THE NEWSLETTER OF THE KENTUCKIANA BLUES SOCIETY “...PRESERVING, PROMOTING AND PERPETUATING THE BLUES.” Louisville, Kentucky Incorporated 1989 September 2009 During the month of September Stevie Ray's Blues Bar will feature no less than five national blues acts. Shown above from left to right they are Chris Cain, blues guitarist from San Jose, CA who will come to Louisville on Tuesday, September 1. Darrell Nulisch, soul blues singer and harmonica player from Dallas, TX will appear on Thursday, September 3. Tommy Castro, blues guitarist and the 2008 Blues Music's B.B. King Entertainer of the Year will pack the house at Stevie Ray's on Monday, September 7. Mem Shannon, New Orleans blues guitarist and voted Offbeat magazine's Best Blues Band of 2007, will perform on Monday, September 21. Stacey Mitch- hart, Cincinnati, OH native, blues guitarist and local favorite will round out the month on Thursday, September 24. You can always find out when these or other blues acts are coming to Stevie Ray's by checking out their website at http://www.stevieraysbluesbar.com. IN THIS ISSUE KBS News and Contacts ********************************************** 2 Lake Cumberland Blues Boats & BBQ Fest ***** 6 Letter From the Prez ********************************************************* 3 Smokin’ on the River ************************************************************** 7 KBS IBC Solo/Duo Competition ***************************** 4 W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival *************** 9 New Music Reviews *********************************************************** 5 Kentuckiana Blues Calendar ******************************************* 10 BLUES NEWS September 2009 1 September 2009 Volume 16 Number 69 KBS Board of Directors EDITOR Rocky Adcock Roger Wolford Natalie Carter Emeritus Emeritus CONTRIBUTORS Bob Brown Chris Grube Bob Brown Natalie Carter Danny Henderson Keith S. Clements Nelson Grube Keith Clements Jim Masterson Pat Morley Les Reynolds Patricia Gilbert Les Reynolds Gary Sampson Nelson Grube Gary Sampson Address Change? Debbie Wilson If you move, let us know your change of address. The Post Office does not forward bulk mail. The views expressed by the authors and advertisers CALL FOR INFORMATION ABOUT: are their own. Contributions by anyone offering perti- nent and thoughtful discussion on blues issues are GENERAL INFO welcomed. Gary Sampson (502) 724-9971 www.kbsblues.org KBS EVENTS [email protected] Keith Clements (502) 451-6872 www.blues.org MEMBERSHIP/NEWSLETTER Natalie Carter (502) 893-8031 Blues News Official Printers The monthly newsletter of the of the NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING Kentuckiana Blues Society Kentuckiana Blues Society Keith Clements (502) 451-6872 CLUB/BAND CALENDAR ©2008 Kentuckiana Blues Society www.voluforms.com Louisville, Kentucky Gary Sampson (502) 724-9971 TIME TO RENEW? Check your MAILING LABEL for your renewal date, and please be sure to keep your membership current. “TIME TO RENEW” will appear when your membership is expiring. PLEASE NOTE: THIS LABEL MESSAGE IS THE ONLY REMINDER YOU WILL RECEIVE! And remem- ber, it may take up to a couple of weeks to get your new card. If you need it sooner, leave a voice message for Natalie at 893-8031 or send an email to [email protected]. ATTENTION MEMBERS! We encourage all submissions of pictures and reviews of local and regional events. Festival season is in full swing and that means multi- ple events are going on every weekend. We can’t always make them all, and we could use some help supporting all these great blues art- ists and venues. No computer skills are needed...you can send photographs and handwritten reviews to KBS, PO Box 755, Louisville, KY 40202 , Attn: Newsletter. Photos will be returned at your request. It’s a fun, easy way to get involved! Help Us Celebrate Our Twenty-First Birthday! Do you have any pictures, stories or memorabilia from past KBS events you’d like to share? We’ll be updating our retrospec- tive presentation for our upcoming birthday party and we’d love some input from our members. If you have any materials or ideas you’d like to see included, please contact Natalie at [email protected] or (502) 893-8031, Keith at [email protected] or (502) 451-6872, or Gary at [email protected] or (502) 724-9971. Better yet, drop in on a board meeting, held every first Wednesday of the month at 7:00 at Lisa’s Oak Street Lounge, 1004 East Oak Street. We appreciate your support and welcome your input. If you have KBS LEADERSHIP FOR THE YEAR 2009: any comments, suggestions, ideas, etc., contact us at this ad- Gary Sampson – president dress: Debbie Wilson – vice-president Kentuckiana Blues