 Chris Cain - photo by Sarbajit Banerjea (Shorbo) http://www.shorbo.com; used by permission
The Bay Area guitarist is one of the most requested artists for fests worldwide. His jazz-tinged, blues-soaked guitar, and deep, warm vocals have the maturity and authenticity of bluesmen many years his senior. His expressive style is the result of a lifetime of study and the relentless pursuit of music mastery.
Cain was raised on stories of his father's childhood upbringing on Memphis' historic Beale Street. As a child, Chris was taken by his parents to concerts by B.B. King, Ray Charles, Johnny Otis, Fats Domino, and Freddie King - often viewed from atop his father's shoulders. He began teaching himself to play guitar at the age of eight in a home where blues music played continuously. Cain recalls, "I can remember when I was a kid, my dad would be mowing the lawn with the stereo blasting Muddy Waters on 10. When I look back - that was pretty cool!"
|
|
Read more...
|
|
 The Finals for the 2008 Iowa Blues Challenge are now set!
Come join the party at the Hotel Fort Des Moines at 10th & Walnut in Des Moines, Iowa. On Sat., May 17th, 2008, performances will start at 9:00 PM with the Avey Brothers, followed by The Soul Searchers and The Smokin’ Mojo Kings. Cover charge will be $9 for Blues Society members and $10 for non-members. Call 515-243-1161 or 1-800-532-1466 and ask for the Blues fan rate to book rooms.
|
|
Read more...
|
 John Nemeth So, I saw BB King at the Col in ’83. (I can see you doing the math. “Let’s see, that would make him at least…” Hey, I was in junior high, OK?) I came across a ticket stub for that show recently—three dollars and seventy-five cents! Which means somebody was sitting around trying to decide on the admission price, and they figured $4.00 would just be too steep. BB’s due to play the Adler at the end of May, and I haven’t priced the tickets, but on recent tours they’ve tended to run in the $50–$70 range. Now, I don’t want to sound for a minute that I think the King of the Blues isn’t worth every nickel of that, and I’m gratified that he’s finally earning what he’s worth. My question is; will this be a better show than the one I saw way back when? I mean, the Adler’s dance floor is nonexistent, the seats are all reserved (eew!), and it’s an awful long walk back to the bar. I still have a few photos from the Col show, and not only is BB standing up in all of them, there’s not even a stool onstage.
My point is this: I would always advise that it’s better to see a blues show in a bar, club or lounge than it is to see it in an auditorium, concert hall or sports arena, particularly if the cover charge is a fraction as much. |
|
Read more...
|
|
On the front page of the Blues News, you may have noticed the Mississippi Valley Blues Society’s mission statement. Once you’ve waded through all the philosophical hype about “native art forms” and “enhanced appreciation,” and the legal mumbo-jumbo about “nonprofit” and “tax exempt” status, it boils down to this: For about the past quarter-century, we’ve been doing what we can to “keep the blues alive.” One way we do this is with our internationally recognized annual blues festival. Throughout the year, we also bring in knowledgeable musicians for educational residencies, and partner with area clubs and live music venues to present local and touring blues acts. But just as important, if perhaps less obvious, is the MVBS’ participation in the Iowa and International Blues Challenge. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
 Albert Cummings - Photo by Phil Koelhoeffer
As suggested by the title of his recent release “Working Man”, Albert started out on the East Coast as a master carpenter. Blues fans everywhere can be grateful that he exercised caution around the table saw, since he didn’t start concentrating on guitar until he was well into his mid-twenties.
Many guitar slingers are described as sounding like Stevie Ray Vaughan, but few fit the description well enough to get SRV’s rhythm section to back them on stage and in the studio, as Cummings has done. Since recording his first album with Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, he’s signed with the Blind Pig label and released several more CDs. In the interim, Cummings has performed or toured with the likes of Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy and B.B. King, who referred to him as “a great guitarist.” |
|
Read more...
|
|
 Lil' Dave Thompson
This year will feature one of the best of the next generation of the blues, Lil Dave Thompson. David Lonzo Thompson is a self-described “third or fourth generation Delta bluesman” whose father played with many of the Delta legends, including Asie Payton and James “Son” Thomas. Lil Dave was born in 1969 in Hinds County, Mississippi, and came up in such legendary locales as Moorhead, Indianola and Leland, Mississippi. He formed his first band at the age of fourteen, later toured with the late, great Booba Barnes, and cut a couple CDs on the Fat Possum label in the mid 1990s, which garnered him two Handy Award nominations. With guitar skills described as part Albert King, part Little Milton, this young man is sure to take your mind off the old red and green, and get it back where it belongs, in the blues.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Events 
