Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The Rhythm Of His Roots
Blues singer performs from his heart, his heritage
It’s been 22 years since Louisiana blues man Kenny Neal played the Riverfront Blues Festival in Fort Smith as a young, up-and-coming artist. Next weekend, he returns as the headlining performer with numerous awards and albums, plus a Grammy nomination to his name.
“I hope they don’t wait that long again before I come back, because then I’ll be too old to get there!” Neal jokes in his rich molasses voice.
The Riverfront Blues Festival is in its 27th year of bringing swingin’ and groovin’ to the banks of the Arkansas River in Fort Smith. For a long time, it was the only festival in town, Bob Marsh recalls. Marsh, this year’s president of the Riverfront Blues Society Board of Directors, has been a part of the festival in some capacity for two decades — selling merchandise, checking IDs, picking up trash — he’s pretty much done it all.
“The dedication of the board and the fans is what keeps us going,” Marsh says. “The people who come out are true blues lovers, and we cannot thank them enough for that. This is a labor of love for most of us, and each year is a challenge to get the right combination of talent and sponsorship money.”
That combination of talent always brings in a mix of local and regional favorites, as well as nationally (or internationally) touring acts like Neal.
“When I play, I’m more of a downto-earth person. I’m not trying to be a star,” Neal admits. “I share stories with my audience, and I keep it so real. I have people from really clapping their hands, singing along, having a great time to really bawling because they can understand where I’m coming from. Because we all go through trials and tribulations, ups and downs, and they can feel from me that it’s real.
“It’s wonderful because we can sit and talk about stories that we share together,” he goes on. “Music is healing as well. So I get a lot out of my concerts, and I think a lot of good comes from it because I can talk to people. When it’s over with, they come out ahead because they’ve learned something or they’ve shared something — they’re not alone.”
“That’s what the blues does,” Marsh adds. “It reminds us of where we are in life and where we’ve come from.”
Despite living in Toronto for a time, and more than a decade in California, Neal certainly hasn’t forgotten where he’s from. The Louisiana artist’s “swamp blues” roots run deep. Growing up under Baton Rouge harmonica player and singer Rufal Neal meant Kenny Neal was always in a house full of music. Names like Buddy Guy — considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time and guitar player for Neal’s father during the ’50s — Slim Harpo and Lazy Lester were usuals around the Neal homestead. By the time Neal left Louisiana, his Baton Rougeflavored style of blues was ingrained in him.
“I don’t even remember learning how
to play; I just grew up in a household of music,” he says. “I’m not one of them who can say, ‘When I was 14, I bought a guitar.’ I don’t even remember. I just know I was born, and a guitar was around.”
In fact, the blues permeated everything in the Neal house, not just the instruments. To this day, Neal credits some of the signature sound in his phrasing to the way he heard his grandmother pray — and later, his father sing.
“She would lock up in the room and pray, and then I would hear her rhythms because she didn’t just say words; she had a rhythm with her prayers. Then when I would hear my dad sing the blues, it was so close. It was only just different lyrics,” Neal reminisces. “As a little kid, I used to stick my head to the door and listen to her and [I thought], ‘Well, this must be some serious stuff she’s doing in here,’ because I could never figure it out. I think it was like when she would go through grief — so it was a sad moment for her but a good moment for me, because I enjoyed hearing it.
“So when I would hear my dad sing the blues, it was the same thing, and it was just something that I really got close to and felt that when they express their lyrics, they’re really expressing their feelings within. I just thought that music was deep and coming straight from the heart — which it does. And I fell in love with it.”
The festival blends that loves of the blues with a love for community through promoting and lifting up downtown Fort Smith. Festival organizers encourage patronage at Fort Smith restaurants and businesses and hope festival-goers from out of town might consider poking around to see what else the city has to offer. Plus, funds raised by the festival will also support the society’s Blues in the Schools program that exposes local kids to contemporary blues artists.
“It’s not the old music that you used to hear — you hear the different directions that [blues] is going,” Marsh says. “It’s more than just, ‘Come down for this festival or that festival.’ There’s a lot to do and a lot to see in Fort Smith!”