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I received another great email this one is from Robert Nighthawk Tooms Keyboard player. He is the keyboard player with the Reba Russell band. He is on the road quite heavily and I have asked him to contribute to this blog. He may become American Blues Blog man on the scene. I'd also like to add he is an outstanding keyboardist.

Helena/West Helena, Arkansas spawned so many great artists. As you may know, Sunshine Sonny Payne was the original host of KFFA's famous King Biscuit Time radio show and he is still alive and doing well in Helena. The Sterling Billingsly Band and the Reba Russell Blues Band appeared at a fundraiser held in June in West Helena to help fund this year's Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival, formerly known as the King Biscuit. Sadly some shiftless en(trap)raneurs copyrighted and sold the King Biscuit name and will not let these nice folks use it for their wonderful festival. The festival has always been free to the public and this year will be the first year that economic forces have caused them to charge a nominal sum for admission. I think it costs only $10 a day to hear 12 hours of good music at the main stage and a discount ticket is available for a 3-day pass. Live music at the other stages is still absolutely free. There are a great number of music fan who travel from all over the world to this event each year and many folks come to the event and camp out at the local campgrounds. Much fun and frivolity is had by all and it is a genuinely friendly crowd. Some very tasty bar-b-que is to be had from local purveyors and some cool records are always in stock at Bubba Sullivan's store on the corner of Cherry Street across from the main stage. The fans bring lawn chairs or sit on the levee of the Mississippi River to hear the music. Helena is located just south of Memphis, about an hour's drive on the blues highway, Highway 61(as the old Mississippi Fred McDowell blues lyric notes, "longest road I know, goes from Chicago clean down to the Gulf of Mexico").

Here's this year's lineup taken from the Sonny Boy Blues Society's website:

2009 Lineup

The ABHF lineup has been finalized!!! Listed below are the acts for the Main Stage for this year’s event.

Thursday, 8 October 2009

• 12:00 pm- Emerging Artists
• 1:00 pm- Kings of the Delta- 2008 Emerging Artists Winner
• 2:00 pm- 2009 SBBS Battle of the Bands Winner
• 3:00 pm- Johnny Billington
• 4:00 pm- J.P Soars & The Red Hots- 2009 International Blues Challenge winners
• 5:00 pm- Lucious Spiller
• 6:00 pm- Sterling Billingsley
• 7:15 pm- Lil Dave Thompson
• 8:50 pm- John Primer
• 10:30 pm- The Cate Brothers

Friday, 9 October 2009

• 12:00 pm- Harmonica Shah
• 1:15 pm- Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys
• 2:35 pm- Sam Carr with Dave Riley
• 4:00 pm- Red Holloway
• 5:30 pm- Pinetop Perkins & Bob Margolin
• 7:00 pm- Billy Boy Arnold
• 8:45 pm- Michael Burks
• 10:30 pm- Bobby Rush

Saturday, 10 October 2009

• 12:00 pm- Willie P & The NTO Band
• 1:15 pm- Hamilton Loomis
• 2:35 pm- Reba Russell
• 4:05 pm- John Hammond
• 5:40 pm- Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets
• 7:10 pm- Hubert Sumlin & Willie “Big Eyes” Smith Band
• 8:45 pm- Mitch Kasmar
• 10:30 pm- Jackie Payne & Steve Edmonton

For more information, please contact the festival office at 870.816.1106 or 314.580.3764. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks!!

My dear friend, drummer Doug McMinn, and I will be playing with John Primer on Thursday night on the main stage. The Reba Russell Blues band will appear on Saturday afternoon. I thought we went on at 6pm but the schedule says 2:35 pm. Either way it will be one hell of a great day's entertainment.

Doug McMinn organized another fundraiser for the festival which will be held on Sunday, Sept. 20, at Neil's which is located at Madison and McLean in Memphis, Tennessee. The show will start at 1 pm and feature Papa Don McMinn, Robert Nighthawk Tooms and his Wampus Cats, and the Reba Russell Blues Band. All proceeds go to the festival, every last dime.

Thanks Robert and say hi to everyone.

BLUES ME OR LOSE ME,

Terrance "Gatorman" Lape