The Blues Audience / Festival reviews 2009-2010

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Here you will find pictures from a number of festivals and the musicians that play at these events are so exciting and talented, it makes my head spin.

White Mountain Boogie and Blues Festival August 2010

I wanted to show you more of where the festival is and what it has to offer this year. The views are inspiring, this is the view from the road to my hotel in Waterville Valley, brilliant.

John Lee Hooker, Jr. was much more entertaining and musical than I had anticipated. He really got the crowd going.

Oh, and his guitar player was very good and won cutest guy at the festival (for me anyways).

A sniper walks in the afternoon light
looking for people eating french fries to rob.

CB Roy, DJ showed up and to kill two birds with one stone, here he is with his friend and I wanted you to see the vendors and all the goings on up on the hill at WMBBF. This is only part of the vendor tents.

Always popular Fried Dough (too bad that isn’t money- dough, get it?)

The climbing wall is a big hit with the kids and kid like adults,
P.S. that’s John Lee Hooker, Jr. performing.

My old bandmate, Arthur James and Northbound, winners of the Granite State Blues Society’s Blues Challenge (going to Memphis to compete this winter) started off the Saturday line-up.

News to me, Sonny Moorman was really tough and played a flying “V” as well as this lap steel, he has a deep voice and plays powerful guitar.

Joe Louis Walker is one funky guy and he has Murali Coryelle touring with him. Murali is the son of Larry Coryelle, Jazz guitar player, and he has inherited his great talent and uses it for good (like a super hero).

My understated t-shirt on a very handsome subscriber.

My booth, Thanks to Brad and Mike for letting me set up here, it is a prime location. I get to meet all the musicians as they sign CDs and all that. They are very kind to me, (I do help sell tickets) and it is always fun to see my subscribers at these events.

Someday I want to BE Eden Brent. She has so much fun, she is so talented and why didn’t I learn anything after 3 years of piano lessons? If she had been my teacher, I would have…

The Barnfull of Blues Festival August 2010

Blues Audience Subscriber, Scott from VT, won the autographed guitar raffle at the festival!

TJ Wheeler and the Hoochie Coochie kids (from the Webster House)

TJ Wheeler and Monique

Dan on our funky washtub Bass and Brent on harmonica

Yo Boogie Chillen!
Great Job from all y’all yesterday afternoon! I’m so proud of everybody.

Due to time considerations, I had to cut a couple of short remaining songs at the last minute, from the Webster House kids set and a couple from Connor’s trio set. None the less, Connor and Kyle REALLY shined on those two songs and really turned a lot of heads!

Chris Fitz, one of the more renown electric Blues Rock players in NE came over, almost running, to see who the heck was doing that extended guitar solo (one of the longest and best of the entire day).

Kyle’s drum solo on “Wipe Out” was killer diller. The addition of Robert McClung on electric bass was a real contrbution to us getting our mojo on, and offered a nice, contrast to Dan on our funky washtub Bass player
( kinda like..before & after, historically speaking.) To top things off, Rob, no less, also did a pretty mean Snoopy dance!

Monique really wowed everybody with her soulful voice, dancing and overall stage presence! People, for the rest of day, kept asking me about her, including the musicians. Speaking of musicians, Daren showed off just how much he had learned over the last few months so tastefully, played a great guitar solo as well as terrific rhythm guitar. Brent found some sweet notes on the harmonica and had a good energy the entire time on & off the stage. Dan, was rock steady on the washtub as always, and Alex surprised everyone with his wonderful, rousing version of La Bamba. The young man with long hair (also from Webster house, whose names escapes me , taking pictures was quite helpful by documenting our performance and was a great all around, volunteer along with the tireless energy of our main man Lou Catano, who seemed to be everywhere at once all day long!

Many Thanks to you al,l as well as to all the parents, Webster house volunteers, Blues Audience, & my wife Nadine for all of their support. Last but not least, a big shout out of thanks to the Granite State Blues Association, Raising the Blues, The Blues Bank Collective, the National Endowment on the Arts & of course, our own, NH State Council on the Arts (for making TJ’s residency at the Webster house financially possible)!

Keep On Keepin’ On T.J. Wheeler

Lydia Warren solo performance

Dave Glannon

Dave Glannon’s drummer

Catfish Howl

Tom Ballerini Band

What a wonderful day it was, beautiful, not tooooo hot and very friendly!

The Vermont Blues Festival August 2009

photos by Diana Shonk

Guy Davis started out the day with stories and jokes and country Blues.

Mavis Staples continued the Sunday Gospel feeling.

Shemekia was lovely and soulful as she talked about her Dad. What a great band with Arthur Neilson on guitar. They have been together for years. Paul Benjamin told me that Shemkia is getting married soon, I noticed that she has slimmed down, maybe that is why.

Magic Slim and The Teardrops were about a Chicago Blues as you can get anywhere. He may be from Mississippi, but he has that Chicago Blues down and dirty really funky Blues, it is just part of him!

I am a big fan and couldn’t resist getting a word with him as he drank his Jack Daniels.

New Boston Blues Festival

2009 New Boston, NH- photos by Diana Shonk

The Girls opened the show!

Brother Hayes on guitar

Luther “Gtr. Jr.” Johnson did an acoustic set with Big Jack Ward and Otis Doncaster

He held court in my tent all day, it was such a pleasure to see all the LOVE!

Thrilling as always, Chris Fitz made the crowd yell for MORE!!!

He had Ken Clark on Hammond B-3 and he was a dynamic addition.

That crazy organ, 1962 I believe, has all its tubes on display! It was inspiring watching him move that thing! It must weigh a thousand pounds, but I am so glad he made it, super cool!

Jackie Lee did one of my favorite songs, “Louise.”