Official program produced by
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
July 13-14, 2013
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July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival Table of Contents
North Atlantic Blues Festival co-founders and promoters Paul Benjamin, left, and Jamie Isaacson, enjoy themselves at their festival. In 2002, they were awarded the “Keeping the Blues Alive: Promoters of the Year” award by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. Other festival winners have included Chicago, San Francisco and New Orleans.
Axes to grind ..................................................4 Selwyn Birchwood .........................................7 Samantha Fish ................................................8 True Blues ......................................................9 Friday/Club Crawl/Brunches & Jams ..........10 Main Stage Schedule.......................................11 Eddie Taylor, Jr. ...........................................12 The Blues Broads .........................................13 The Lee Boys ...............................................16 Matt Anderson..............................................17 Sugar Ray & The Bluetones ........................18 The Holmes Brothers ...................................19 Popa Chubby ................................................20 Mavis Staples ...............................................21 Ben Prestage.................................................22
W
elcome to the North Atlantic Blues Festival — we are extremely excited about this year’s lineup! 2013 marks 20 years of bringing the best of the blues to Rockland, Maine, and we are looking forward to 20 more. We’ve all come a long way from the first Blues Bash in the Trade Winds parking lot; since 1994, the North Atlantic Blues Festival has showcased more than 100 major touring acts. Our goal has always been to bring the highest quality blues acts to this beautiful, intimate seaside setting, while making each festival a memorable event. This year, you’ll find a big shade tent up on top of the hill and a larger dance floor down by the water. And if you’re on the grounds 10:30 a.m. Saturday, you’ll be witness to our first on-stage wedding! The artists love performing in Rockland and especially love the enthusiastic crowds. We want to thank our fellow blues fans for supporting the NABF and for making it a success, year after year. We would not be here without you. The NABF is a dream come true for both of us. Our deep-rooted respect for blues and blues artists prompted us to take a chance at promoting this festival and the results have been very rewarding. As always, we would like to thank the City of Rockland, our sponsors, advertisers, volunteers and our families. Together, we are all Keepin’ the Blues Alive.
— Paul E. Benjamin and Jamie Isaacson
Tickets and Information:
Courier Publications, LLC Publisher of The Courier-Gazette, The Camden Herald, The Republican Journal
91 Camden St., Suite 403, Rockland, ME 04841 207.594.4401 Graphics Department Production Manager: Christine Dunkle
Advertising Department Sales Manager: Dave Libby
Graphic Designers: Heidi Anderson-Belcher, Dave Dailey, Debbie Post, Kathleen Ryan
Sales Executives: Candy Foster, Karen Mehorter, Jody McKee, Pam Schultz, Alysha Steltzer
Content by A&E Editor Dagney C. Ernest
Cover image courtesy of Jen Taylor, vividpix.com. Official posters will be on sale on the grounds.
• Festival tickets are available in through Monday, July 8, and cost $25 a day or $50 for a weekend pass.FMI: 207-691-2248 or online at northatlanticbluesfestival.com. • After July 8, tickets cost $35 for each day, $70 for the weekend. Saturday’s ticket includes admission to venues participating in the Club Crawl. • Tickets for children (age 6-12) are available for $5 at the gate, with children younger than 5 being admitted free. • Gates open at 9 a.m., music starts at 11 a.m., both days. • The festival happens rain or shine. Bring lawn chairs and blankets, but leave coolers, sun umbrellas, tents, video recorders, pets and alcohol behind; they are not allowed on the grounds. A variety of food and beverages will be available for sale on site.
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
Nobody Makes A Better Roadtrip Townline Beverage Barn offers Beer, Liquor, Pizza, and More!