Society Keith Clements – secretary P. O. Box 755 Chris Grube – treasurer Louisville, KY 40201-0755 KBS MONTHLY MEETING As usual, please check your mailing label to see if your member- ship will expire soon. Our single membership is a bargain at only If you are interested in reviewing new blues releases, come on $15.00 US per year. Double membership (two members at the out to the KBS monthly meeting (held the first Wednesday of same address, two membership cards, one newsletter) is only each month at 7:00 PM at Lisa’s Oak Street Lounge, 1004 E. $20.00 US per year, and we now offer a special band rate of $25 Oak) and take your pick! We receive promo releases from the per year, which includes one newsletter plus a membership card major blues labels as well as regional and local bands. If you re- for each band member. If you see a notice on your mailing label, view a CD, it’s yours to keep! that means that it’s time to renew! BLUES NEWS September 2009 2 Letter From the Prez The festival season is beginning to wind down in our area but there are still a few worth checking out. The Blues to the Point festival in Carrollton, KY returns September 11 and 12. Held in Point Park at the convergence of the Kentucky and Ohio rivers the festival will feature two stages with fourteen acts. The closer on Friday night will be the 2004 and 2006 KBS band contest winners the Stella- Vees. The Saturday night closer hails from Mississippi. The Bama Band plays a combination of blues, southern rock and country. Check out the ad for the festival in this issue of Blues News and get more information on-line at http://www.bluestothepoint.net/. The Jug Band Jubilee will be held at the Brown-Forman Amphitheater in Waterfront Park on Saturday, September 19. The beginning of jug band music is closely related to the development of blues music. In the early part of the 20th century many musicians were play- ing both blues and jug music at the same time. Louisville has long been considered the home of jug band music and at noon on the Saturday of the festival a permanent historical marker will be placed on River Road proclaiming this fact. Ten jug bands will be at the festival this year with some coming from as far away as Japan. Check out the full schedule on-line at http://www.jugbandjubilee.com/. ForPhoto the by secondBob Brown year in a row the Big Rock Jazz Festival will have a blues artist close the show. Robbie Bartlett will bring her blues and R&B show to Cherokee Park on Sunday, October 4. The show will also feature jazz performers Eddie Clark and the Louisville Jazz Collective and the West Market Street Stompers. The festival goes from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm and admission is free. Be sure to bring a lawn chair or blanket. The schedule has been announced for this year’s Garvin Gate Blues Festival and it is a good one. The festival opens on Friday, Octo- ber 9 at 6:45 pm with Sue O'Neil and Blue Seville. Sue will be followed by not one but two national blues artists. Stacy Mitchhart will take the stage at 8:00 pm followed by Lil' Dave Thompson at 9:30 pm. Saturday, October 10 will be harp day at Garvin Gate. Every band will feature a harmonica player. The 2009 KBS band contest winners Dick and the Roadmasters get the day started at 3:00 pm. Next up is the Jim Masterson Band at 4:15 pm, Hellfish at 5:30 pm, the Stella-Vees at 6:45 pm and Lamont Gillispie and 100 Proof Blues at 8:00 pm. At the end of the 100 Proof Blues set there will be a harmonica jam featuring Lamont, Joel Pinkerton of Hellfish and Mark Hoekstra of the Stella-Vees. Sugar Blue, a blues harmonica player out of Chicago, will close the show starting at 9:30. We will have a lot more information on Garvin Gate in next month’s issue of Blues News. You can also find the schedule on the web at http:// garvingatebluesfestival.com/. We are still trying to arrange a youth blues competition in Louisville before the end of November. As a member of the Blues Founda- tion, the KBS has a right to send a solo/duo act, a band, and youth contest winner to the International Blues Challenge next January in Memphis. We hope to have the contest toward the end of October or beginning of November. If you know of any blues musicians who will be under the age of 21 years by next January 2010 and is interested in the competition please have them contact me. I can be reached at 502/724-9971 or by email at [email protected]. The Kentuckiana Blues Society would like to welcome its latest addition to the board, Cole Kiser. Cole is the lead singer for the Bella Blue Band and it is our great fortune that she has accepted our invitation to join the blues society board.