This year was the 6th Annual "Indian Summer" Blues & Cruise Festival & Car Show and our second time of attending. I can honestly say this could easily become one of my favorite festivals. Set in Merced's historical Courthouse Park with trees & grass, no dirt & the sun peeking through, it's extremely pleasant being there listening to the Blues. This festival must be a well-kept secret tho, as the crowd seems to number less than a thousand for the whole week-end. There is also a car show in conjunction with what is billed the "largest Blues Festival in the valley." Produced by Brand 'John' Moffatt, the Central Valley Blues Festival brings in over 10 regional & and international stars; food and beverages (read beer) and music-related merchandise, as well as arts & crafts provided by vendors; a secured "Kids' Play Area" and Sunday Morning Gospel Hour - all wrapped up in this two day event, which is held the second week-end in October each year.

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, partial proceeds go to benefit the American Cancer Society. And this year, as well as last, they had a beautiful & unique hand-made "Blues event" quilt they raffled off. The Central Valley Blues Festival also promotes the "Blues In The Schools" program, in order for the kids to get to know the history and music of the Blues.

Saturday opened with Nat Dove, Blues pianist & singer for over 40 years, warming up the crowd with traditional Blues; then the Jimmy Dewrance Blues Band was up, featuring Marvin Green on guitar & Jimmy on harmonica & vocals. Ron Hacker & the Hacksaws really stirred things up with their Blues/rock sound, getting everyone up on their feet & movin' to the beat, which bassist A.J. provides so well. He must be one of the most entertaining bass players around, literally dancing with his bass. Then L.A.-based James Harman was up, wailin' on his harp & singin' some pretty flavorful songs. If I lived anywhere near him, I'd probably be his oldest groupie. Last and definitely not least was the Chicago Blues All Stars, featuring John Primer, Eddie Shaw, Mike Morrison, Mike Wheeler & the J.C. Smith Band. It just kept gettin' better & better! Each set was 2 hours, so the event wasn't over 'til 9:00. Many festival goers then went on to the local "stompin' grounds," Rudy's Jazz & Blues Club, to party, which was reported the next day to have been really hot with the Chicago Blues All Stars jammin' the night away.

The Sunday Morning Gospel Hour was something I didn't want to miss, but unfortunately couldn't get there by 8:30 A.M. to hear the group Brother Under Spiritual Testimony (BUST) Christian Band perform. It is made up of any where between 10 - 100 male singers who can really lay it out. Then Lue Jean Ross came on stage in a beautiful choir robe & sang many spiritual songs, embracing us all in her powerful sound. After all that, I felt compelled to give to the collection plate, so I went and bought some more raffle tickets.

A pleasant surprise was Little Jonny & the Giants, with R.J. Mischo. Jon Lawton on slide & electric guitar, Mike McCurdy on bass and R.J.. on percussion & harp, made it all look easy. Each one is a fine musician & true blues afficionado. 

The one glitch to my knowledge in the whole festival was the tardiness of Kaye Bohler, signed to be on at 1:00, but actually didn't arrive until nearly 3:00. Fortunately, Sacramento's own Mick Martin & the Blues Rockers arrived early for what should have been a 3:00 show-time, and were gracious enough to set up and play immediately upon arriving. Kaye and her band performed around 3:20, with their "night club style" act, good horns, and Ms. Bohler looking & sounding hot. However, the crowd seemed to be pretty luke-warm to her, possibly due to the fact they waited nearly 2 hours to see her perform. Back on schedule, out came Chris Cain, ready to due us harm with his Blues/Jazz guitar & raspy voice. Four-time W.C. Handy award nominee, Chris is extremely diverse; he also plays piano, bass guitar, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone, as well as writing & producing. He seemed to be enjoying himself as much as the rest of us, layin' out some great licks. Former band mate and musical soul mate to Luther Allison, James Solberg wowed the crowd with his hard-driving guitar playing, even coming into the crowd & getting everyone goin'! He is a two-time W.C. Handy award winner for Blues Band of the Year in 1997 and 1998. His band included Tony Stead on keyboards & Gary Hyman on bass. Son Seals was carried out on a chair, having lost a leg due to diabetes, which made me very sad, until he began to play & sing. Then it was clear he hadn't lost his talent & his heart for the Blues. He and James Solberg closed the show and week-end with us all rockin' & wishin' for more. Check this festival out next year, Blues lovers, you won't be sorry!

Portions reprinted from festival program for accuracy

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