Carrollton, KY Sept. 6 and 7, 2002

The Ohio River flows by in the hot sun and meets up with the sparse Kentucky River at Carrollton, KY. The two rivers meet like Black and White and the result at the Point Park in Carrollton is a mellow, laid-back place where the Blues meets. Doug Ramsey, Blues Mastermind and concert developer, is running for mayor of this sleepy Kentucky town, but he means to promote the Blues and his Home city. He is trying to “Promote the quality of life in this town. A lot of people don’t know about it or listen to it”. Doug’s been doing the best for eight years. He brings the folks in to listen to the Blues and appreciate a great little town. They use the proceeds to help out the less advantaged. Good for them!

I always tell other Blues fans to hit this festival. It’s small, sure, but it has the great qualities of talent, mellow weather, a real nice town, and, if you get hot, Jump in the River! No kidding (a pun), if you have to bring the kids, go right ahead. This is a good time for all. Roughly 3 to 4 thousand fans show up over two days, so you’re not overwhelmed. Pull out the lawn chairs, kick back and enjoy the like of local bands like The Original 10^th Street Blues Band or Coupe De Ville. You might really enjoy hearing Greg Schaber and High Street as they grace the bars of Cincinnati, OH. They are very popular there. Greg’s a top-notch guitar player with a flair for keeping the whole thing mellow. Great group!

One of my greatest finds was Johnny Reed and the House Rockers, a terrific group from Toledo, OH. I apologize to Toledo & the Black Swamp Blues Society for not knowing, but, HEY!, that’s what this is all about. Finding Johnny Reed was a revelation. I grew up around Paul Butterfield, so when I heard the first Harp licks I about fell on the ground. Besides being a Butterfield fan, this guy can play his ass off. No gimmicks, no effects, just honest, beautiful harmonica. They’ll have a CD out real soon, so watch here for a review. What a wonderful band! Met his beautiful wife and new baby—what a lucky guy!

Pop Chubby filled out the night with some string-stretching, gut-wrenching, mind-blowing guitar fills and dynamite vocals that filled up the night air. I have wanted to see Popa, and this was a unique place to see a Blues man from NYC playing to people in Kentucky. HAHA! It Works! And Popa Chubby is not nearly as sinister as he looks. We talked to him and he is really nice and soft-spoken-a real Teddy Bear. It figures—the people in this business are very nice people and they love their fans.

Saturday dawned and it was down to the local diner on the river for a real Kentucky breakfast. Then, as it started to get hot, it was definitely time for the Blues. Coup De Ville was up first. Then Greg Schauber came on. I had been waiting for Roomful Of Blues since I met them in Henderson, KY. The new singer, Marc DuFresne, is a real great addition to the group, knowing all the styles and with and a three-and-a-half octave range, he gives it all he’s got. The band sounded better than I ever heard them sound. They told me they have a new CD, just recorded on their own label, which will be out real shortly, so watch here for the review. I hear it’s all Blues. It will be sold only on their website sowww.roomfulofblues.com soon. Special thanks to Chris Vachon & all the guys for some really frenetic jump & jive. You guys Rock!

Whoa! If you have never heard Bob Margolin ‘s Blue Revue w/ Pinetop Perkins then you ain’t heard the Blues. Bob Margolin is one of the 1973-1980 players with the Muddy Water’s Band. He played, and still plays, the best Muddy Water’s stuff you’ve ever heard. With the great Pinetop Perkins ticking the ivories on the Roland, this is Mo’Better Blues”. This is the real stuff. I am always amazed at Pinetop’s playing. It is so true to the music. He gets the real sound of the piano-Roland! I don’t think he would sound better with an upright. And Margolin, the Roundmeister of the Blues Jam, is just the right cat to play this stuff!

Bob Margolin didn’t quit there. He got down with the next act, The Nitehawks. I had been waiting to hear them since Jimmy Thackery left. I was truly moved by the great respect for the real Blues. This is one great band. Not only great harp, but also dynamite sidemen who really grooved to the sound. Margolin had a ball playing some slide, ala Muddy, but the Nitehawks have a great guitar player in his own right—Pete Kanaras. This IS the World’s Greatest Bar Band!

The last Blues act was Lonnie Baker Brooks, whom I had seen in Tampa Bay a couple of years ago, with his dad, Mr. Lonnie Brooks. This was a REVELATIONFOLKS! I put this guy up there with the very best. It’s a lot of Blues-Rock, but I must say here that his musical interpretations and imaginations are based very deep in the Blues. He can rock the crowd, and he did that very thing in Carrollton. They would not stop dancing. He was a top-notch last act because he took them where they needed to go.(Possibly, to bed?) It was a rockin’ Blues crescendo that had the whole crowd on its feet and dancing. I want to see him again, most definitely.

I really urge all of you Blues fans to go to Carrollton. It’s the one I tell my friends to go to. T’ain’t fur! Go hear the Blues, even if it’s on the Corner. Thanks Carrolton, KY for a great, laid back, fun-filled time!

BluesSource.com (Published by Blueswax.com, 09/19/2002)
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