July 13-14, 2013
Axes to grind By Dagney C. Ernest North Atlantic Blues Festival co-founder and -producer Paul Benjamin was looking for a way to commemorate the festival’s 20th year, as well as help the final push needed to fund the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis. He found it by partnering with the other thing Rockland has become famous for in the past two decades — the visual arts. Benjamin worked this spring with Jared Cowan, owner of Asymmetrick Arts on Main Street, and Camden’s K2 Music to put Fender guitars and drum heads into the hands of Midcoast artists, who turned them into oneof-a-kind objets d’art that are being sold to benefit the Hall of Fame. Artists who took on this unusual blues challenge include
Cowan, Jonathan Laurence, Greta Ault Van Campen, Leith MacDonald, Nancy Gifford, Eric Leppanen, Susan Tobey White, Robert Colburn, Bob Besaw, Andy White, Nancy Jacob, Derek Lane and Greta Joseph. “Jared was the right one to work with; he’s both an artist and a musician,” said Benjamin. “And the guys at K-2 were great, gave us the guitars and drumheads at cost.” The goal is to sell all of the artist-painted musical instruments in honor of the North Atlantic Blues Festival’s 20th year. The artists are getting national exposure, thanks to the auction’s appearance on the Blues Foundation’s website. And the Hall of Fame, which has existed on paper for 33 years, is getting
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July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
July 13-14, 2013
2013 Lineup (Par al List – Subject to Change) Ricky “King” Russell and The Cadillac Horns
The Dave Mello Band
Downeast Soul Coali on
Ragged Jack
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The Dave Keller Band
The Bad Daddys
Black Cat Road
Johhny Costa Rica & The Blues Dogz
Racky Thomas Dave Magnuson
Lazy Gate Swing Band
More TBA
MAINE BREWER’S TENT HAS BEEN ADDED THIS YEAR. Enjoy the beer garden! FMI & Tickets: online – dambluesfest.com – ph: 207.841.1461 ckets pre-order $25 • ckets at the door $30 • near-site dry camping available
Enjoy the Blues year-round! Rockland has been home to the North Atlantic Blues Festival since 1994 and to live blues performances for even longer. Those who love the blues enjoy shows by performers who tour internationally, nationally and regionally. Festival co-founder and -promoter Paul Benjamin brings blues artists to town most Monday nights at the Time Out Pub plus occasional concerts at the Strand Theatre and blues dance parties at the Samoset Resort in nearby Rockport. The Midcoast has an active and rich creative community year-round; be on top of what’s going on where by reading our Arts & Entertainment section and becoming a member online, where the A&E section and calendars keep tabs on all the area has to offer. The Courier-Gazette 91 Camden St., Suite 403, Rockland 594.4401
The Camden Herald 5 Bay View Landing, Camden 236.8511
The Republican Journal 161 High St. Belfast 338.3333
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July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
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Selwyn Birchwood Band
Saturday, July 13 11 a.m. - noon
N
ABF co-founder Paul Benjamin was among the judges at this year’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, and the 2013 North Atlantic Blues Festival will open with the IBC’s Best Band winner. Fronted by Selwyn Birchwood, who won the IBC’s Albert King Award for Best Guitarist (a custom Gibson ES-335 guitar featuring the Blues Foundation’s logo and a Category 5 amp), the Sunshine State’s Selwyn Birchwood Band promises to kick off the day with some swampy Florida blues. Birchwood may be young, but he has paid his dues on several fronts. A few weeks before he and his band competed in Memphis, he finished his Master’s Degree in Business Administration at University of Tampa. He got his bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2007 from University of Central Florida … and went to “blues college” at age 19, playing on tour for the great Sonny Rhodes. The band’s other members also are very experienced musicians and no strangers to the road. Drummer Curtis Nutall has traveled internationally with many bands including The Blind Boys of Alabama and five years with Joe Louis Walker. Bass player Huff Wright and saxophonist Regi Oliver have found themselves backing notable blues artists all over the world including Lucky Peterson and Joey Gilmore. The Selwyn Birchwood Band has made a significant impact on fans throughout its home state of Florida at clubs and festivals alike, continuously wowing audiences with high-energy performances rooted deeply in the traditions of the blues greats. In recent years, they have found themselves alongside the best in the business, opening for Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, John Lee Hooker Jr. and Joe Louis Walker, among many other international acts. The band has been touring in support of its current CD “FL Boy” and is hard at work in the studio on a second release. Festivalgoers can expect a hip-shaking, roofrattling mix of blues.
Selwyn Birchwood
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
Samantha Fish
July 13-14, 2013
Saturday, July 13 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
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his young, dynamic Kansas City musician won the 2012 Blues Music Award for Best New Artist Debut (“Runaway”) and has been on the road ever since, playing festivals, clubs and wining legions of fans around the country, around the world and on the seas as a Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise performer. The 24-year-old singer/ guitarist first discovered the blues and started paying her dues in KC. Nine of the 10 “Runaway” tracks are originals and they incorporate the sounds Fish grew up with — a vast array of musical styles from sharp-edged, riff-driven blues, breakneck boogies and smoky, late-night jazz to hints of the sultry ‘70s hard rock of Ann and Nancy Wilson and the 4/4 ruggedness of the Rolling Stones. Throughout, Fish
Samantha Fish demonstrates astonishing range and depth as a songwriter. Backing her on this eclectic collection of modern
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electric blues is the same crack team that first convened for the making of the CD “Girls With Guitars.” That collaboration
with Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde had demonstrated that Fish is not intimidated, even when working with more experienced musicians. Jamie Little, one of the United Kingdom’s most indemand drummers, reunited with bassist Taylor to give the record plenty of rhythmic thump. Producer Mike Zito, a St. Louis native and 2010 Blues Music Award winner, added thick, meaty electric guitar on most cuts. In between making these first two albums, Fish spent a month on the road with Taylor and Wilde, road-testing the material heard on “Runaway.” With a BMA-winning debut album in her back pocket and a lot more miles under her belt, she continues to forge a path that can only lead to bigger things.
