28
Jun
2005
Joe Price - 5 p.m.
Joe Price comes from Waterloo, where he first began to play slide guitar using a slide he sawed from the handlebars of a neighbor's bike. Pretty old-school for an Iowa boy.
He found his way to Iowa City, where he managed to solidify his craft when blues legends such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Honey Boy Edwards, and Hound Dog Taylor passed through town on their Midwest tours. His craft became advanced enough to open for many of these touring artists.
There is a hint of conspiracy in his performance that suggests we might even escape indictment if we manage to steal a good time from the pocket of a stern universe. People think that kind of talent is an accident of birth. They'd be closer to the mark if they would closely consider Joe's 30 years of road dust. It sure sounds good on him.
Thirty years of studying how to make it sound simple certainly helps. Along his way he has been inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame. He has three solo albums to his credit. Is it really any wonder that he is one of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society's favorite fest performers?
He'll be there on the tent stage opening the 2005 festival on Friday. The converted fans will be there. I won't pitch to them. If you haven't caught Joe Price yet, what's the matter? Afraid of a little conversion?
- Bill Schaumburg
Beverly "Guitar" Watkins - 6:30 p.m.
Beverly "Guitar" Watkins has been a guitar slinger since birth. She grew up in a musical family, taking an interest in music at an early age. As a child she listened to the blues singers of the day and remembers playing guitar while listening to the records of Rosetta Tharpe. When she was in high school, she was introduced to Piano Red, who hired her as his rhythm guitarist. More recently she has been playing regularly in Atlanta and has been traveling with the Music Maker tour, wowing crowds with her guitar showmanship.
Beverly is a fan of the low-down, hard-stompin', railroad-smokin' blues. People are impressed to see a black woman play guitar like a man. Men who use "Guitar" as their middle name are a dime a dozen, but not only does Beverly Watkins use it, she also lives up to all that implies.
Beverly has a "blues growl" she hits when she is stretching her range or volume. Her vocals work quite well with her hard-driving tune. Beverly, now a recording artist in her own right and a world traveler, is a unique blues woman we know you'll love.
There are precious few guitar-toting women out there who can really play, and Beverly "Guitar" Watkins is one of the rare ones. Not only can she play, she can rock the house, sing those low-down blues, and do just about everything in between.
- Amanda Coulter
Deanna Bogart Band - 8:30 p.m.
Deanna Bogart was born in Detroit and raised in New York and Phoenix. She moved to the Baltimore/Washington area in 1981 and began to develop her unique style as a sideplayer in Cowboy Jazz, a Maryland-based group that dedicated itself to the sound of 1940s Western-swing music. She joined the group at age 21 as a vocalist and spent several years learning and playing the cowboy rhythms that are central to Western swing. Deanna wrote the title tune for the group's second Rounder Records release, Swing Boogie, which won an award for the best album on an independent label in 1984. As her musical appetite grew, she spent nearly two years playing R&B with the Washington, D.C.-based Root Boy Slim. Bogart combined these influences in her own original compositions that blend elements of boogie woogie with modern jazz and rock.
Deanna started her own group in 1987 and began playing throughout the mid-Atlantic region and the West Coast, slowly building a following and becoming very popular. After hundreds of live shows, Bogart made her solo recording debut in 1989.
For years her fans accepted as an article of faith that none of Bogart's recording ventures could match up to the experience of live performances, but that assumption has been transformed since the release of her last two CDs, The Great Unknown and 2002's Timing Is Everything. While home listeners will be deprived of the pleasures of Bogart's peripatetic piano style, these new recordings reflect a decided turning point in Bogart's writing and playing talents.
The Washington Post may have best described Deanna Bogart with three words: luster, sophistication, and soul. Be sure to see Deanna Bogart with her band, including Kajun Kelly on guitar, Eric Scott on bass, and Mike Aubin on drums.
- Phil Koehlhoeffer
Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars - 10:30 p.m.
Raised on the zydeco and Cajun sounds of southwest Louisiana and the groove of New Orleans, Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars are sure to please with their unique blend of south Louisiana rhythm and soul.
It all happens behind one of the most soulful frontmen in the business. Roddie Romero is considered one of America's most talented musicians. At age nine, Roddie was introduced to the accordion by his grandfather and never looked back. Roddie displayed a natural talent for the instrument, breaking into the local scene as a child prodigy. Roddie's talent emerged in the heart of Cajun/zydeco culture, where he was surrounded by a rich heritage and the sounds of Cajun and zydeco music that are indigenous to southwest Louisiana.
By the time he graduated high school, Roddie had already recorded three albums, toured the U.S. and Canada three times, and changed the Louisiana law books! The Roddie Romero Bill, passed into law by the Louisiana legislature, gives underage performers the right to perform in a bar while accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
At 21, Roddie toured North America and Canada, spreading his trademark "South Louisiana Boogie," and then eventually took a break from heavy touring. Roddie then took a path of musical exploration, expanding his musical talents and tastes.
