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8th Annual Pocono Festival
Well it's been about a month since the
Pocono Blues Festival and I swear I'm still in a blues haze! For two sunny
days a record crowd was treated to a stellar blues lineup. For fans of the
real deal blues this festival has to be one of the best in the country.
Local bluesman Chris Beard started things
off playing some hot guitar backed by a tight horn section. Chris got the
crowd pumped when he jumped off the stage and played right in the
audience.
After Chris I hiked over to the
Performance Tent which is a much smaller, intimate setting and where
I ended up spending a lot of my time. Jimmie lee Robinson laid down a
strong set of acoustic blues. Up next in the tent was Henry Butler who
played some tremendous New Orleans piano. Sounding like a cross between
Professor Longhair and James Booker the tent was rocking as he pounded his
piano so hard you could see it move across the floor. I missed Arthur
Williams first set but was lucky enough to catch him in the evening. No doubt
this was the highlight of the festival for me as Williams and the band had
the tent jumping with their brand of tough juke joint blues. James
"Boo Boo" Davis belted out the blues behind his drum set
whipping the crowd into a frenzy on "Ain't Going Back to St.
Louis." Speaking of frenzy when the set ended the announcer began to
incite the crowd to near riot and I thought the tent might actually
collapse!
In the afternoon Roy Gaines blew away the
crowd with his guitar pyrotechnics while playing on his back and doing
splits. Up next was Son Seals, just back from having a leg amputated, who
played
some blistering guitar backed by Eddie Shaw and The Wolf Gang. Van Shaw
was astonishing on guitar and at times stole the show from Son. Son was
still around the next day even sitting in with Charlie Musselwhite for a
few numbers.
Wrapping things up on Saturday was Irma
Thomas who snag beautifully and has not lost a thing in her forty years of
singing.
Sunday was soul day at the festival with
Johnny Rawls and Otis Clay proving that soul music is still a mighty
force. Rawls worked the crowd like a pro mixing in a set of soul and
blues. As good as Rawls was Otis Clay showed why he's one of the world's
premier soul men. Clay laid down a sizzling clinic in what soul music is
all about backed by powerhouse band.
Shemekia Copeland has be getting a
lot of attention of late and she didn't disappoint. Shemekia rocked the
crowd with her booming vocals and at times it didn't even seem like she needed a
mike.
Back again to the Performance Tent to see
both sets by Honeyboy Edwards who strode on to the stage wearing a Y2K
hat- truly strange! Honeyboy mesmerized the crowd with a tough set of
delta blues that belied his 83 years. Watching intently from the front row
were James Harmon, Jimmy Lee Robinson and Little Sammy Davis. Also playing
the tent was JSP artist Cookie McGhee who learned guitar from her Texas
neighbor Freddy King. McGhee was a real surprise cranking out some great
blues riffs.
This was a blues festival for the ages
with great music and excellent facilities. Make sure to mark this one on
your calendar now.
Review
by
Jeff Harris
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