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July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
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Saturday, July 13 True Blues: Corey Harris/ 1:30 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. Guy Davis/Alvin Youngblood Hart
M
odern-day blues legends converge in True Blues, a tribute to the genre captured in a newly-released CD and on tour. A trio of the True Blues stars will visit the North Atlantic Blues Festival — Corey Harris, Guy Davis and Alvin Youngblood Hart. Composer, singer and guitarist Corey Harris is no stranger to Maine, having earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology at Bates College; his alma mater gave him an honorary doctorate in music in 2007, the same year he received a MacArthur “Genius” Grant. He began his career in the early 1990s, playing acoustic blues on the streets of New Orleans. Today, Harris is recognized as one of the most innovative blues players of his generation. With one foot firmly planted in the blues, he has consistently celebrated its connections to gospel, early jazz, reggae and West African music through collaborations with artists such as the late Malian guitar master Ali Farka Toure. Guy Davis is part soulful troubadour, part showman and all blues. A singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player who is always ready to put everything he has into his performances, he has storytelling in his blood. Davis is considered an international Ambassador of the Blues due to his musical voyages to places such as Greenland, the Galapagos Islands, Indonesia, South America and all of Europe. With influences ranging from Skip James to Garrison Keillor, Davis breathes new life into old-time traditions. Alvin Youngblood Hart recognized at a very early age that the circle of music is boundless and, over the subsequent four decades, he has built a legacy that transcends musical genres. Although his first explorations were into the world of roots blues, Hart has cultivated a bold rock ‘n’ roll side to his music — something that shines through even when he plays an old Leadbelly standard. Always moving forward, always testing boundaries, he is an artist who, like the blues, refuses to be boxed in. Also appearing on the “True Blues” CD are Taj Mahal, who headlined the fest in 2004; and perennial favorite Shemekia Copeland, who first performed in Rockland as a teen. The album is released by Telarc.
Guy Davis PHOTO BY: GUILIA CIAPPA
Corey Harris, left, and Alvin Youngblood PHOTO BY: CANDISE KOLA
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
July 13-14, 2013
North Atlantic Blues Festival Schedule Saturday Club Crawl SATURDAY, JULY 13 • 9 P.M. Saturday evening Main Street is closed to traffic for the North Atlantic Blues Festival Club Crawl. Attendees of legal age, wearing their wristband from the festival, are allowed admission to the many participating clubs and restaurants featuring many of the top regional blues performers. Corner of Main and Limerock streets Corner of Main and Summer streets Corner of Main and Museum streets Main Street in front of Key Bank The Chowder House at Trade Winds (corner of Main & Park) Trade Winds (Downstairs) (corner of Main & Park) Trade Winds (Outside) (corner of Main & Park) Landings Restaurant and Lounge (Commercial, off Park) FOG Bar & Café (corner of Main & Oak) FOG Bar & Café (Outside blues patio, Oak Street) Waterworks Restaurant and Pub (Lindsey, off Main) Time Out Pub (Upstairs) (Main & Public Landing) Time Out Pub (Downstairs) (Main & Public Landing) Rock Harbor Restaurant (corner of Main & Limerock) Myrtle Street Tavern (Myrtle, off Main) Trackside Station (corner of Union & Pleasant, off Main) Navigator Restaurant (corner of Main & Summer)
Juke Rockets Sideways Highways Matt and the Barnburners Bonnie Edwards & The Practical Cats The Sensations Blue Steel Express Roger Hurricane Wilson Lebish and Grinnell Downeast Soul Coalition Wicked-Blues Band Blind Albert Blues Band Brave New Blues Open Blues Jam with Poke Chop DW Gill Blues Band Eric Green Pat Pepin Mark “Guitar” Miller
Friday night festival preview FRIDAY, JULY 12 • 9 P.M. The Chowder House at Trade Winds (corner of Main & Park) Trade Winds (Downstairs) (corner of Main & Park) Landings Restaurant and Lounge (Commercial, off Park) FOG Bar & Café (corner of Main & Oak) Waterworks Restaurant and Pub (Lindsey, off Main) Time Out Pub (Upstairs) (Main & Public Landing) Time Out Pub (Downstairs) (Main & Public Landing) Rock Harbor Restaurant (corner of Main & Limerock) Rock City Café (corner of Main & Orient) Myrtle Street Tavern (Myrtle, off Main) Trackside Station (corner of Union & Pleasant, off Main) Navigator Restaurant (corner of Main & Summer)
The Sensations Blues Steel Express Lebish and Grinnell Downeast Soul Coalition Juke Rockets Brave New Blues Open Blues Jam with Poke Chop DW Gill Blue Band Blind Albert Blues Band Eric Green Pat Pepin Matt and the Barnburners
Blues Brunch
Open Jams
SUNDAY, JULY 14 • 9 A.M.
SUNDAY, JULY 14 • 8 P.M.
Time Out Pub Get your brunch on before the fest, featuring live blues with Pat Pepin. Trade Winds Blues brunch, featuring lives blues with Brian and Friends.
Time Out Pub After the fest, jam at the Time Out Pub (Upstairs). All musicians welcome. Hosted by Brian McClean. Trade Winds After the fest, jam at the Trade Winds (Downstairs). All musicians welcome. Hosted by Blue Steel Express.
July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
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Main Stage Performances
PHOTO BY: DANIEL DUNKLE
Sunday, July 14
Saturday, July 13 Selwyn Birchwood Band
11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Matt Anderson
11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Samantha Fish
12:15 - 1:15 p.m.
