
“Of the 15 blocks we’re asking that you close, only five would require a ticket to get in,” King said at the meeting.
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A GREAT NIGHT OF BLUES AT LAKE TAHOE
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Special to the e-guide by Carol Cizauskaon
On Saturday, July 11, I remembered the old saying, “The blues is good for what ails you.” The San Francisco Blues Festival brought to Harvey’s Lake Tahoe a stellar lineup: Mitch Kashmar, The Mannish Boys, Elvin Bishop, Mavis Staples, Jimmy Johnson, Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater, and Lonnie Brooks.
The drive up to the Lake through desert was a hurricane of sand, and at Tahoe we felt the rain. But the sun came out for Elvin Bishop, who performed the best I’ve ever seen – and I’ve seen him more times over the years than I can remember. There must have been something in that Lake Tahoe air that evening, because not only Elvin, but all the artists performed at peak, including Mavis Staples. The evening’s emcee put it best and put it simply: “That was one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen Mavis give." Mavis was certainly up for the gig: “This is my first time playing at the Tahoe Blues Festival,” she said. “What I want to know is, what took you so long?” You couldn’t sit still for Mavis and her band, especially with their finale, the old Staples Singers standard, “I’ll Take You There.” It seemed that every body was dancing, every voice singing the chorus
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As if that wasn’t enough to take my mind off of troubles, the concert ended with the Chicago blues triumvirate of Jimmy Johnson, Eddy Clearwater, and Lonnie Brooks. Jimmy Johnson, a spry 81-year-old, sounded better than most 20-somethings I’ve heard. His contribution to the magic of the night made the crowd wild for more. And so following him played Eddy Clearwater, an impressive man made taller with his Western hat. Yet even with that height — his toothy smile, beautiful voice, and warm ways made you want to reach onto the stage and hug him.
The grand finale to the Tahoe night under the stars ended with the blues of Lonnie Brooks, presented by his son who played backup to all three Chicago blues legends. Lonnie’s guitar serenaded us as we made our way reluctantly to the drive back to Reno. His guitar sounded the spitting echo of a train.
Thanks to these generous performers at the Blues at the Lake, my soul lightened, with no more blues to ponder.
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VIRGINIA ROCKS! THE HISTORY OF ROCKABILLY IN THE COMMONWEALTH
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In the early 1950s the pounding, driving wheels of a new kind of music came highballing up out of the South like a past-due locomotive. Called rock ’n’ roll, it had the transformative power to alter one’s musical sensibilities with a single song. But rock had an older twin with a flipped-up-collar attitude and a good-natured sneer. This first-born rebel was called rockabilly. Its blistering, slap-back beat set primal nerve endings aquiver that most teenagers hadn’t known they possessed.
No one did more to teach and spread rockabilly throughout the land than the “Hillbilly Cat” himself, Elvis Presley. Other superstars of the genre include Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Virginia’s own Gene Vincent. Orbiting this galaxy of rock’s founding fathers was a phalanx of talented singers and musicians. These satellite artists provided live music at local sock hops and maybe cut a record or two, but never ascended onto the national stage.
Rambunctious rockabilly never died per se, but by the early 1960s, when the Beatles started taking rock to another sphere, its golden era had passed. Most of the Virginia artists whose early rockabilly recordings epitomized the raw exuberance of the music slipped into obscurity. As the years went by, some of the best rockabilly music ever cut into wax was coming dangerously close to being lost to the ages. Then a fateful moment occurred thousands of miles from the Old Dominion.
“In 1988, we had been doing some consulting work in Northern Ireland,” said Roddy Moore, director of the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum of Ferrum College, which is the state’s center for folklore and folklife. “Coming back, we were in London, and I was going through albums in a record store. “All of a sudden here pops up an album titled ‘Rockabilly and Country Music from Patrick and Henry County, Virginia.’ I thought, ‘Well, if these people here recognize this, we need to do some work at home.’ “This was music I knew something about, because it was the music I grew up with. And I had been wondering for years what had happened to all the bands from the ’50s and early ’60s that played at the local dances. “When I got home I started looking into it, and that’s how this whole thing got started.”
