Friends of the Blues at the River Bend in Kankakee by Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms and Down on Main by Brian Laprade

(Memphis, Tennessee) This week we take a trip north to Illinois to reconnect with our dear friends in Kankakee, Illinois. The Friends of the Blues have sponsored great musical events in this part of the world for many years and we are fortunate to know James "Sky Dobro" Walker and D'Arcy "Shuffleshoes" Ballinger who have brought us into the area many times to play for these wonderful blues fans. This night was no exception, a clear and pretty July 3rd, the day before the 4th when we traveled down the highway to Davenport, Iowa, to play the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival. More on that event next Monday.

D'Arcy "Shuffleshoes" Ballinger and Josh Roberts

**Friends of the Blues Radio Show is hosted by lifelong local blues aficionados D’Arcy Ballinger and James Walker. The show is named after a loose knit group of local Blues fans and the two helped create in 2006. D’Arcy “Shuffleshoes” Ballinger of rural St. Anne has been involved with the local blues scene since the mid 1980s. As a member of the Blues Foundation and a member of the Blues Music Awards Nominating Committee, “Shuffleshoes’” blues run deep. James “Sky Dobro” Walker of Watseka was listening to blues music before he knew it was “Blues.” The Friends of Blues Radio Show is named after a local Blues fan club the two helped create in 2006. Thursday at 7 p.m. and an extended 4 hour broadcast Saturday at 8 p.m.

Here's a link to their show:

http://www.kcc.edu/radio/programs/Pages/fotb.aspx

The load in at the River Bend Bar and Lounge

River Bend patrons enjoy the deck poised right above the Kankakee River

Blues fans pile in for the show.

Here's a shower stage side if you are coming in from the river to the club, heehee!

The band went out for a fun boat ride all afternoon, toured the river and enjoyed the scenery.

Frank Lloyd Wright house on the Kankakee River
(photo by Wayne Russell)

The author remained at the Holiday Inn express in Bourbonais to write some articles for the American Blues News, but I got to go on the tour last year thanks to our many friends. Thanks to Mr. Walk of the Holiday Inn Express for supporting the Friends of the Blues and providing us with such lovely accommodations. It's a lovely clean hotel and I highly recommend it if you are in the area. I would recommend it without reservation, but you might take that the wrong way...call ahead and get a room. You will be glad you did.

After dining we settled in to a night of new blues, many songs from the new CD, "8." D'Arcy and James have kindly been playing us on their cool weekly radio show along with loads of other great blues music. I get his play lists every week and you could not ask for a more entertaining lineup of great music. these guys know music and know how to pick the good stuff for their listeners.

Josh Roberts resembles Cousin It on slide guitar...Josh's slide playing is pure awesome.

Doug and Amanda McMinn both made the trip this week and we had lots of laughs while riding for many hours in the car. Blues fans were assembled inside the pavilion and all across the lawn outside. Before the night was over, the band was joined by my old friend, the legendary T-Bird Huck, who sang "She Caught the Katy" and played some cool harp. It was great to see T-Bird and have a chance to visit and play a bit. He is a great talent and a very entertaining human being. T-Bird, like myself, never had too much fun.

T-Bird Huck and the author.

T-Bird and Reba Russell discuss whiskey, an expert discussion

Many thanks to all our friends in Illinois who made the night such a great success and such a tremendously fun time. The Reba Russell Band loves you all and we look forward to coming back to visit as soon as possible.

Tupelo's Down on Main Summer Concert by Brian Laprade

(Tupelo, Mississippi) First of three Down on Main Summer Concert Series was opened by John Paul Keith & the One Four Fives, special guests The Partlow Drummers, and headlining, Hill Country Revue.

This was my first time to see John Paul Keith & the One Four Fives. Hopefully it will not be the last. They hail from Memphis, TN, and you can definitely tell that the city has influenced them. Sticking mainly to songs from their album Spills and Thrills, such as "Lookin’ for a Thrill" and "Pure Cane Sugar," they played a good mix of upbeat music their whole set. Listening to them and enjoying the excellent guitar work of John Paul while the bassist and drummer kept everything in time, I was impressed with their very well written lyrics and music. The sound was very reminiscent of Buddy Holly and as a confirmation to my supposition, they closed out the set with "Come On, Let’s Go."