Sugar Ray & The Bluetones
12:15 - 1:20 p.m.
True Blues
1:30 - 2:35 p.m.
The Holmes Brothers
1:35 - 2:45 p.m.
Eddie Taylor Jr.
2:50 - 3:55 p.m.
Popa Chubby
3 - 4:15 p.m.
The Blues Broads
4:10 - 5:25 p.m.
Mavis Staples
4:30 - 6 p.m.
The Lee Boys
5:40 - 7:00 p.m.
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
Eddie Taylor Jr.
July 13-14, 2013
Saturday, July 13 2:50 p.m. - 3:55 p.m.
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ddie Taylor Jr. has become the patriarch of a true Chicago blues family; don’t be surprised to find a sibling or two playing with the band. The son of Windy City blue icon Eddie Taylor, who was inducted posthumously into the Blues Hall of Fame, Eddie Taylor Jr. taught himself to play on his father’s old Gibson 355 stereo, tube amp and all. Playing and singing contemporary Chicago blues, Taylor gradually developed his own name and reputation, building a repertoire that owes much to the traditions of the place and genre. Taylor’s older brothers, Tim and Larry, both play drums; and his three sisters — Edna, Brenda and Demetria— all sing, as did their late mother, Vera Taylor. All five siblings appear with Taylor on his 2006 release “Mind Game.” In 2002, youngest brother, Milton, provided backup in a markedly different way, donating a kidney when Eddie suffered serious illness and needed a transplant. Among other musicians who have worked in Taylor’s band are blues harpist Martin Lane and guitarist Johnny B. Moore. In addition to leading his own outfit, Taylor has played in support of artists such as Moore, Little Arthur Duncan, Easy Baby, Willie Kent and Hubert Sumlin. Eddie Taylor Jr. knows his father’s songbook, as well as those of Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. He has come into his own as a proponent of traditional Chicago blues, ensuring that the family legacy goes on.
Eddie Taylor Jr. PHOTO BY: TED RHODES
July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
The Blues Broads
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Saturday, July 13 4:10 - 5:25 p.m.
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he festival’s first day offers not one but two blues roots supergroups. Dorothy Morrison, Tracy Nelson, Annie Sampson and Angela Strehli, all highly regarded vocalists in their own rights, join forces as The Blues Broads and prove that when it comes to belting out the blues, more is more. Reflecting in excess of two centuries of collective experience in blues, country, gospel and rock, this awesome aggregation brings creative might and commitment to the music they love. Each Broad brings a unique perspective and history to the group, and their “The Blues Broads” CD/DVD, recorded and released last year on Delta Groove, includes familiar songs associated with their respective august careers as well as newly written material that serves as living testimony to the persistence and longevity of musical talent. Dorothy Morrison is the singer and co-author of the classic “Oh Happy Day,” recorded with The Edwin Hawkins Singers. It has sold more than 7 million copies internationally. Tracy Nelson is founder of the legendary group Mother Earth, whose signature composition “Down So Low” has been recorded by, among others, Etta James, Linda Rondstadt and, most recently, Cyndi Lauper. Angela Strehli, who has devoted her life and career to the heroes of the blues, is the organizer of The Blues Broads and one of the driving forces behind historic music venue Rancho Nicasio in California’s Marin County, where the group was first presented. Annie Sampson, former longtime cast member of “Hair” and the groundbreaking group Stoneground, delivers deeply soulful roots
The Blues Broads are, from left, Dorothy Morrison, Angela Strehli, Annie Sampson and Tracy Nelson. PHOTO BY: BOB HAKINS
whether singing blues, rock, a country ballad or modern folk classic. In this star-studded show, each artist gives the audience a taste of her individual specialty and then they combine voices in ways that make The Blues Broads far more than the sum of its parts. The singers are backed by some of some of the best musicians in the business.
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
July 13-14, 2013
July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
The Lee Boys
July 13-14, 2013
Saturday, July 13 5:40 - 7:00 p.m.
The Lee Boys
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he blues as part of the larger genre of American roots music will be celebrated by the first appearance of Sacred Steel, a recently defined music style purveyed by The Lee Boys from Florida. Sacred Steel is an inspired form of gospel music with a harddriving, blues-based beat and infused with R&B, jazz, rock, funk, hip-hop, country and music from other nations. Inspired by the Hawaiian steel guitar fad of the 1930s, the electric lap steel guitar made its way into the House of God church in Jacksonville, Fla. The Pentecostal congregation there embraced the soulful sound and it became a hallmark of the church. Pedal steel guitar was added to the mix and soon became the central instrument. The Lee Boys are part of the fourth generation of musicians in this faith. The family group consists of three brothers — Alvin Lee (guitar), Derrick Lee and Keith Lee (vocals) — along with their three nephews, Roosevelt Collier (pedal steel guitar), Alvin Cordy Jr. (seven-string bass) and Earl Walker (drums). Each member began making music as a child in the House of God church they attended in Perrine, Fla., where they underwent a
rigorous course of training in a variety of musical instruments including lap and pedal steel guitars. This music form was totally unknown to the world outside the church until the mid 1990s, when folklorist Robert Stone attended House of God services and recorded the music, as well as its history, contributing the name Sacred Steel. A series of compilations followed on legendary roots label Arhoolie Records, for whom The Lee Boys record. The Lee Boys perform mostly original material, with a few standards and hymns the group “blues-es up a little.” “The inspiration and feeling that comes along with our music is the reason that people feel good. It is like the new music on the block and it’s just getting ready to explode,” said founder and bandleader Alvin Lee. The Lee Boys’ music attracts audiences from the jamband, folk, blues and gospel worlds, and they have performed throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. It should be just the ticket to set blues festival attendees up for a righteous Club Crawl.
