Second in age only to the Chicago Jazz Festival when it comes to Chicago's major music events, the Chicago Blues Festival is one of the founding pillars of our city's music scene. Sure, we owe it all to the Southern lionhearts who flocked North in the mid-20th century, those who worked on, wrote and howled about our streets. But that's what the free, 200,000-foot per day concert celebrates—the history of the genre, with Chicago as its setting. So it's not surprising that this year's lineup, while geographically diverse, should contain a host of musicians that either call this city home or have some serious Chicago ties. If you want to keep it local (until B.B. King brings the house down, of course), here's who to watch out for.
Thursday
Katherine Davis 11 a.m., U.S. Cellular Front Porch Spawned from a musical family (her grandfather performed with Count Basie and Louis Armstrong), this Cabrini Green native grew up idolizing blues icons like Etta James and Muddy Waters. Those influences, when mixed with her Sherwood Conservatory opera training and jazz and acting interests, gave her some big-momma sass with no boundaries.
Erwin Helfer
11 a.m., U.S. Cellular Front Porch
The 72-year-old Helfer found blues while an undergrad at Tulane University in New Orleans, studying classical piano. Back in Chicago, fate would lead him to the wife of boogie-woogie pioneer, Jimmy Yancey. He entered the professional key-plunker world as her accompanist until her passing in '86. From there Helfer launched his own record label, Red Beans, and embarked on world tours.
Eric Noden & The Stone Academy Blues All Stars 11 a.m., U.S. Cellular Front Porch A Chicagoan since '94, this Ohio-bred guitarist specializes in the resonator fingerpicks of '20s and '30s porch-wailers, though his latest LP,
The Original Eric Noden, is tinted in jazz and swing rhythm sections. Noden also moonlights as a guitar teacher at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
Professor Fernando Jones Columbia College Blues Ensemble
12:45 p.m., U.S. Cellular Front Porch
Jones has been featured on the Travel Channel, "Dateline" and Eric Clapton's Crossroads DVD, along with a fleet of radio and print spots, mostly in promotion of his book I Was There When The Blues Was Red Hot. He was there, as a guitarist in his youth, and he's still around, working as the teacher of the nation's first collegiate blues ensemble.
David Honeyboy Edwards & Friends
2:30 p.m., U.S. Cellular Front Porch
An acoustic legend, this 93-year-old guitarist is one of the last living links to Delta pioneer Robert Johnson, the man who wrote "Sweet Home Chicago." Aside from Pinetop Perkins, Edwards is arguably the last Delta blues musician alive, and he just announced the end of his touring career, so catch him while you still can. Supporting him will be Billy Branch, Louisiana Red, Paul Kay, Aron Burton and Johnny "Yard Dog" Jones.
Pinetop Perkins w/More friends
4:15 p.m., U.S. Cellular Front Porch
Pinetop is the last of the Delta piano men, and he's still got a few tricks up his sleeve (he had more W.C. Handy-nominated records in the last year than in his entire career up to that point). For some time, he was best known for his role in Muddy Waters' band, but has since become a regular at Logan Square's Rosa's Lounge. Willie Smith, Bob Margolin, Bob Stroger and Kenny Smith will pay respects as backing musicians.
Inetta Visor
6 p.m., U.S. Cellular Front Porch
Otherwise the bold, gospel-inflected voice of hometown blues crew, Mississippi Heat, Innetta daylighted for years as a radio engineer on the South Side, keeping her singing dreams repressed in pursuit of financial stability. When Katherine Davis left the original Mississippi line-up, Inetta was first in line.
Nuwki Nu
11:30 a.m., Louisiana Bayou Station & Social Club
The self-proclaimed "Original One Man Band Of Chicago" is a harpist, pianist and vocalist known for contradicting his moniker with a five-piece band called Nu Blues Groove during Chicago Bulls pre-game festivities. The artist also cut a children's record, helping younguns learn their ABCs along with "upbeat, foot-stomping blues grooves."
Patricia Scott w/ J.W. Williams
Noon, Gibson Guitar's Crossroads
Patricia can be found at Blue Chicago pretty much every week. When not layering jazz pipes over John Primer's quintessential modern electric guitar, she pairs herself with J.W. Williams, a funk muscle machine built through stints in Buddy Guy's and Junior Wells' backing bands in the '70s.
Big Ray & Chicago's Most Wanted
2 p.m., Gibson Guitar's Crossroads
South Side drummer/singer, Big Ray, got his start bartending at the late Brady's, filling in for acts when they needed an extra hand. Word spread quickly that he could jam and he soon took it to the road with the Otis Rush Blues Band in '95, which became the precursor to his new project with Chicago's Most Wanted. The brash, rock-centric band is now a B.L.U.E.S. staple.