What fate started in the London record store recently culminated in the release of a 2-CD box set titled “Virginia Rocks! The History of Rockabilly in the Commonwealth.” The set includes more than 60 songs that draw their pulsing-with-life energy directly from the pure, unadulterated fountainhead of early rockabilly. Christopher C. King co-produced the set with Moore and also remastered the songs from the original records, many of which are extremely rare. The records couldn’t have been put in better hands. In 2003, the remastering engineer and production coordinator for Rebel Records and County Records won a Grammy for his work on the seven-CD box set “Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton.” He has been nominated for Grammies several more times for his work on other CD sets celebrating musicians such as Ernest Stoneman and Charlie Poole. King said he initially was reluctant to get involved in the rockabilly project because his expertise is with the music that predates it by decades. He ultimately agreed to take on the work to honor his late father, Les King. “My dad had recorded and played with a lot of these rockabilly guys, most famously with Buddy Holly for a brief period of time,” said King, who lives with his family in Faber. “More importantly, my dad was a disc jockey during this time period, playing early rock ’n’ roll and rockabilly out of WKEY Radio in Covington. “I inherited his 45 records and the songs he was recorded on. When I was asked if they could use some of my dad’s material, I said of course. “I gave it to Brent Hoiser, who, with Don Harrison, wrote the liner notes for the set. He came back and said the stuff was fabulous, and they ended up including three tracks that my dad played either piano or bass on. “The best part of all this for me was seeing the look on my mom’s face when I gave her a copy of the set. I told her to turn to a certain page in the booklet, and she saw a big picture of my dad in front of the WKEY microphone.”
The project was funded with support from the Virginia Foundation of the Humanities and includes a large exhibit in the institute’s museum. The exhibit has many rarities, such as Link Wray’s guitar — the one on which he played the instrumental hit “Rumble,” which sold 4 million copies and is included on the CD set.
There’s also the cap, jacket and shirt worn by one of Vincent’s band members, who were call the Blue Caps. Other treasured pieces of rockabilly history in the exhibit are the two turntables and reel-to-reel tape-recording machine from the Fernwood Farms studio in South Norfolk (now Chesapeake) that recorded many of Virginia’s rockabilly artists.
Today, if you asked three people what they think rockabilly is, you might get a dozen different answers. Virginia rockabilly sensation Janis Martin, who was billed in the ’50s as the “female Elvis,” put it this way in 2001. “What happened was, back in the late ’40s, you only had big-band music — Rosemary Clooney and Patti Page — and then you had hillbilly music on the country side — Hank Snow, Hank Williams,” said Martin, who continued to rock audiences out of their seats nearly up to the time she succumbed to cancer in 2007. “Then you had the black artists on a label called Atlantic. So really, how rockabilly came about, it was country music singers that discovered the black rhythm and blues music, and they incorporated it into hillbilly music and rocked it up. Rockabilly.”
The CD set includes two of Martin’s hit songs, “Drugstore Rock ’n’ Roll” and “Let’s Elope, Baby.” It also includes the 1959 tribute song to her by the group Rock-A-Teens, “Janis Will Rock.” King said a lot of people say what defines rockabilly is the measure of syncopation, while others say it’s the instrumentation of bass, drums and electric guitars. He thinks that leaves out the most important ingredient in the alchemy that brings it to radiant life.
“I think it’s actually the spirit in which the music is performed,” King said. “There’s definitely a huge amount of adolescent angst involved, and that’s what I think differentiates this music from pop music of the ’50s. “It’s like Patti Page with a horrible attitude. Janis Martin and Gene Vincent are probably the two best examples that show these are basically kids, surrounded by kids. “Another example is the Collins Kids, who were both under 12 when they recorded, but they were doing hardcore rockabilly. Larry Collins was playing a guitar bigger than he was.”
Legendary Virginia singer Patsy Cline dabbled in rockabilly, as did Roy Clark and Wayne Newton. Songs by them are included in the set, but with these few exceptions, this is a tribute to obscure Virginia artists who could rock it up with the best of them. “I think the real importance of this project is the recognition and acknowledgement it gives to people from communities throughout Virginia who started out by imitating the music, and then went on to create their own,” Moore said. “I think the role the local bands played was an important one, because they were playing the music people wanted to hear. There’s a band from the Lynchburg area called the Dazzlers. “They played at dance parties and made a record. They’re all still alive and still playing together. Back 50 years ago they were pretty athletic on stage, but like one of them recently said, ‘Hell, at 300 pounds it’s hard to get that guitar over my head any more.’ ”
The 2-CD set “Virginia Rocks! The History of Rockabilly in the Commonwealth” costs $22.50 and is available at www.countysales.com or by calling (540) 745-2001.