July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
Matt Anderson
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Sunday, July 14 11 a.m. - noon
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eteran NABF attendees know that the Sunday opening set is often filled by a not-yet-that-well-known but excellent performer and this year is no exception. The first Canadian to win the International Blues Challenge in Memphis (2010), which quickly led to an opening act tour with Old Crow Medicine Show, Matt Anderson comes from a small town in the Canadian Maritime province of New Brunswick. Anderson follows in the tradition of the best performing songwriters who sound like they really mean what they’re singing about when it comes to hard times and hard work. His father is a lifelong logger, but the family is very musical. By junior high, Anderson was in the school band, first on tuba and later on trumpet. He took up guitar at 14 and before long was playing classic rock and Top 40 covers in pub bands while he studied studio engineering. Things changed dramatically, however, when he discovered the blues. Through Eric Clapton, Anderson got into B.B. King, which led him to the Chicago electric stuff and eventually back to the Mississippi Delta guys, he said, adding “What really hit me most about the blues was its total honesty.” Anderson began to build his name on the Canadian circuit, his imposing voice and slashing slide guitar making a monolithic impression on audiences. He has put out more than a half dozen albums, the latest being “Coal Mining Blues,” and he is a frequent guest on Stuart McLean’s CBC radio show “The Vinyl Café,” aired in these parts on MPBN radio.
Matt Anderson
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
July 13-14, 2013
Sugar Ray & The Bluetones
Sunday, July 14 12:15 - 1:20 p.m.
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hode Island-based Sugar Ray Norcia started the popular East Coast blues band The Bluetones with guitarist Ronnie Earl in 1979 and backed Big Walter Horton, Big Joe Turner, Jimmie Rogers, Otis Rush, JB Hutto and countless others in the early ‘80s, all over the Northeast. In the 1990s, Norcia spent seven high-profile years as lead singer of the legendary Roomful of Blues. He cut five albums with the group including one with a Best Traditional Blues Grammy nod. He continues to tour the world with his durable Bluetones, making acclaimed albums and getting lovers of Chicago-style blues up on their dancing feet. Norcia has appeared on nearly 50 albums including the 1999 Best Traditional Blues Grammy-nominated “Superharps” collaboration with fellow harmonica virtuosos James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite and Billy Branch. He has said he came to the blues harp of necessity, as the harmonica player in one of his early bands kept skipping gigs. He began writing his own songs of necessity too, when record companies balked at acquiring rights. Norcia’s élan and robust tone — inspiration for the “Sugar” — makes his voice one of the most distinctive, well-defined and recognizable instruments in modern blues … and also makes his side project, The Sugar Ray Norcia Big Band, a natural. But it is his down-and-dirty, nitty-gritty harmonica that keeps the Bluetones on the roots map and then some. The band’s 2007 album “My Life, My Friends, My Music” garnered Blues Music
Sugar Ray & The Bluetones
Awards nominations for Album of the Year, Instrumentalist — Harmonica, Instrumentalist — Bass and “Song of the Year.” The outfit’s latest album is “Evening,” a 2012 BMA nominee for Album of the Year. In addition to Norcia on vocals and harmonica, The Bluetones lineup features Michael “Mudcat” Ward on bass, Anthony Geraci on keyboards, Neil Gouvin on drums and “Monster” Mike Welch on guitar and vocals.
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July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
The Holmes Brothers
Page 19
Sunday, July 14 1:35 - 2:45 p.m.
