The joint was already jumping Friday night as I wandered in to catch Wanda Johnson. Having missed Eddie Taylor Jr., I was excited to see a full house filled with old friends and blues lovers galore. Wanda and the band, being led by Shrimp City Slim (Gary Erwin) were streaming thru her hits from her latest CD "Natural Resource" on the Erwin Music record label. She was belting out "Hot Potato", "Drop in the Bucket" and killin’ with the "Blues ain’t Nothing but a Color". The buzz in the tent was great show, I wouldn’t disagree one bit. Next up, the under appreciated and under recorded Chicago bluesman Maurice John Vaughn with the very funky B.J. Emory on trombone. The band opened up with a funky, there’s that word again, version of Stevie’s Wonder "Superstitious". B.J. took the microphone for the next tune with a cover of Robert Cray’s "Nuthin’ but a Woman". Maurice then introduced Velvet McNair a surprise guest vocalist who carried the rest of the night with raucous blues tunes. These guys studied both sides of the music playbook in Chicago. The blues side and the soul/R&B side. I was glad to catch these guys as there are so many bands out there, you could easily pass on them but that would be a mistake, and these guys nailed it.

Big James Montgomery

 It’s Saturday morning, plenty of coffee to ward of the evils of the previous night and on stage was a voice from heaven. Ruthie Foster who has guessed on several albums (W. C. Clark & Pat Boyack to name a few) and has a few hard to find CD’s out there was the gem of the weekend. Standing on stage with just a borrowed guitar, hers got lost in the airplane shuffle, she belted out blues, soul and gospel music like her life depended on it. Tunes like Sam Cookes "Bring it on Home", "Blues with a Feeling", "Richland Woman Blues" and Son House’s "Grinnin’ in your Face". In fact the highlight of the show was Ruthie standing on stage all five feet of her, arms stretched wide opened channeling Son thru her voice. Spine tingling. Not a name the average blues fan would know, but pay attention to her if she should roll thru town. Little Freddie King graced the stage next. Backed by his band, Bobby Lewis Ditullio on harp, Anthony Anderson on Drums and "Wacko" Wade Wright on drums these guys played tight electric swap blues. I had seen these guys recently in New Orleans and knew what to expect. They did not disappoint. Originals like "Tough Frog to Swallow", "Crack Head Joe" and "Bucket of Blood" were intertwined with classics like Guitar Slim’s "Things We Use To Do" and Freddie King’s "Hideaway". In fact Little Freddie got his nickname for his ability to lay down Freddie King style licks. Another American music treasure. It is rare to see a trombone player in a blues band an even rarer to see one who is the band leader. Such is the Pocono’s Blues Festival. Hailing from Chicago, Big James Montgomery and the Chicago Playboys played a danceable style of blues originals and classics. With Cleo Cole on drums, Mike Wheeler on guitar, Larry Williams on bass, Charlie Kimble on Sax , Joe Blocker on Keys, and Big James on the bone they brought it loud and funky. He closed with the title tune from his latest CD "Now you Know". When he’s not backing Buddy Guy you can catch Big James at the usual local Chicago blues venues. Closing the tent this Saturday was the first place winner of the 2005 International Blues Challenge, Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy. Hailing from Houston Texas, Diunna with her ‘big" voice and the band brought a Texas swagger to their electric set of blues. Playing tunes like "Black Cat Bone", "Built for Comfort" and "Born Under a Bad Sign" the band closed day one in style. Lots of blues lots of style. Of note was the guitar player John DelToro Richardson. This cat can play. When he’s not playing with Diunna you can catch him in Houston at such places as Abby Pub, or the Big Easy check him out if you can.

Little Freddie King

 Day two brings another great lineup to the Pocono’s tent stage. Opening up is the Nawlins musician Mem Shannon and the Membership. Mem stepped on stage and asked is it morning, afternoon or evening? He must have been reading my mind. Mem went on to deliver a bunch of his original tunes including "SUV", "Forget About Me" "Phunkville" and "Play the Guitar Son" during which Mem delivered an extended funky guitar solo. On a real side note for all you old funk fans Mem’s keyboard player is Robert Dabon the original keyboard player for the New Orleans funk ‘n soul band Chocolate Milk. Zac Harmon, the Blues Foundation’s 2004 International Blues Challenge best unsigned blues band was the next act to grace the stage. Zac opened up the show with the first track of his new CD "The Blues According to Zacariah" with the funky gospel standard "Mighty High". He had the crowd in the palm of his hands already! Along the way he wandered into the crowd while playing "Lonely Avenue" and also played "The Blues are Alright" and "Rock Me Baby" Zac and the band closed with the classic "Got My Mojo Working". Rounding out the set of electric blues was the American music legend, John Hammond Jr.. John who was doing a solo set delved deep into the blues song book. He played classics from Big Joe Williams, Leroy Carr, Robert Johnson, Furry Lewis and many, many more. John also covered some Tom Waits material including "Get Behind the Mule". You could tell you were watching a master at work as all the guitar players that were playing the festival showed up to watch John play, including Kid Ramos and Rusty Zinn who watched intently from the back stage area. Another great two days of blues from the best kept secret of any blues festival!