Ghost Town Blues Band returns to Thorold haunt
Blues bands, by definition, do not reach the masses of “popular” music.
But every so often, a blues performer will shatter the mould and attain viral followings. Eric Clapton, The Black Keys and Stevie Ray Vaughan spring to mind. And let’s not forget the Rolling Stones Blues Band as they were originally called and who have recently returned to recording in the genre.
Now Ghost Town Blues Band can be counted among that elite.
Since they placed second at the 2014 International Blues Challenge, they have been recording, touring and gaining an avalanche of followers. Last week they performed before thousands of people at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and this week they did the same at the Mont Tremblant Blues Festival. In fact, the Memphis-based band is playing most of the major festivals in Canada this year among their more than a dozen 2017 Canadian appearances.
And they owe much of that to Th or old—where they first appeared in Canada at the 2014 Canal Bank Shuffle Blues Festival.
They have appeared to sold-out shows four times in Thorold since then and are scheduled back again this Friday.
At their last appearance bandleader Matt Isbell told the Thorold crowd, “We won’t forget this is where it started for us in Canada.”
In an interview this week, Isbell re-stated that.
“Thorold was our first booking in Canada and since then we’ve been lucky enough to play over 30 shows in Ontario and Quebec.”
Ghost Town Blues Band is scheduled at the Calgary Blues Festival later this year.
“The audiences here are so kind and appreciative, and the feeling is mutual. We have made lifelong friends in Canada,” Isbell said.
The Niagara frontier has become a premiere destination for blues artists. The Canal Bank Shuffle is among a series of blues events on both sides of the Niagara River collectively called The Crossborder Blues group.
“The Niagara area is rife with local, national and International blues and roots artists playing to appreciative audiences,” said John McAneny, artist and host of the syndicated Sunday Morning Soul radio show. “It is an amazing cultural exchange.”
Said organizer Tim Sinnett, “Appreciative audience is a term we hear over and over again from international artists who come to Thorold. We have gained that reputation throughout North America.”
Ghost Town Blues Band plays Club Capri Friday, with the show getting underway with local favourites The Brant Parker Band at 7 p.m. Complete information can be found at www.canalbankshuffle.com.