The Holmes Brothers
O
ver the course of their 30-plus year career, The Holmes Brothers — bassist/ vocalist Sherman Holmes, guitarist/pianist/vocalist Wendell Holmes and drummer/ vocalist and brother-in-spirit Popsy Dixon — have delivered a joyous and moving blend of blues, gospel, soul, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll and country. Their three-part harmony singing, mixing Wendell’s gruff and gravelly vocals with Dixon’s soaring falsetto and Sherman’s rich baritone, brings the soul and spirit of gospel music into everything they perform. Equally gripping is the rhythmic foundation laid down by Sherman’s bass playing and Dixon’s drumming, perfectly complements for Wendell’s blues-soaked guitar solos and church-inspired piano playing. The Holmes Brothers have won multiple Blues Music Awards and shared stages and recordings with
Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Willie Nelson, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Merle Haggard, Keith Richards, Al Green, Ben Harper, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Levon Helm, Rosanne Cash, Odetta and The Jungle Brothers. Sherman and Wendell Holmes were raised in Christchurch, Va. Their schoolteacher parents fostered the boys’ early interest in music as they listened to traditional Baptist hymns, anthems and spirituals, as well as blues music by Jimmy Reed, Junior Parker and B.B. King. The brothers played in a few bands before forming The Sevilles in New York in 1963. That group lasted only three years but often backed up touring artists including The Impressions, John Lee Hooker and Jerry Butler, gaining a wealth of experience. They met Dixon, a fellow Virginian, at a
New York gig in 1967. He sat in with brothers and “after that second song,” said Wendell, “Popsy was a brother.” They continued to play in a variety of Top 40 bar bands until 1979, when the three officially joined forces and formed The Holmes Brothers band. In the early years, the band worked primarily at Dan Lynch’s, a New York club that featured weekly jam nights and performances by a wide variety of blues acts. Since their debut on Rounder Records in 1989, The Holmes Brothers have worked virtually non-stop. In addition to producing their own critically acclaimed albums, they have recorded for and with many esteemed musicians; toured with Joan Osborne and others; starred in and recorded the soundtrack for the 1996 indie film “Lotto Land”; recorded for the soundtrack album of the popular television series
“Crossing Jordan”; appeared on multiple television and radio shows; been the subject of features and reviews; and won the 2005 Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year. A few years ago, the trio confronted a stark reality when Wendell was diagnosed with cancer. Tight-knit on and off the stage, they found strength in their family, friendship and faith to overcome this setback. With his victory over the disease, the group emerged fully energized and inspired to create the deepest, most original album of their career. “Feed My Soul,” produced by their longtime friend and collaborator Joan Osborne, is a work born from this harrowing experience. With the depth of the songwriting and the power of their performances, The Holmes Brothers continue to serve their extended family of devoted fans a rich musical banquet for the soul.
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
July 13-14, 2013
Popa Chubby
PROUD SPONSORS OF THE 2013 NORTH ATLANTIC BLUES FESTIVAL
Sunday, July 14 3 - 4:15 p.m.
Popa Chubby
R
SUBSCRIBE AT bluesmusicmagazine.com
iding high on his latest release, “Universal Breakdown Blues,” rock/blues beacon Popa Chubby brings his premeditated return to the world of blues to Harbor Park. In the course of his almost 20-year career, his tempestuous, soulful playing — and imposing presence — as never been more powerful. Born Ted Horowitz, son of a candymaker, in the Bronx, Popa Chubby has described his performance style as “the Stooges meets Buddy Guy, Motörhead meets Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix meets Robert Johnson.” His career has always been about moving forward and carving a place for himself, overcoming odds to continue growing and maturing as a creative force. Popa Chubby has built a constantly increasing base of fans across the world, where in many territories he is a star. His first gigs were in the NYC punk scene as a guitarist for what he called a crazy Japanese special effects performance artist in a kimono called Screaming Mad George, who had a horror-movie inspired show. Right from the start he was immersed in rock ‘n’ roll as theater,
CHUBBY, page 22
July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
Page 21
Mavis Staples
Sunday, July 14 4:30 - 6 p.m.
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enowned R&B, soul and gospel singer Mavis Staples is on a roll. After 60 years in the business, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and National Heritage Fellowship Award recipient picked up her first regular Grammy Award this year. The Chicago-born Staples won in the Americana category for her 2012 album “You Are Not Alone”; in the past decade, she has been nominated in blues, gospel, folk and pop categories, as well. Rolling Stone magazine, which has listed her as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, has called her the most underrated diva of the century, but Staples is taking the 21st century in stride. Her latest album, “One True Vine,” produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, was released just last month. Staples, who also performed during the Grammy Award Ceremony, calls Southside Chicago home when she is not on the road. She began her career at age 11, singing with the family band led by her father, pioneering guitarist Roebuck “Pops” Staples. The Staples scored a hit in 1956 with “Uncloudy Day” for the Vee-Jay label and hit the road a year later, when Mavis graduated from high school. The band, which including Mavis’ siblings Cleotha, Yvonne and Purvis, were called God’s Greatest Hitmakers. “Pops” was a friend of Martin Luther King, Jr. and by the mid-1960s, the Staples had become aligned with the Civil Rights Movement, covering contemporary pop hits including Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” and Stephen Stills’ “For What It’s Worth.” They were signed to Stax Records in 1968 and, as the Staple Singers, hit the Top 40 eight times between 1971 and 1975, including No. 1 singles “I’ll Take You There” and “Let’s Do It Again”; and the No. 2 single “Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas?” Mavis’ solo career in the late ‘60s got a slow start but has produced a number of acclaimed albums including “The Voice,” which People magazine named one of the Top Ten Albums of 1993. Her voice has been sampled by some of the biggest selling hip-hop artists including Salt ‘N’ Pepa, Ice Cube and Ludacris; and she has recorded with a wide variety of musicians, from her friend Bob Dylan (with whom she was nominated for a 2003 Grammy in the Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals category), to The Band, Ray Charles, Nona Hendryx, George Jones, Natalie Merchant, Ann Peebles and Delbert McClinton. She
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples, back in the day provided vocals for current albums by Los Lobos and Dr. John and appears on tribute albums to such artists as Johnny Paycheck, Stephen Foster and Bob Dylan. In addition to her singing and activism, Staples has appeared in many films and television shows including “The Last Waltz,”
“Graffiti Bridge,” “Wattstax,” “New York Undercover,” “Soul Train,” “Soul to Soul,” “The Psychiatrist” and “The Cosby Show.” Last month, she performed songs from “One True Vine” on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” as part of the tour that brings her to Rockland.
