Friday night, the first evening of the Edmonton Blues Festival, got off to an energetic start with Shawn Holt and the Teardrops. Holt is the son of Blues royalty, Magic Slim.
Holt was followed by The 44’s with special guest Kid Ramos. Based in Los Angeles, The 44’s recently released their second album.
Closing the evening was Elvin Bishop. Bishop got his start with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 60s and has recorded with a number of legends. He was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame this year.
Saturday afternoon got started with a couple of Canadian blues performers. Diana Braithwaite is descended from survivors of the Underground Railroad, who escaped slavery in the United States. Her beautiful voice is well known in both Canada and the US. Chris Whiteley is a multi-instrumentalist who has recorded on over 200 albums and has received numerous awards, most recently the Maple Blues Award as the top blues horn player in Canada in 2014.
Mr. Sipp comes from a small town in Mississippi and won the 2014 International Blues Challenge, 2014 Gibson Best Guitarist Award, as well as several other accolades for his exciting, energetic music.
Adrianna Marie captures the spirit of 60s R&B with her sultry vocals and backing band The Groovecutters. She was nominated as Best New Artist by the Blues Music Awards and Blues Blast Magazine last year.
Saturday’s penultimate act, the West Coast All Stars, featured some of the hottest blues musicians in California, with the addition of special guest Bob Corritore on harmonica.
Sugaray Rayford draws upon his hard childhood in Texas to bring passion and a huge stage presence (he is 6’5″ after all) to his performance.
The final day of the Blues Festival saw local favourites Jimmy and the Sleepers take the stage, along with fellow Edmontonian Rusty Reed and Big Dave McLean from Winnipeg.
The Rockin’ Highliners reunited to play the Blues Festival, after a hiatus stretching back to the early 2000s.
Henry Gray celebrated his 90th birthday this year but his energy at his piano was undiminished. Backed up by the West Coast All Stars, his sound is authentic.
Janiva Magness is one of the most accomplished contemporary blues artists around, female or otherwise. Her sound is multidimensional and her stage presence is dynamic.
Closing Sunday evening and the 2015 edition of the Edmonton Blues Festival was rock/blues band Canned Heat, best known for the song “Going Up the Country” which became the unofficial theme song of the Woodstock film. The band had much of the crowd dancing for most of their 90 minute set which also included their other classics “On the Road Again” and “Let’s Work Together.”
