PrintResilient and timeless, the spirit of blues music and the human experience are inextricably entwined. Once heard, the blues is recognizable as something deep and visceral. Arising somewhere much, much further back in time, it has marched relentlessly forward from the tribal chants of West Africa to the acoustic musings of itinerant Mississippi Delta troubadours to the electrified evocations of today’s urban blues men and women.
More than a rote recitation of facts or a shallow metaphor of life, the blues doesn’t swaddle reality in bubble wrap. Rather, it accepts the often hardscrabble road of human existence unconditionally. Finding defiance and hope in downtrodden lyrics set to upbeat tempos, it has taken the sting out of oppression, the drudgery out of endless toil and the contempt out of racism. Always sympathetic to our plight, the blues is something to lean on, something to break our fall.
The common wellspring of such diverse and popular sounds as rock & roll, jazz, R&B and hip hop, the uplifting power of the blues continues to manifest itself in the artists who perform this uniquely American creation, inspiring their voices, harmonicas and guitars.
Ironically, as the blues evolves and strives to remain fresh and relevant to new generations of listeners, the very music forms that it has influenced have become increasingly integrated into the genre. And, while the traditional 12-bar format of blues music may, at times, seem to have run its course, the spirit of the music remains as vital as ever.
Riding the primal rhythms and spiritual undertows of this most emotional and physical of musical genres, the blues festival is arguably the ultimate contemporary celebration of this great American art form. A memorial to those artists who laid the foundations, a tribute to the generation who continue to carry the torch and a reflection on the myriad of ways that the blues has enriched world culture it is laid out for millions of fans to see and hear at more than 500 blues festivals staged world wide annually.
No one buys a ticket to a blues festival to be spared one moment of excitement and fun. A world class event with a stratospheric “cool factor,” the Thunder Bay Blues Festival will, as always, give you the full treatment and maximum value for your entertainment dollar.
Keenly focussed on the twin peaks of superlative quality and unmatched variety the 2010 edition of the Thunder Bay Blues Festival will appeal immensely to every musical taste.
Friday will resonate with a high energy, smoke-by-the-water vibe. Local favourite Mark Potvin will fire an opening sonic salvo of traditional blues, jazz and swing numbers. Michael Burks will follow up with a deliciously wicked mix of knee-buckling string bending and burly baritone vocals. Albert Cummings full-frontal onslaught of guitar shredding, blues-rock anthems will feature long-serving Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan sideman Tommy Shannon on bass. With the pedal steel guitar as its pivot point, Friday headliner Robert Randolph & the Family Band will storm Marina Park with a spell binding amalgam of impassioned blues, joyful noise gospel and street savvy funk.
Thunder Bay’s choicest musical institution, Slap Johnson & the Trowellers’ ear-catching cavalcade of R&B classics will have the early Saturday morning crowd warmed up and raring to go for the burnished vocal glow and brassy patina of festival stalwarts Big Walter Smith & the Groove Merchants. Tried and true trench veterans Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers’ hard-as-nails guitar pyrotechnics will fuse road hardened experiences to real life story telling. Then, listen in awe, as 23-year-old Birmingham, England-native Joanne Shaw Taylor’s ultra-impressive guitar antics and scintillating stage presence leave you reeling. Those searching for that totally over-the-top experience will find it in the black leather and resonator slide guitar rocking-on-steroids of Eric Sardinas & Big Motor. Infinitely more feminine but just as compelling, no one will raise so much as a whimper or put up the slightest struggle as Europe’s sultry blues goddess, Ana Popovic, steals the show with mesmerizing guitar prowess, enticingly exotic vocals and thought-provoking song writing. Three-time blues music Contemporary Male Artist of the Year (2006, 2007 & 2008), Tab Benoit, will sizzle with an ouch-ouch-ouch chilli-hot Louisiana gumbo of leathery vocals and Cajun-inflected guitar improvisations. Punctuated by the whirlwind blasts of John Poppers distinctive harmonica and chart-topping blues-pop hits, Saturday night marquee act Blues Traveler have been the yardstick for passionately played music for more than two decades.
But, we’re not done yet! No blues festival would be complete without a band from Chicago and Sunday morning will open with one of the finest in the business, Nick Moss & the Flip Tops. Four-time Blues Music Award nominees for Blues Band of the Year, Moss and his band mates have that rough and tumble Windy City sound down to an art laying on some guitar driven mojo for extra thrust. “The toughest girl alive,” extraordinary songstress Candye Kane will lift your spirit with her unabashed honesty and positive message of hope. And, watch out for Kane’s sensational guitarist, Laura Chavez. Mike Zito will wring maximum emotion from every burning note that he plays on songs that alternately tug heart strings and move feet. Like the pistons of a Ferrari, local powerhouse vocalist Chrissy Ewacha Klaas and her skin-tight band The Chain will pump up the excitement with a heaping platter of stylish originals and familiar favourites. The most impressive guitarist to assail the blues scene in ages, Manchester, England-native Matt Schofield is being hailed in the press as one of the “top ten British blues guitar players of all time,” putting him in the legendary company of Clapton, Page, Beck and Green. A must see! Deanna Bogart’s triple threat performance of lustrous voice, high-wattage barrelhouse keys and wailing saxophone will be hot enough to set off smoke detectors, while the original Blues Brother and soul man par excellence, Curtis Salgado’s show-stopping vocals, incandescent harmonica and quirky arrangements will take you to musical nirvana. On Sunday night, the festival will soar to a dramatic close on the pinnacle of the undisputed maestro himself, two-time Grammy Award winner Taj Mahal, one of the most prominent and influential figures in the last half century of blues and roots music.
So, meet your friends where the sound of music, laughter and conversation hang on the warm harbour breezes of Marina Park at North-western Ontario’s premier musical event, the Thunder Bay Blues Festival. Summer just wouldn’t be summer without it!
Ken Wright