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
Ben Prestage
July 13-14, 2013
Both days, in-between acts
B
en Prestage was nominated for the 2012 Blues Music Awards’ Instrumentalist of the Year honor in the “Other” category … and as festivalgoers will see and hear between main stage acts Saturday and Sunday, that “Other” could mean a number of things (it actually was for his way with the diddley bow, a singlestringed zither derived from a West African instrument). Prestage’s one-man-band inclinations might be credited to his great-grandmother, a vaudeville musician who toured with Al Jolson and played medicine shows. Her daughter, Prestage’s mother, was a boogie-woogie pianist and painter. On the other side of the family tree, his grandfather, a Mississippi sharecropper, turned Prestage onto the sounds and culture of Mississippi and the blues in general. Prestage grew up in rural Florida, on a 14-milelong dirt road near the headwaters of the Everglades. It was panther, gator and cottonmouth country where there was only one kind of music in the house — whether it was being played on an instrument or on a recording, it was blues. In my early teens, he was introduced to bluegrass music via the banjo, thanks to a neighbor who showed
CHUBBY, from page 20 and he learned from George and others playing CBGB’s at the time that rock should be dangerous. These included the Ramones, the Cramps and Richard Hell, whose band, the Voidoids, he joined. The blues, however, was the foundation of his playing
Ben Prestage PHOTO BY: MARCEL HOUWELING Prestage how to pick with his fingers instead of a plectrum. Later, while living in Memphis, Prestage became a busker on historic Beale Street, where he perfected his distinctive drum-kit. “I played out there a few times with nothing but a guitar and my voice … I learned a lot from the guys I shared
style. He had grown up on Hendrix, Cream and Led Zeppelin, so when he started playing blues in New York punk clubs he understood that the blues should be dangerous, too. That element of the blues is something Popa Chubby keeps alive in his music. The compelling songs on “Universal
the street with, including John Lowe [inventor of the Lowebow, a type of diddley bow], Robert Belfour and Richard Johnston,” he said. Over the next few years, Prestage competed and placed in the International Blues Challenge. He is the only two-time recipient of the Lyon/Pitchford Award for
Breakdown Blues” provide a parallel to the lament that inspired such blues icons as Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson, sublime slices of his fractured life that relate to most universal of themes — the passage of love, loss and having to find the path back. “I’m living in a wild time, and that is where the inspiration
Best Diddley-Bow Player. His interesting approach to instrumentation — finger-style guitar, harmonica, banjo, lapsteel, fiddle, resonator guitar, foot-drums, vocals — and his award-winning original songwriting have earned him invitations to perform across North America, Europe and as far as North Africa.
is drawn from within ‘Universal Breakdown Blues.’ There are my issues, but the picture is much bigger than me and my situation,” he said. “Everything is breaking down in the world. The lines are being redefined. We all need something.” Popa Chubby’s current lineup includes Erik Boyd on bass and Sim Cain on drums.
July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
Page 23
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Page 24
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
Key Bank Sponsor of the Main Street Bands
July 13-14, 2013
July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
Page 25
AXES, from page 4 some of the last boost it needs to become a physical reality. “It was a $3.5 million project and it’s down to the last million. The hall itself will be done in 12 to 18 months,” Benjamin said. The Hall of Fame will be part of the recently-acquired home of the Blues Foundation, directly across Memphis’ South Main Street from the National Civil Rights Museum. Sitting on a bench in front of the Hall of Fame will be a life-sized statue of Little Milton, who played his last show here in Rockland. Inside, blues fans will be able to see video footage, hear audio and enjoy history and memorabilia of each of the inductees since 1980. They also will find their own names, if they have contributed to the capital campaign. Being named to the Hall of Fame is among the honors bestowed at the annual Blues Music Awards; the 2013 ceremony took place May 9 and Benjamin and his wife Jean were there, as they have been for many years. With just a few exceptions, everyone of the artists who received awards have performed in Rockland. “Well, the Tedeschi Trucks Band hasn’t played here but Susan [Tedeschi] has,” he said. Her husband/musical partner Derek Trucks, meanwhile, once played the Unity Centre for the Performing Arts. Benjamin used to produce the BMA Awards and got to enjoy the results of one change he helped institute during his tenure. The stars are no longer hidden away in a Green Room, but rather sit at tables with the fans, waiting to see who wins. This led to an interesting moment when the Horn Player of the Year award was about to be announced. Benjamin’s tablemate and longtime friend Eddie Shaw, the first Chicago bluesman to perform in Rockland, got up and started putting on his jacket. “He said he was going to get his award and I thought, oh boy, what if he doesn’t win? But he did. It was just Eddie being Eddie,” Benjamin said. The easy-access aspect of the awards ceremony infuses the whole weekend, Benjamin said. All the blues stars stay across the street at the Marriott,
The proposed Blues Hall of Fame is well on its way to becoming a reality. and the lobby there becomes blues music central. The musicians visit with each other, something they rarely get a chance to do, and have informal interactions with the fans — sometimes very informal.