The exhibit at Ferrum College will be up through next spring and then will move to the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond.
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DUSK TILL DAWN BLUES FESTIVAL
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For more: CLICK
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BLUES FESTIVAL GUIDE HITS THE ROAD
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Sherman Robertson Andrew "Boy" Jones
(Photos & story by Cheryl O'Grady, BFG Staff)
It’s mid July and the Blues are all around us! Tom and I started out at “Blues At The Lake” at Harvey’s Outdoor Amphitheater, with friends for a show that was loaded with headliners (see Carol’s story in this Issue). We must give a special mention to Mavis Staples, as her performance was a show stopper (Cheryl has seen her several times and said she has never been better). Although we had some rain at the start, it didn’t “dampen” the enthusiasm of the fans. Thanks to Tom Mazzolini of the San Francisco Blues Festival and John Packer, Entertainment Director at Harrah’s Northern Nevada, for teaming up to bring Tahoe a great summer Blues show.
On Sunday (same weekend) we made a quick trip to the Hayward Russell City Blues Festival, where the theme was “From Texas to Russell City”. When we arrived we were able to catch the Russell City Memorial Blues Band and knew immediately that our day was starting out right. The afternoon included a wide variety of Bay Area talent such as the Caravan of Allstars and Alvin Draper and was headlined by such Texas greats as Sherman Robert¬son, Blues Boy Willie, Andrew Junior Boy Jones and Tutu Jones. It had been several years since we had seen Junior Boy Jones. He’s paid his dues and played with the best, and one can certainly hear that Texas influence of Freddie King in his guitar playing. Sherman Robertson was another treat, with his soulful singing style and fine guitar work to match.
The weather was ”East Bay Superb” – warm but not hot and with enough breeze to keep the air fresh. All of the musicians deserve accolades for providing us fabulous music all day, and Paula and Ronnie Stewart and all of their volunteers always provide a well balanced festival that includes not only great music but also educational information to help us blues fans learn more about the roots of this wonderful music.
Watch for this festival next year. For information about current and future Bay Area Blues Society shows, see www.bayareabluessociety.net on the web. AND if you like your fish freshly fried, let’s hope the fried fish booth is there next time, as this year’s fish was excellent!
See ya on the Blues trail,
Cheryl and Tom
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FREE LINKS FOR BLUES BANDS
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Please give yourself a free link on our website.
Simply go to www.BluesFestivalGuide.com, click on Submit Band/Business and
fill in the blanks.
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to your site!
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JAM NIGHT OF THE WEEK
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Held every Sunday at the John Stones Public House fro 8 to 12. Located at 176 main St., Ashland , Ma. , in an area called ' Metro West '. The jam is hosted by Guitar/singer Pete Henderson. He has been hosting at this location for ten years. He started his first jam in 1980 in the metro /west area has has been hosting a jam ever since on Sunday Nights. Assisted by Bass player Brian Rost on upright and electric, and drummer Forest 'Frosty ' Padgett. The Host do a short set to start things of, them bring up jammers in four song/ twenty minute slots. Pete keeps a short rein on the groups to expedite the transitions and to help arrange songs. They try to stick to the traditional forms of blues so that novices can join in with the pro's. We try never to turn anyone away,but the blues is our vehicle at this jam .
For more: CLICK
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RUF RECORDS ANNOUNCES SEPTEMBER 8th RELEASE DATE IN THE U.S. FOR JEFF HEALEY’S SONGS FROM THE ROAD
ATLANTA, GA – Ruf Records announces a September 8 release date in the U.S. for Songs from the Road, a new album featuring 11 previously unreleased live tracks from the late, uniquely-gifted guitarist Jeff Healey. The recordings were done over a 15 month period at the famous Notodden Blues Festival in Norway
(8/5/06), the Islington Academy in London (5/20/07) and Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse in Toronto (11/15/07). Germany-based Ruf Records is distributed in the U.S. by the Allegro Corporation, and will also release the album internationally, except in Canada, where Songs from the Road will be released by Stony Plain Records.
Songs from the Road is the follow-up to Mess of Blues, which was released just weeks after Jeff’s untimely death from cancer at age 41 on March 2nd of last year. Mess of Blues was honored at this year’s Blues Music Awards as “Blues-Rock Album of the Year,” the debut of that award category. Jeff’s widow, Cristie, was there to receive the award, giving an emotional acceptance speech to a standing ovation.