Before Hill Country Revue took the stage, a local favorite, the Partlow Drummers came marching in and had everybody on their feet moving to the rhythm. Led by Gary Harper as drum major for over twenty years, this group of talented youth includes both drummers and dancers. If the wonderful beat doesn’t move you then watching the dancers will make you move. If you ever are in the Tupelo area and have a chance to hear the Partlow Drummers, make an effort to go.

Hill Country Review

Hill Country Revue hit the stage hard and didn’t let up for their two hour set. They have just made it back to the states from a tour of Italy. This was one of their first shows back home and you could tell they were proud to be here. I saw them perform the last weekend in June(25th and 26th) at the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic and thought that they put on a heck of a show there, but probably because they just made it back home, they blew the doors off in Tupelo.

Hill Country Review
(photo by Jay Moore)

Great weather and a great crowd made for a good time downtown. Kids were

playing in the dancing waters of the fountain in front of City Hall or playing in the play ground next to it and grown up kids were dancing, moving and hearing some great music. These concerts provide a wonderful family atmosphere to bring any age along(Hill Country Revue kept their songs and comments age appropriate). If you have never heard Hill Country Revue, either on CD or live, please check them out.

Cody Dickinson started off playing keyboards. Cody is son of the late James Dickinson. Cody is a seminal north Mississippi musician, awesome song writer, brother of multi-instrumentalist Luther Dickinson, who like Cody, is a member of North Mississippi All Stars. Luther also plays with the Black Crowes.

Cody Dickinson, Chris Chew, Luther Dickinson

North Mississippi All Stars
(photo from facebook)

Throughout the show Cody played guitar, drums, and washboard. The rest of the band was comprised of Kirk Smithhart on guitar, Ed “Hot”Cleveland on bass, new drummer Dave Mason, and "Dixie" Dan Coburn on lead vocal. The highlight of the night occurred when Kirk and Cody played guitars together, either dueling or playing in sync. It was just phenomenal. The audience was mesmerized by the washboard and all the sounds that Cody can get out of it by using various pedals as he did with electric guitar, providing a myriad of truly unique sounds.

Luther Dickinson
(photo by Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms)

They started out with a slower paced version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Same Ole

Blues Again” and then played a few songs from their first album Make a Move and also a few songs from their forthcoming album Zebra Ranch which is named after James Dickinson’s home and recording studio. Check out these two articles, replete with lots of photographs, by Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms about the Reba Russell Band recording their latest CD at the Zebra Ranch:

http://www.ameriblues.com/2010/02/reba-russell-band-records-at-zebra.html

http://www.ameriblues.com/2010/03/zebra-ranch-part-two.html

Inside the Zebra Ranch, a magical place
(photo by Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms)

There was a good mix of upbeat and slower songs to keep the audience moving. They ended their set but the crowd wanted one more song, so they came back onstage and performed a great version of Don Nix' “Going Down” which was reminiscent of the great Freddy King version.

While the last note was echoing over downtown Tupelo, the MC came onstage and

wished us all a safe trip home and invited us back for the next two Down On Main concerts. On Thursday, Aug. 12th, 6:30pm, The Infamous Stringdusters and Sanders Bohlke will appear.

On Thursday, September 9th, 6:30pm, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Moon Taxi will appear. I plan on being at both and hope to see you there.

© Brian Laprade, 2010
© Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms, 2010

The North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic by Jay Moore

This week's article is brought to you by my dear friend, Jay Moore, as I am currently driving back to Memphis after a fun weekend playing in Kankakee, Illinois, and in Davenport, Iowa at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival. I will be reporting on these festivities next Monday here at American Blues News. See you then!

Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms

(Potts Camp, Mississippi) On June 25, my wife and I packed up the truck with coolers, lawn chairs, canopy, and sunscreen to start our introduction to the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic. We drove over towards Potts Camp, concerned about the show not going on because a light rain that had started, but hoping for some smokin' hot Hill Country Blues, nonetheless. As we rounded a corner in the road we saw a sign that looked at first like an ad for the NMCHP, and didn't slow down (I'll admit, I was looking for the sign for the “Bucksnort” community – oh, yeah, it's real). We realized our mistake, and according to my GPS, we made a “legal u-turn” at the next opportunity, about a mile or so down the road. Upon returning to the road, we were greeted with a very funny sight: “Burma-shave” style “you're almost there; you can smell it in the air; right by the crick; it's the Hill Country Picnic” signs letting us know we were almost there. By the way, that's my paraphrasing – at the time, I was laughing too hard to remember the actual lines.

We arrived at what appeared to be the entrance to a cattle pasture. Surprise – it was! Kenny Brown opens up his “ranch” for the purpose of holding the NMCHP every year, and it's held on about 5 acres of his farmland. As we made our way down the field road, I began to wonder about what the scene was going to be like. By the time we arrived at the “main gate”, my poor ol' white truck was decidedly browner than usual.

We paid for our days' wristbands and for the cooler, then went in and grabbed the first good parking space we could find. We grabbed everything - chairs, coolers, backpack, canopy – and started walking. Friends, heed my advice: DON'T DO THIS! Take your time; make multiple trips. No sense in killin' yourself dead before the show gets crackin'. Even with the rain, it was still in the 90's and with the humidity up around “goldfish pond”, you can't sweat. Drink plenty of liquids! We had just gotten the canopy parts all laid out and were trying to figure out just which ones were parts “2A”, “3A”, etc. when my friend Brian arrived. Shannon McNally took the stage just a few minutes into our efforts, so we had to settle for listening to her belt out some great tunes as we worked. Segue to 45 minutes later, and we were finally perched under our now-assembled canopy, enjoying the last of Blue Mother Tupelo's set. The rain that had plagued the early afternoon finally let up about 6 or so, and then someone turned off what little cool air was blowing through the rain. I now have more sympathy for lobsters. The Boy Scouts had set up a tent next to the merchandising booth, and were serving some wonderfully sweet and cold watermelon and bottled water. We partook of those, which helped cool us down somewhat. The merchandising tent was selling each artist's CDs, t-shirts, and other assorted goodies, which meant that I would be back after just about every set to buy another CD or three. SUPPORT THESE ARTISTS!!!

Robert Belfour

Next up on the stage after Blue Mother Tupelo was Robert Belfour. Mr. Belfour gave us a set of some great “old-style” blues – simple, rhythmic, beautiful. His voice was smooth from years of practice, and his guitar playing was something to behold.

Cody and Cedric Burnside

Cedric and Cody Burnside got up on stage next, and to the delight of the crowd, they were introduced not by the emcee (Joe Whitmer of The Blues Foundation if I haven't lost my notching stick), but by two little Burnside girls, neither of whom could have been older than eight. Young they might have been, but these girls already show no fear of the stage or microphone, and know how to “whip up” the crowd! Cedric and Cody played a few songs, and then Cody and the girls moved to just off-stage as Lightnin' Malcolm came up and Cedric took his place on the drums. The Two-Man Wrecking Crew was in da house, y'all! Robert Belfour gave us toe-tapping, simple acoustic blues; Mal and Cedric gave us foot-stompin' power-house electric blues. This juxtaposition of simple vs. complex rhythm and style would continue for the rest of the weekend. I think that's maybe so that the attendees wouldn't be too wore out by Saturday night.

Lightnin' Malcom and Cedric Burnside

We were treated to an impromptu set by Robert L. Burnside, Jr., as he joined Cedric and Malcolm for a couple of songs. It's scary how much he looks and sounds like his Papa.

R L Burnside, Jr. joins Cedric and Malcolm for a short set

Whew. Cool down time. That was provided as T Model Ford took the stage, with Bill Abel accompanying him on guitar. I'm not an aficionado of Blues Music, so I can't tell you what songs, from what period, and in what style, that it was that T Model played; all I'll say is, “Man, that was some good music.”