“You’ll see Denise LaSalle in a housecoat and slippers, grabbing a cup of coffee. The blues musicians are everyday folk, very approachable, and they really appreciate their fans,” said Benjamin. The artist-painted guitars and drumheads made their first approach during Rockland’s First Friday Art Walk July 5. Blues fans and art fans alike can reflect that appreciation by checking out the instruments in the NABF merchandise booth. Benjamin said the project is a way artists can give back to the blues festival, “which has brought a lot to the area.” But there’s another reason local artists are drawn to it. “It’s a unique challenge, to paint a guitar,” he said. For more information about the Blues Hall of Fame, visit blues.org.
Belfast artist Susan Tobey White painted a “Blues Boogie” on a drum head.
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
July 13-14, 2013
Blues Festival 2012
The 19th annual North Atlantic Blues Festival comes to a picturesque conclusion. PHOTO BY: DAGNEY C. ERNEST
Ana Popovic gets a familial assist at the CD signing table. PHOTO BY: DAGNEY C. ERNEST
Blues harp wizard Rick Estrin, right, of San Francisco, performs on stage with guitarist Kid Andersen. PHOTO BY:
The dance floor is hoppin’ both days of the North Atlantic Blues Festival. PHOTO BY: DAGNEY C. ERNEST
DANIEL DUNKLE
• Lobster Rolls in season • Seafood Chowder • Soup • Deli Sandwiches • Panini • Salads • Coffee, Cold Drinks AND BEER Eat-In or Take-Away Open 10:30 – 4:00 395 main Street, Rockland 207.593.7778
Devon Allman of the band Royal Southern Brotherhood gets into it on the Rockland stage. PHOTO BY: DANIEL DUNKLE
Yonrico Scott plays drums at the 2012 North Atlantic Blues Festival. PHOTO BY: DANIEL DUNKLE
July 13-14, 2013
20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
Page 27
The 2013 Music Festivals at the Marshfield Fair
Presents
CONSECUTIVE WEEKENDS: Sunday AUGUST 18TH 12 to 8 p.m.
THE MARSHFIELD FAIRGROUNDS RT.3A MAIN STREET, MARSHFIELD. MA For more info call (781) 834-6629 www.marshfieldfair.org $10.00 GENERAL ADMISSION (Includes Admission to the Entire Fair)
Saturday & Sunday AUGUST 24TH & 25TH 12 to 8 p.m.
2 Days of Great Blues!
The 17th Annual
GREEN HARBOR ROOTS & BLUES FESTIVAL Noon to 8:00 PM With Host Bill Bailey
Sunday AUGUST 18th
Roomful of Blues Gas House Gorillas Fat City Band Soul Box The Rampage Trio Hard Case
The 18th Annual
NORTH RIVER BLUES FESTIVAL Noon to 8:00 PM With Host Peter Black
Saturday AUGUST 24th
Sunday AUGUST 25th
Royal Southern Brotherhood Eden Brent Smokin’ Joe Kubeck & Benois King Sugar Ray & The Bluetones Diane Blue Gracie Curran & the Willie J Laws Band with John Moriconi High Falutin Band Mission of Blues Mr. Nick & Dirty Tricks Basic Black Tim Gartland Group featuring Sam Gentile Mississippi Heat
Order Music & DVD’s On-Line and get Festival Information
www.rhythmroomrecords.com We would like to thank our sponsors for their support. BarrelhouseBlues.com, Boston Blues Society, BluesFestivalGuide.com, Connecticut Blues Society, Crown Trophy of Pembroke, Peter Black’s Wide World of Blues, Metronome Magazine, New England Blues Society, Roche Brothers Supermarkets, Ocean Selects, Roche Brothers Supermarkets, Watson Creative Advertising & Design
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20th Annual North Atlantic Blues Festival
July 13-14, 2013
SHAW’S FISH and LOBSTER WHARF RESTAURANT “Seafood at its Best” ~ Steaks & Chowders Too!
“Casual Inside & Outside Dining on a Traditional Maine Fishing Wharf”
Featuring Single, Twin & Triple Lobster Specials or Select Your Own Larger Lobsters! Restaurant Open 11-9 daily Raw Bar Open 2-9 daily Cocktails
Rte. 32 New Harbor 677-2200 www.shawswharf.com