Sharon Lewis & Texas Fire
4 p.m., Gibson Guitar's Crossroads
Sharon was a late bloomer, tasting the stage for the first time in '93 with Under The Gun. But she was also a quick learner; by '95, she was recording for Delmark with Johnny B. Moore. The vocalist brings billowing soul a la Aretha Franklin, backed by pocket drummer Tony Dale, an old Under The Gun bassist, Carl Copeland and slick lead axeman, Bruce James.
photo: courtesy of Jeff Griffin
One of the city's finest twang-and-tweaksters, the Mississippi-raised Burns idolized church and street performers as a kid. That soul stayed with him, through his folkie, coffeehouse days and on to his R&B experimentation a decade later with his band, the Gas Company. But it wasn't until the mid-'90s that he broke onto Delmark, based on some gigs at Smoke Daddy. His debut,
Leaving Here Walking, is an explosive shuffle of John Lee Hooker tightness and Sunday-mass spirits, something which the National Association of Independent Record Distributors took note of, anointing the LP the Best Blues Record of the Year (1996).
Piano "C" Red
2 p.m., Maxwell Street Corner
Also known as James Wheeler, this Birmingham, Alabama-raised, Atlanta-weathered boogie woogie piano man was a frequent face at Joe Chamble's Club on 47th Street in the early '60s, sitting in with Elmore James, Eddie Taylor, Hound Dog Taylor and many others. Forty years later, some poor soul shot the man during a gas station robbery, but he's still crankin' out the biggest of Big Band blues.
Diamond Jim Greene
4 p.m., Maxwell Street Corner
Acoustic Delta finger-picker Greene idolized the late Chicagoan Blind Arvella Gray, and invoked his memory whenever he had the chance on the South Side. He left us for Virginia for a bit, adopting the East Coast slide-stylings of Blind Boy Fuller, but was soon back to his Delta-Chicago roots, brandishing his 12-string guitar while opening for the likes of Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Ike Turner and many others.
Big Time Sarah & The BTS Express
6 p.m., Petrillo Music Shell
Currently a weekly resident at Blue Chicago, Big Time Sarah is second only to Koko Taylor when it comes to bold female voices. Back in '89 she put together the BTS Express, a band that carries her into funk and jazz territory.
Friday
Les Getrex & Creole Cookin' 1 p.m., Louisiana Bayou Station & Social Club This Louisiana bred guitarist/vocalist plays comfortable folk-blues that almost deserves a 'dad-rock' qualifier. Though his music more closely resembles that of James Taylor and the Eagles, Getrex has toured with the likes of Fats Domino and Rockin' Dopsie and the Zydeco Twisters.
Larry Taylor's West Side Blues & Soul Band
2 p.m., Gibson Guitar's Crossroads
The son of drummer Eddie Taylor, Larry followed in Pop's footsteps and saw three decades of vocal and beat duties with everyone from Otis Clay to Sunnyland Slim to Buddy Guy. 2004's They Were In This House pays literal tribute to all his West Side heroes, winning critic-hearts abound with a no-holding-back vocal approach. He's usually supported by a handpicked bass/sax/keys line-up.
The Taylor Family Band
4 p.m., Gibson Guitar's Crossroads
Drummer Larry handles vocal and beat duties for this cute family act of siblings Eddie Jr. (guitar), Tim (more drums) and Demetria (vocals).
Sam Lay
3 p.m., Mississippi Juke Joint
The drummer behind the greatest records of icons like Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Bob Dylan (the epic Highway 61; he was also on sticks at the Newport Folk Festival when the D-man went electric), Lay has too many accolades to count. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Memphis Blues Hall of Fame, the list goes on.
Jam hosted by Kenny Smith
Thursday, 4:15 p.m., U.S. Cellular Front Porch; Friday, 6 p.m., Mississippi Juke Joint; Sunday, 5 p.m., Mississippi Juke Joint
The son of drum virtuoso, Willie Smith, Kenny does his father proud with sessions on over 50 albums from the likes of Junior Wells and Lurrie Bell. Since '97, he's provided the back-beat for the Chicago-based Mississippi Heat.
Harmonica Hinds
2:30 p.m., Maxwell Street Corner A session star for the likes of John Primer and Koko Taylor, this harpist flutters notes reminiscent of '50s post-war fire-bloods, balancing his stiff approach to the mic. After rising to prominence in the late '70s, Hinds later branched out into banjo and tambourine sounds, filling a citywide void in the process.
Jimmy Johnson
4 p.m., Maxwell Street Corner; 7:25 p.m., Petrillo Music Shell
Drawing Magic Sam comparisons for his gospel-tinted tenors and technical fingering, Johnson hit the scene in '74 when he joined Jimmy Dawkins' crew, and subsequently toured the world with Otis Rush. These days he's a regular at Buddy Guy's and Kingston Mines.
Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater's West Side Strut
7:25 p.m., Petrillo Music Shell
Also known as Eddie Harrington, this South-by-hand, West-by-hood guitarist got his start by doing Chuck Berry imitations. Hequickly set off on his own to record for landmark labels like Bling Pig and Delmark, garnering many a W.C. Handy nomination along the way with his aggressive modern electric style. Two from the Brooks family, Lonnie and Ronnie, along with Jimmy Johnson, Otis Clay and Billy Branch support this gang of West Side heroes.
Koko Taylor and Her Blues Machine 8:35 p.m., Petrillo Music Shell Largely heralded as the "Queen of the Blues," Koko molded her sound in Memphis church choirs as a child, finding a home at Chess Records almost as soon as she hit Chicago as a teenager. Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thorton, these are the kind of comparisons that have won her six Grammy nominations and 15 W.C. Handy Awards. Though age has done a number on the upper registers of her voice, she still is all smiles when performing.
Saturday
Liz Mandeville & The Blue Points 12:30 p.m., U.S. Cellular Front Porch "I sing about politics," this 20-year Chicago vocalist/guitarist once told a crowd, "sexual politics." On all three of her albums, she combines sardonic wit and multi-octave pipes with uber-clean riffs. Sometimes there's a little honky-tonk funk, due to some key fills. But otherwise, this redhead's all early-'80s spunk.
Bumble Bee Bob
2:30 p.m., Louisiana Bayou Station & Social Club
Also known as Bob Novak, this septuagenarian guitarist collaborated with Peter Frampton in Humble Pie, and earned his "bee" moniker from Sunnyland Slim, who was fond of his hot sting on his Fender Strat. When not jamming the local club circuit, he spends his time painting blues- and jazz-inspired mosaics; the Blues Festival once commissioned him to create its official poster (1989).
Steve Arvey
2 p.m., Maxwell Street Corner
Just another Maxwell Street busker at the ripe age of 17, Arvey was recruited by Bo Diddley in the '70s, and spent time as his bass player in Florida for a while. When he moved back, Arvey triple-hit on guitar, drums and bass with greats like Hubert Sumlin, Junior Wells and Eddie Clearwater, among many others. He's a fan of Delta-inspired acoustics, but dips into some modern electric numbers, as well. He's been invited to the Blues Festival several times over in the past 10 years.
Quintus McCormick
3:30 p.m., Maxwell Street Corner
This guitarist has a Mississippi-Delta heart and a British sense of humor; he's been known to rock wailing covers of "Stairway to Heaven." A regular at Kingston Mines, he's usually supported by members of the Northwestern student sextet Rebecca's Statue.
Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials
5 p.m., Petrillo Music Shell
Lil' Ed's a Blues Fest vet, merging Hound Dog Taylor-type boogie over standard Chicago electric, albeit a couple notches too far right on the amp; this is loud stuff. Every once in a while Lil' Ed will shamble into some slide-guitar tricks he picked up from his uncle, J.B. Hutto.
Sunday
Geraldine & Donald Gay 11:30 a.m., Louisiana Bayou Station & Social Club Some would say these siblings should be labeled gospel, with their affinity for lazy struts and elongated verses. The family itself touts three more siblings, who have made a significant enough impact to be honored by the Smithsonian Institute for the advancement of gospel in America (the three girls formed The Gay Sisters trio). But Geraldine and Donald share vocal duties here, along with some slow keys and choir call and responses. Point is, you can't pin 'em down.
Big James Montgomery & The Playboys
1:30 p.m., Gibson Guitar's Crossroads
Funk-friendly trombonist Big James holds absolutely nothing back from gut to throat when blasting into bass-fancy ditties with his crew the Chicago Playboys, Otis Rush's old backing band.
Filisko & Noden
4 p.m., Maxwell Street Corner
These two bluesmen met while they were both Old Town School of Folk Music instructors in the mid-'90s. Eric Noden draws his style from the resonator fingerpicking of '20s and '30s porch-wailers, while harpist Joe Filisko specializes in smooth post-war blues. Together the two are the ultimate street-performance duo.
Karen Carroll w/ Charlie Love and special guest Lurrie Bell
5 p.m., Petrillo Music Shell
The woman has a record called Talk To The Hand. Enough said. But I guess if you want to know more, Karen is the daughter of jazz singer, Jean Carroll, and saw training under piano man Little Brother Montgomery. She's a singer of intensely dynamic fits of soul, jazz and blues, all available within her Delmark oeuvre. Guitarist Lurrie Bell is a frantic guitarist whom Karen is well accustomed to sharing the stage with, and Southsider Charlie Love came of age with the same instrument at the Checkerboard Lounge, behind Lefty Dizz and Buddy Scott.
Magic Slim & The Teardrops 6:30 p.m., Petrillo Music Shell This coarse-piped vocalist/guitarist owes a debt to mentor and friend Magic Sam, who gave Slim his start (and nickname) as a bass player in the early '50s. Drawing Hound Dog Taylor comparisons for his rock-centric, muscling fretwork, Slim, along with The Teardrops, is of the heel-stomp ilk.
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