T Model Ford with Bill Abel

T Model's Wife Shakes 'Em On Down

And no show can be complete without a demonstration of how to “Shake'em On Down” - in this case, presented by T Model's wife...

Eric Deaton and the author

I had the chance to chat for a while with one of my favorite Hill Country Musicians, Eric Deaton. Folks, in the picture below, that isn't rain makin' our shirts look like that – it's the heat, baby!

By this time, the crowd was starting to get thicker as people arrived, in ones, twos and groups. Being a truly family friendly affair, many people had their children with them. With acres of relatively flat grass to play on, the frisbees and footballs were a-flyin'. There were two EMTs on standby should anyone need them. Thank you, Lord, that neither day did they ever do more than pitch a football or two. And the smells of catfish and bar-be-que wafting from the vendor's row were enough to set just about any mouth watering.

Robert Kimbrough Sr. Blues Connection

It was in this atmosphere that the Robert Kimbrough Sr. Blues Connection took to the stage, and lit the crowd back up.

Hill Country Review

Next up on the stage was the band, Hill Country Revue. Having seen them in concert before, I was amazed at the raw power that they were able to put out in their music here on a converted flat-bed truck/stage. Night and day. I'm not sure if they held back in the concert hall to keep up with some kind of fire code or something, but at the NMHCP, they took the governers off their amps and let loose. There was some booty-shakin' goin' on now, brother!

Josh Roberts

Just as I was taking some of these shots, I felt someone peck on my shoulder. I turned and looked at the woman behind me, and was met with a wicked grin. Then she nodded to my left side. I turned and was looking at someone I'd never have expected to see in my neck of the woods: Josh Roberts, guitarist for The Reba Russell Band and also part of the group Wainwright, Santini and Roberts.

The Burnside Exploration

After Hill Country Revue stepped down and the stage was reconfigured, I started seeing a couple of guys setting up saxophones. Saxophones? Here? My answer to who could be so fiendish as to bring culture into this rough-and-tumble setting was quick to arrive: The Burnside Exploration! And this time, we didn't get a “cool down” period of slow music. No, Sir! The Burnside Exploration took the energy that was still zinging off the walls from HCR, re-wrapped it, and pumped it back out to the crowd, fresh, new and exciting. My dismay at the saxes was quickly forgotten.

Alvin Youngblood Hart

Up till now, we had been in an up-and-down musical vibe, but after these last two acts, the planners of the event decided to keep revving the engine. The Burnside Exploration blasted out many of what could be considered “Hill Country Classics”, plus some of their new materials, which had the crowd at the stage bumpin' and grindin'. When they left the stage, it seemed like an eternity before the next group came on. But, in reality, less than 10 minutes later, we had Alvin Youngblood Hart on-stage, and ripping into the guitar, tearing through hits from his “Motivational Speaker” album and then some of his older works.

Jimbo Mathus

The night was marching quickly on to the witching hour as the final act of the night set up. Jimbo Mathus and his band set up the stage, and then knocked down the crowd with a variety of songs, some quirky and fun, and many that were just bluesy electric tunes. I swear, at one time when I looked at Jimbo, I thought I was watching a young Roger Daltrey, straight down to the antics he was performing on-stage.

Jimbo's set ended the first night. We packed up, canopy and all, and headed home for some much-needed rest, relaxation, and air conditioning.

Day two of our adventure started out blistering hot and muggier than New York in an economic slump. When we arrived on-site, it was already 12:00, and we'd missed the first act, Jay Lang and the Ringers. To make matters worse, we again had to settle for listening to Eric Deaton and his band play as background music for our canopy set-up. One on-looker later mentioned that we looked like we were possessed or something, so fast did we work. I told him it was simple survival; one more minute in that sun and I was going to literally melt.

Eric Deaton

Rocket 88

With shade and seats firmly in place, we sat down to a cold Coke and some Country-fried Hill Country Blues, courtesy of Rocket 88.