JOE LOUIS WALKER IS BETWEEN A ROCK AND THE BLUES ON NEW CD DUE SEPTEMBER 29 FROM STONY PLAIN RECORDS
Stony Plain Records announces a September 29 release date for
Between a Rock and the Blues, the latest album from multiple Grammy and Blues Music Award-winner Joe Louis Walker, which features guest appearances by label mate Duke Robillard and former “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” music director and guitarist Kevin Eubanks. Ten of the album’s dozen tracks were produced by Duke Robillard and feature a core band of Walker and Robillard on guitars, Bruce Katz on keyboards, Jesse Williams on bass, Mark Teixeira on drums, Doug James on sax, Carl Querfurth on trombone and Sugar Ray Norcia on harmonica. Stony Plain Records is distributed in the U.S. by ADA.
Joe Louis Walker wrote or co-wrote five of the dozen tracks on Between a Rock and the Blues, including one of the album’s most powerful songs, “If There’s a Heaven,” which manages to combine both blues and gospel in one amazing brew. It also features some of the nastiest guitar work Walker has recorded in his career, tearing into both electric and slide guitar, while aided and abetted by Kevin Eubanks’ accompanying crunchy fretwork. Eubanks, who co-wrote “If There’s a Heaven,” also plays on another track he had a hand in writing with Walker, “I’ve Been Down.” Both of these songs were recorded at Kevin’s home studio and produced by JLW.
As the album’s title implies, Joe Louis Walker pushes the boundaries of the blues perhaps further than he ever has, creating an exhilarating sound that has an electrifying energy, while remaining firmly rooted in his foundation of blues, soul, gospel and R&B. Some of the other cover songs on Between a Rock and the Blues include Ray Charles’ “Blackjack,” Roy Gaines’ “Big Fine Woman” and Travis Phillips’ “Eyes Like a Cat.” JLW includes more contemporary songs written by Duke Robillard (“Tell Me Why”) and a song perfect for today’s economy, “Way Too Expensive,” written by Murali Coryell, son of the jazz/rock fusion guitar great Larry Coryell.
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ARKANSAS RIVER BLUES SOCIETY
The Arkansas River Blues Society - Little Rock, ArkansasThe Arkansas River Blues Society presents a monthly Blues jam at Juanita’s, 1300 Main Street, Little Rock, Arkansas the first Tuesday of every month. The next jam will be September 1, 2009, at 8 pm. The jam will feature a different house band each month. G - Funk The Tree Trunk will be our house band. You can check this band out on our my space sight. Admission is $5 for the public and $3 for members of ARBS. Participating musicians are FREE and this is an open jam. For more information contact Babs at 501-920-7783 or check out www.myspace.com/arriverbluessociety
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JOANE SHAW TAYLOR:WHITE SUGAR
 
THE AMAZING YOUNG GUITAR PLAYER JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR WAS DISCOVERED BY DAVE STEWART OF THE EURYTHMICS WHEN SHE WAS 16 YEARS OLD. SHE TOURED WITH STEWART AND HIS BAND, AND EARNED HER CHOPS IN THE BLUES CLUBS IN HER NATIVE BIRMINGHAM. AND NOW, AT AGE 24, SHE HAS RELEASED HER FIRST CD.
JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR. HER CD IS WHITE SUGAR. NEXT TIME ON THE HOUSE OF BLUES RADIO HOUR.
visit www.TheBluesMobile.com
for times and stations in your area.
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Click on festival name to click through to festival website.
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VISIT THE BLUES FESTIVAL GUIDE WEBSITE FOR ALL THE FESTIVALS
Over 500 festivals are listed on the website www.BluesFestivalGuide.com
Festival Promoters got a festival you'd like to include?
It's FREE, just go to the website to post your information
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Blues Under The Bridge
Friday-Saturday, July 24-25, 2009
Colorado Springs, CO, US
www.bluesunderthebridge.com
719-473-4801
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Norrtelje Bluesfest
Friday-Saturday, July 24-25, 2009
Norrtelje, Stockholm, Sweden
www.norrtaljeblues.se
+46176270317
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Busker's Ball
Friday-Saturday, July 24-25, 2009
Oxford, Mississippi, U.S.
www.myspace.com/buskersballoxford
662-236-6429
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Summertime Blues For A Cure
Friday-Saturday, July 24-25, 2009
Sunbury (North Columbus), Ohio, U.S.
www.bluesforacure.org
614-906-4700
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Cape Fear Blues Festival
Friday-Sunday , July 24-26, 2009
Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.
