For 2009 the same financial pressures we’re all feeling have forced the Chicago Blues Festival to slim down from four days to three—but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Past fests have sometimes been spread pretty thin across those four days. Many artists played multiple times on multiple stages, and some sets ran so long they wore out their welcome. The need to keep expenses down also seems to have motivated the festival’s organizers to lean more heavily on local acts, many of whom aren’t well-known outside their immediate south- and west-side communities—a move that should appease critics who’ve complained that the fest ought to pay more attention to indigenous strains of blues.
But the death of the great Koko Taylor on June 3 means that this year’s festival will have another honoree. “Sweet Black Angel,” the theme of Saturday night’s Petrillo show, has become a tribute to Taylor as well as Nighthawk. Her signature hit, “Wang Dang Doodle,” from 1965, was arguably the last “pure” Chicago blues record to hit the charts. In the 70s she earned international acclaim, becoming one of Chicago’s most beloved blues ambassadors and defending her hard-earned title, “Queen of the Blues,” with dignity, artistic integrity, and sassy noblesse oblige. A photo of Taylor will grace the main stage all three nights, and fans and well-wishers are invited to write tributes, reminiscences, and messages of support for Taylor’s family on a “memory wall.”
Noon Blues in the Schools: The Stone Academy All-Stars with Katherine Davis, Daryl Coutts, and Eric Noden
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
5 PM Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones Guitarist Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones got started in the Dallas blues scene in the 1960s, when he was still in his teens, playing with the mighty Freddie King as well as soul singer Bobby Patterson and his band the Mustangs. Jones later spent long stints behind Katie Webster and Charlie Musselwhite (see below), and in the 90s he finally emerged as a bandleader in his own right. But even today his stinging guitar style retains some of King’s muscle and fire—and his hearty vocals are just as satisfying. —BD
Crossroads
Vocalist Grana’ Louise can dominate a stage with authoritative sass, and her persona never devolves into the cheap “blooze mama” posturing that so many of her contemporaries seem to find irresistible. Full-bodied throughout its range, her voice can bring both passion and nuance to fare ranging from Gershwin’s “Summertime” to Bessie Smith’s “Sing Sing Prison Blues” and Howlin’ Wolf’s declamatory “Smokestack Lightnin’”—all of which appear, alongside several well-crafted originals, on her latest CD, the self-released Generations. Louise and her band the Troublemakers also play at the Blue Chicago at 736 N. Clark tonight at 9 PM. —DW
5:30 PM Beginning Blues Progression Workshop
