23 Jun 2010

2010 Blues Fest -- "Pretty Close to Pop": Mud Morganfield (Friday, 7 p.m., Bandshell)

By Jeff Ignatius

Mud Morganfield

Mud Morganfield has this to say about being the son of Muddy Waters, who also sired (in a less literal way) Chicago blues: "It's a curse, and then sometimes it's a blessing. Because people begin to compare you."

Don't feel too sorry for Morganfield, though. His career is built on re-creating the Muddy Waters sound, and he's almost begging for the comparison.

"I wanted to represent my dad's music, and what he stood for," Morganfield said in a recent phone interview. "It came natural to me. ... People think maybe I was somewhere in the basement studying it, and listening to recordings. You can't get that close with that. I do what I do because I'm his son. That's just all there is to it."

23 Jun 2010

2010 Blues Fest -- Friday, July 2: Bandshell ("Blues in the Blood")

By Administrator

Every act on both stages Friday is a descendant of a blues legend.

The Kinsey Report, 5 p.m.

MySpace.com/kenkinsey

Kinsey ReportThe Kinsey brothers -- guitarist/vocalist Donald, drummer Ralph, and bassist Kenneth -- developed their funk-oriented blues sound from a lifetime of working together on stage and in the studio. Their father and musical mentor, the late Mississippi-born Lester "Big Daddy" Kinsey, introduced his sons to gospel and blues early on. As youngsters, they saw firsthand the emotional power of music in their grandfather's church in Gary, Indiana. By the time Donald was 13, he was an accomplished guitarist who performed with Big Daddy around Gary. During the late 1960s, Big Daddy began taking the family act on the road. In 1972, Albert King recruited Donald as his rhythm guitarist.

23 Jun 2010

2010 Blues Fest -- Friday, July 2: Tent ("Blues in the Blood")

By Administrator

Every act on both stages Friday is a descendant of a blues legend.

Alvin "Little Pink" Anderson, 5 p.m.

LittlePink.20m.com

Alvin 'Little Pink' AndersonAlvin "Little Pink" Anderson is the son of Piedmont blues giant Pink Anderson. Alvin was born on July 13, 1954, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and by the age of three was performing with his father as a tap dancer and singer in the medicine shows that traveled throughout the South. It was also at this early age that Pink Anderson started teaching Alvin to play the acoustic guitar. By the time Alvin was 13, he was touring with Clarence Carter -- until his age was discovered!

23 Jun 2010

2010 Blues Fest -- Saturday, July 3: Bandshell

By Administrator

Steady Rollin' Blues Band, 1 p.m.

Steady Rollin' Blues BandJust five weeks after winning the Quad Cities round of the Iowa Blues Challenge, the Steady Rollin' Blues Band emerged victorious from the final round of the state challenge in Des Moines on May 22. The prize package includes studio recording time and a slot at the IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival for July 3, as well as money to help support the band's trip to Memphis next January, when they will represent Iowa in the International Blues Challenge.

23 Jun 2010

2010 Blues Fest -- Saturday, July 3: Tent

By Administrator

Little Brother Jones, 1:30 p.m.

LittleBrotherBlues.com

Little Brother JonesI must start out this bio admitting I have not witnessed this gentleman in person. Sometimes it is better that way. I do know by listening to his CDs and reading his stories that this guy is going to be the real deal. This guy is a bluesman in every sense of the word. This is going to be another one that you will be saying, "Where do they find these folks? Little Brother Jones is great!" Well, thank Bob Covemaker for this one.

23 Jun 2010

2010 Blues Fest -- Sunday, July 4: Bandshell

By Administrator

The Jimmys, 2 p.m.

JimmyVoegeli.com

The JimmysAs luck would have it, when the Entertainment Committee was looking for a regional band for the opening slot on Sunday at the Fest, across our collective desk came a disc by The Jimmys. Not only was the music rollicking, dance-worthy blues, but the band had horns -- something missing from other acts at the Fest.

23 Jun 2010

2010 Blues Fest -- Sunday, July 4: Tent

By Administrator

Bill Sims Jr. & Mark LaVoie, 2 p.m.

BillSimsJr.com/billmark

Bill Sims Jr. & Mark LaVoieBill Sims Jr. (guitar and vocals) and Mark LaVoie (harmonica) call themselves the American Roots Blues Duo. Bill is from New York City, and Mark lives in Vermont. They have been working together for more than 15 years, mostly in Vermont. In the early '90s while working in Burlington, Vermont, Bill met Mark and they became fast friends after discovering their shared love of acoustic blues.

23 Jun 2010

2010 Blues Fest -- Workshop/BlueSKool Artist Biographies

By Administrator

David Horwitz, Workshop at 2:30 p.m. Sunday

David HorwitzPhotographer and educator David Horwitz of Tucson, Arizona, has been traveling to clubs and festivals for decades in search of great blues music for his ears and visual images to capture on film. Winner of the 1999 Blues Foundation's Keeping the Blues Alive Award for Photography, David has spent more than 25 years capturing moments of the blues masters. His works have appeared in countless publications. -- Ann Ring

23 Jun 2010

2010 Blues Fest -- A Note from the MVBS President

By Randy Stalsberg

Greetings, and welcome to the 26th-annual IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival!

We at the Mississippi Valley Blues Society are proud of our accomplishment of producing this nationally acclaimed festival for more than 25 years. We now embrace the challenge of continuing on this tradition by bringing you quality entertainment for at least another 25 years. To do this we will continue to provide features that our fans have come to expect: world-renowned blues acts at both of our main stages, interactive BlueSKool programs on-site for the young and young at heart, and a free photo exhibit and workshops for one and all at the Freight House.

22 Jun 2010

Keeping Old-School Country Alive: Dale Watson, June 29 at RIBCO

By Jeff Ignatius

Dale Watson

On the day he's playing a Daytrotter.com show at RIBCO, singer/songwriter Dale Watson will release Carryin' on, and the album seems a natural fit for a guy who's been a country-music relic from the beginning. That's a compliment, by the way.

Since his 1995 debut Cheatin' Heart Attack, Watson has been writing and performing country songs in a style out of fashion for decades. But it wasn't until this new album that he was able to combine his own songs with musicians from the era he emulates.

His band for Carryin' on was assembled by steel guitarist Lloyd Green and included Hargus "Pig" Robbins on piano and Pete Wade on guitar -- all noted session players active in the 1960s and beyond.

While Watson's regular band -- with which he'll be performing in Rock Island -- is adept at old-school country, the 47-year-old said in a recent phone interview that people his age and younger simply can't beat the old-timers: "It's just something you have to have lived to play."

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