www.capefearblues.org
910-350-8822
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Pocono Blues Festival
Friday -Sunday, July 24-26, 2009
Lake Harmony, PA, U.S.
www.jfbb.com
570-443-8425
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Sun Flower Festival
Friday -Sunday, July 24-26, 2009
Freiberg, Sachsen, Germany
www.sunflowerfestival.de
00493518104766
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Sparta Blues BBQ
Friday -Sunday, July 24-26, 2009
Sparta, WI, U.S.
www.bikesparta.com
800-354-2453
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Pittsburgh Blues Festival
Friday-Sunday, July 24-26, 2009
Benefit for Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
www.pghblues.com
412-460-BLUES
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7th Annual Groovin' in The Grove Summer Concerts 9 WK Saturday Series
Saturday, July 25, 2009
This Week: Lady Bianca
Lodi, California, U.S.
www.jessiesgrovewinery.com
209-368-0880
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21st Annual WEVL FM 89.9 Blues on the Bluff®
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Tennessee, Memphis, U.S.
www.wevl.org
901-528-0560
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Boundary Waters Blues Festival
Thursday-Sunday, July 30-1, 2009
Ely / Winton, Minnesota, U.S.
www.ElyBlues.com
218-365-2440
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1st Annual Frankford Island Blues Festival
Friday-Sunday, July 10-12, 2009
Frankford, Ontario, Canada
www.loyalblues.ca
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Kent Blues Fest
Friday-Saturday, July 24-25, 2009
Kent, Ohio, U.S.
www.kentbluesfest.com
330-677-5005
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PAL Blues Festival
Friday-Saturday, July 24-25, 2009
Redwood City, California, U.S.
www.palbluesfestival.com
650-556-1650 X11
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Dodgeville Blues Fest
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Dodgeville, Wisconsin, U.S.
www.dodgevillebluesfest.com
608-935-9200
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Antwerp Rhythm 'n' Blues Festival
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Antwerpen, Belgium
www.kidvanthienenmusic.com
+32 477 85 38 22
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Big Bend Blues Bash
Thursday-Saturday, July 30 - August 1, 2009
Pomeroy, Ohio, U.S.
www.pomeroyblues.org
1-877-MEIGS-CO
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The 22nd. International Notodden Blues Festival 2009
Thursday-Sunday, July 30 - August 2, 2009
Notodden, Telemark, Norway
http://www.bluesfest.no
+47 350 27650
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Fargo Blues Festival 14th Annual
Friday-Saturday, July 31-August 1, 2009
Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.
http://fargobluesfest.homestead.com
866-55-BLUES
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Prairie Dog Blues Festival
Friday-Saturday, July 31-August 1, 2009
Prairie du Chien, WI, U.S.
www.prairiedogblues.com
888-567-1567
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Mammoth Fest of Beers & Bluesapalooza
riday-Sunday, July 31-August 2, 2009
Mammoth Lakes, California, U.S.
www.mammothbluesbrewsfest.com
888-992-7397
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Mount Baker R&B Festival
Friday-Sunday, July 31-August 2, 2009
Bellingham, Washington, U.S.
www.bakerblues.com
360-383-0850
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Back Yard Blues Bash 3rd Annual!
Friday-Sunday, July 31-August 2, 2009
Goldendale, Washington, U.S.
Website
509-773-4434
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7th Annual Groovin' in The Grove Summer Concerts 9 WK Saturday Series
Saturday, August 1, 2009
this Week: Ron Thompson and The Resisters
Lodi, California, U.S.
www.jessiesgrovewinery.com
209-368-0880
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Pickerington Jazz & Blues Ribfest
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Pickerington, Ohio, U.S.
www.pickeringtonvillage.com
614-837-6701
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Barnful of Blues
Saturday, August 1, 2009
New Boston, NH, U.S.
www.newbostonblues.org
603-325-8659
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Seattle Bayou Festival
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
www.SeattleBayouFest.com
206-542-6644
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Davison's "I Chews The Blues" Fest
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Davison, Michigan, U.S.
www.ichewstheblues.com
810-252-3768
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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, Gordon Bulcock, gordon@bluesfestivalguide.com
or contact our home office at 775-337-8626, eguide@bluesfestivalguide.com
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Information - both editorial and advertising - in the Blues Festival E-Guide - is believed to be correct but not guaranteed - so check it carefully before you attend any event or send money for anything. We do not write the news... just report it.
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