Roddie Romero is once again taking the stage with his passionate vocals, pumping accordion, and mastery of the slide guitar. Add the funkified groove of his talented band and you will not only experience great, original music, but you'll witness the tightest band from the swamps of Louisiana put on an electrifying show.
Amanda Coulter
There is a hint of conspiracy in his performance that suggests we might even escape indictment if we manage to steal a good time from the pocket of a stern universe. People think that kind of talent is an accident of birth. They'd be closer to the mark if they would closely consider Joe's 30 years of road dust. It sure sounds good on him.
Thirty years of studying how to make it sound simple certainly helps. Along his way he has been inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame. He has three solo albums to his credit. Is it really any wonder that he is one of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society's favorite fest performers?
He'll be there on the tent stage opening the 2005 festival on Friday. The converted fans will be there. I won't pitch to them. If you haven't caught Joe Price yet, what's the matter? Afraid of a little conversion?
- Bill Schaumburg
Beverly "Guitar" Watkins - 6:30 p.m.
Beverly "Guitar" Watkins has been a guitar slinger since birth. She grew up in a musical family, taking an interest in music at an early age. As a child she listened to the blues singers of the day and remembers playing guitar while listening to the records of Rosetta Tharpe. When she was in high school, she was introduced to Piano Red, who hired her as his rhythm guitarist. More recently she has been playing regularly in Atlanta and has been traveling with the Music Maker tour, wowing crowds with her guitar showmanship.
Beverly is a fan of the low-down, hard-stompin', railroad-smokin' blues. People are impressed to see a black woman play guitar like a man. Men who use "Guitar" as their middle name are a dime a dozen, but not only does Beverly Watkins use it, she also lives up to all that implies.
Beverly has a "blues growl" she hits when she is stretching her range or volume. Her vocals work quite well with her hard-driving tune. Beverly, now a recording artist in her own right and a world traveler, is a unique blues woman we know you'll love.
There are precious few guitar-toting women out there who can really play, and Beverly "Guitar" Watkins is one of the rare ones. Not only can she play, she can rock the house, sing those low-down blues, and do just about everything in between.
- Amanda Coulter
Deanna Bogart Band - 8:30 p.m.
Deanna Bogart was born in Detroit and raised in New York and Phoenix. She moved to the Baltimore/Washington area in 1981 and began to develop her unique style as a sideplayer in Cowboy Jazz, a Maryland-based group that dedicated itself to the sound of 1940s Western-swing music. She joined the group at age 21 as a vocalist and spent several years learning and playing the cowboy rhythms that are central to Western swing. Deanna wrote the title tune for the group's second Rounder Records release, Swing Boogie, which won an award for the best album on an independent label in 1984. As her musical appetite grew, she spent nearly two years playing R&B with the Washington, D.C.-based Root Boy Slim. Bogart combined these influences in her own original compositions that blend elements of boogie woogie with modern jazz and rock.
Deanna started her own group in 1987 and began playing throughout the mid-Atlantic region and the West Coast, slowly building a following and becoming very popular. After hundreds of live shows, Bogart made her solo recording debut in 1989.
For years her fans accepted as an article of faith that none of Bogart's recording ventures could match up to the experience of live performances, but that assumption has been transformed since the release of her last two CDs, The Great Unknown and 2002's Timing Is Everything. While home listeners will be deprived of the pleasures of Bogart's peripatetic piano style, these new recordings reflect a decided turning point in Bogart's writing and playing talents.
The Washington Post may have best described Deanna Bogart with three words: luster, sophistication, and soul. Be sure to see Deanna Bogart with her band, including Kajun Kelly on guitar, Eric Scott on bass, and Mike Aubin on drums.
- Phil Koehlhoeffer
Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars - 10:30 p.m.
Raised on the zydeco and Cajun sounds of southwest Louisiana and the groove of New Orleans, Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars are sure to please with their unique blend of south Louisiana rhythm and soul.
It all happens behind one of the most soulful frontmen in the business. Roddie Romero is considered one of America's most talented musicians. At age nine, Roddie was introduced to the accordion by his grandfather and never looked back. Roddie displayed a natural talent for the instrument, breaking into the local scene as a child prodigy. Roddie's talent emerged in the heart of Cajun/zydeco culture, where he was surrounded by a rich heritage and the sounds of Cajun and zydeco music that are indigenous to southwest Louisiana.
By the time he graduated high school, Roddie had already recorded three albums, toured the U.S. and Canada three times, and changed the Louisiana law books! The Roddie Romero Bill, passed into law by the Louisiana legislature, gives underage performers the right to perform in a bar while accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
At 21, Roddie toured North America and Canada, spreading his trademark "South Louisiana Boogie," and then eventually took a break from heavy touring. Roddie then took a path of musical exploration, expanding his musical talents and tastes.
Roddie Romero is once again taking the stage with his passionate vocals, pumping accordion, and mastery of the slide guitar. Add the funkified groove of his talented band and you will not only experience great, original music, but you'll witness the tightest band from the swamps of Louisiana put on an electrifying show.
Amanda Coulter
