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Arts & Entertainment | May 31, 2010

Warm up for The Fest

August Lord's photo
Chicago blues Examiner
Kevin Moore of WJJG Radio AM 1530
The Kevin Moore Show

Chicagoland is gearing up for the world’s largest free blues festival. I’m old and crabby and so, not much of a fest person. I am however, a blues person. While there is no shortage of live blues around our great city, this time of year is special in that blues people (players, media and fans) make their pilgrimage to the world’s capital of the blues.

It’s a time to rekindle old acquaintances and hear talent from the left and right coasts and all jukes in between. It’s also time for me to unashamedly show off our wealth of blues treasures to the less fortunate out-of-towners. Pride comes before the fall, but so does summer, .with the Chicago Blues Fest.
 
The great Chicago Blues Fest will be packed into a three-day weekend this year from Friday, June 11th through Sunday June 13th. What about Thursday? After all this is the world capitol of the Blues. 
 
According to the official festival webpage “The Blues season leading up to the festival begins on May 1-Little Walter's Birthday and continue weekly celebrating Robert Johnson's Birthday, May 8, Mother's Day, and many special activities at the Chicago Cultural Center, blues Clubs around town.”

 

Dominican University in River Forest, IL
Symposium running from Thurs June 10th
 

To wit: The Chicago Chapter of the Recording Academy (Grammy) will present its annual Chicago Blues Fest Kickoff Jam on June 10 at Buddy Guy's Legends. Local and national artists will join with one of Buddy Guy's Legends famed house bands, Brother John and his band, for a night of the blues in a tribute to the city's musical heritage. Featured artists performing will include Billy Branch, Vino Louden, Michael McDermott, Nick Moss, Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, Pinetop Perkins, Matthew Skoller, and Sones De Mexico.

Thursday marks the beginning of the Second Blues & the Spirit Symposium in nearby River Forest. It was a stroke of genius to bring all the blues dignitaries in just in time for the fest. 
Pre-fest Grammy party at Buddy Guy's Legends
Grammy set for a party at Legends

Thursday is also the day yours truly will guest on “Chicago’s Home Town Station” WJJG Radio AM 1530. The Kevin Moore Show will have me on sometime between 2:45 and 3:45 PM. Kevin Moore’s show specializes in focusing on the arts locally and nationally, along with the lively art of conversation. We appreciate Kevin giving the blues another media voice in Chicago.  If you do nothing different Thursday than go to your usual blues haunt you will probably run into some out-of-town blues hero sitting in with the slated band. To me this act of “sitting in” is a true art form by itself. Oftentimes blues music from this jamming is served up in a once-in-a-lifetime rarity.

Bottom line: Don’t wait until Friday for bluesin’ 

For more Blues info:  www.ChicagoBluesBeat.com

 

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Chicago blues Examiner

Call it post-war, electric, urban or just Chicago-style blues, this music is "Lordy's" passion. His mission is supporting the musicians, venues,...

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