Next up, it was time to “get right with the Lord” as John Wilkins got up on stage, and sangs songs made to make you wanna be in church on Sunday. In amongst the music, he told some amusing stories about being a musician and a minister. I wish I'd had the forethought to bring a recorder – some of those stories would be worth a trip to his church to hear again.

John Wilkins

After John had left the stage and before the next act, we were pleasantly “ambushed” by RL Burnside, Jr. and his band for a quick little set of Burnside classics.

RLB, Jr. and band take the stage. Literally. And we didn't care!

It was at this point in the day that things got a little bit dicey. The weather, which had blissfully cooled during the last hour, now started shifting winds. The partly-cloudy and sunny day we'd started with had turned dark and overcast. Then the lightning started dancing all around us. The winds whipped up, and tents went a-flyin'. We grabbed ours and held on for dear life for about 30 minutes, as we watched some folks head for their cars, some for the tree line, and others, apparently as dumb as we were, hunker down to wait out Mother Nature's wrath. But wait it out we did, and after a little clean-up and de-tarping, the stage was back ready for entertainers.

High winds wreak havoc on tents and chairs

Little Joe Ayers

Little Joe Ayers was next up on the line-up, and he quickly gave us something better to think about than the occasional lightning bolt that still bounced around. Part-way into his set, he was joined by Kenny Brown, much to the enjoyment of all.

Kent Burnside

Next up was Kent Burnside. He took the audience from classic Hill sound to more edgy electric, with a hint of smoke thrown in for good measure.

Loose Shoes

Alvin Hart, Luther Dickinson, and Jimbo Mathus took the stage as “Loose Shoes”, and proceeded to boogie everyone right out of their shoes. If these boys ever decide to cut an album, that sucker's going to be on my list the day it's announced. Three different styles, three different blends, one outstanding set.

The Rising Star Fife And Drum Band

From seemingly out of the woods came this plaintive flute's song, keening out a melody at once sad and yet hopeful. As the melody played, the sound focused more and more until it centered on the stage. The Rising Star Fife and Drum Band had arrived! They wowed the crowd (can I patent that phrase?) with a couple of songs, then the . . . Fifist? . . . began to sing as the drums played. She had a sweet voice that blended not only with the drums, but as she sang, she would also play during the lyrical breaks. This set had just about everybody in attendance wrapped around their finger.

The North Mississippi All-Stars

After all that sweetness and simplicity, well, you know we had to have some hard-drivin' music! The North Mississippi All-Stars were ready and waiting to deliver! Shake'em on down, and have yourselves a Snake Drive, boys!

Blue Mountain

Like Friday night before, once the rockin' starts after dark, it doesn't stop. Blue Mountain came up and took over the reins, and laid us low with some hot-rockin' blues tunes. One of my personal favorites of the evening!

DuWayne Burnside

DuWayne Burnside came on next, and showed that he's got what it takes to “call himself a Burnside” - the voice, the guitar playing, the music. It's all there, and it's all good. Check him out – you won't be sorry!

Kenny Brown

And now for the finale of the show: Kenny Brown came on the stage to whoops and howls, and set in for the long-haul by rockin', swayin', and rollin' us around. Kenny discovered that we had a contingent of folks from somewhere in Norway in attendance! Either they're “hard-core” or just really lucked out on the timing. Either way, it was nice talking with a few of them and welcoming them to our great state! Y'all come back now, ya heah?

When Kenny finished his set, he didn't even make it off-stage before the crowd was chanting “One More Song!” He must have heard them, because he came back out and delighted the crowd with not one, but two additional songs before thanking everyone and wishing us a safe drive home.

View from the “cheap seats”

We packed up and got ready to head home. But at the gate, just before hitting the road, I got an additional taste of how well this “picnic” is organized – there was a guard, checking to make sure that nobody leaving the picnic was going out on the road intoxicated. Very well done!

My wife and I will be back for the 6th annual Picnic next year. We hope to see you there!

© Jay Moore, 2010

© Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms, 2010