14
Jun
2005
With the Blues Festival just two weeks away, it's crunch time for the Mississippi Valley Blues Society (MVBS). There are travel, lodging, security, and logistical concerns to address, contracts to finalize, and volunteer lists to compile. This is when it always starts to look like there's no way everything's going to come together in time, but for the past two decades, the MVBS has always managed to pull it off.
But while much of the Blues Society is focused on the annual three-day extravaganza, some folks don't want to wait all year for the blues. They want their blues now, or at least this weekend. It's because of this fact, along with a canceled gig and an astute Web surfer, that the MVBS is pleased to announce that it is bringing blues and funk masters Mem Shannon & the Membership to town this Saturday, June 18.
They'll be appearing in Long Grove at the County Line Roadhouse. A true dance hall and a local landmark for many years, the Roadhouse (formerly the Fairyland Ballroom) has been completely renovated by its new owners. From the Quad Cities, it's located about 15 minutes north of the I-80/US 61 interchange. From exit 129 (Scott County Park) on US 61, it's just a short hop up Scott County Park Road (old Highway 61) to the spacious club, situated on the banks of the Wapsi River.
Mem Shannon last played the MVBS Blues Fest back in 1996. Five successful albums and thousands of grueling tour dates later, his ever-widening recognition has pretty much priced him out of weekend gigs in markets any smaller than Chicago or Memphis. It was only because of that last-minute cancellation that the MVBS could afford to book him here for a Saturday show. And since the MVBS often takes its not-for-profit status a bit too literally, ticket prices are only $5 for MVBS members and $6 for non-members. That's perhaps one-third of what you'd pay to see him in one of those larger cities.
Mem Shannon is a bluesman, but he's also from New Orleans, where the music starts and ends with the rhythm. As a result, his brand of blues is drenched in funk. I could run down the list of musical superlatives, but many highly regarded music critics and publications have already done that for me, so I'll let you get it from a few of them:
• Best Song of the Year Award - Living Blues Magazine
• "Easily one of the most underrated guitarists in the industry." - Blues Access magazine
• "One of the most prolific and clever songsmiths on the current blues scene." - Pulse magazine
• "The blues field's finest social commentator since the days of Willie Dixon and Percy Mayfield." - Washington Post
• "One of the finest songwriters working today, in any genre." - Offbeat magazine.
But while much of the Blues Society is focused on the annual three-day extravaganza, some folks don't want to wait all year for the blues. They want their blues now, or at least this weekend. It's because of this fact, along with a canceled gig and an astute Web surfer, that the MVBS is pleased to announce that it is bringing blues and funk masters Mem Shannon & the Membership to town this Saturday, June 18.
They'll be appearing in Long Grove at the County Line Roadhouse. A true dance hall and a local landmark for many years, the Roadhouse (formerly the Fairyland Ballroom) has been completely renovated by its new owners. From the Quad Cities, it's located about 15 minutes north of the I-80/US 61 interchange. From exit 129 (Scott County Park) on US 61, it's just a short hop up Scott County Park Road (old Highway 61) to the spacious club, situated on the banks of the Wapsi River.
Mem Shannon last played the MVBS Blues Fest back in 1996. Five successful albums and thousands of grueling tour dates later, his ever-widening recognition has pretty much priced him out of weekend gigs in markets any smaller than Chicago or Memphis. It was only because of that last-minute cancellation that the MVBS could afford to book him here for a Saturday show. And since the MVBS often takes its not-for-profit status a bit too literally, ticket prices are only $5 for MVBS members and $6 for non-members. That's perhaps one-third of what you'd pay to see him in one of those larger cities.
Mem Shannon is a bluesman, but he's also from New Orleans, where the music starts and ends with the rhythm. As a result, his brand of blues is drenched in funk. I could run down the list of musical superlatives, but many highly regarded music critics and publications have already done that for me, so I'll let you get it from a few of them:
• Best Song of the Year Award - Living Blues Magazine
• "Easily one of the most underrated guitarists in the industry." - Blues Access magazine
• "One of the most prolific and clever songsmiths on the current blues scene." - Pulse magazine
• "The blues field's finest social commentator since the days of Willie Dixon and Percy Mayfield." - Washington Post
• "One of the finest songwriters working today, in any genre." - Offbeat magazine.
