The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Keep listening: Support musicians, clubs
While we move forward with some optimism, people continue to get their blues fixes in a number of ways. One only has to pay attention to some of the blues related postings to see the effort the musicians are making to keep people entertained. While we often talk of keeping the blues alive during this time, it is also important that clubs and artists survive.
Dave Robbins writes that The Incredible Amplifires are getting ready to begin a fresh new chapter, with new music and resuming a recording they started a while back. “Rehearsals start in February, can’t wait a second longer,” Robbins said. “Stay safe, and stay tuned for post-Covid announcements.” Love Blues ‘n’ Wellness to All. Dave, Ryan, & Mark
Congratulations to all nominees of the Blues Foundation’s 42nd Blues Music Awards. The 42nd BMAs will be presented as a virtual event at 5 p.m. The world is invited to watch the celebration, which will be livestreamed on the Blues Foundation Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Some of the artists in the running include Dion, Robert Cray, Rhiannon Giddens, Bobby Rush,
Shemekia Copeland, and Keb’ Mo’ are among the masterful musicians vying for honors at The 42nd BMAs. Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, John Németh & the Blue Dreamers, and Sugar Ray & The Bluetones lead nomination count in this virtual celebration presented by The Blues Foundation June 6.
With an expansive list, this year’s nominees, whose music stretches across genres, reflect the widening influence of blues music and blues artists. Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Elvin Bishop of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Dion are each BMA nominees this year. Silkroad Ensemble Artistic Director and trained opera singer Rhiannon Giddens is contending for the Koko Taylor Award for Traditional Blues Female
Artist, while Bernard Purdie, the legendary sideman for James Brown and Aretha Franklin, is competing for top drummer honors. The Soul Blues Album category includes “That’s What I Heard” by Blues Hall of Fame inductee Robert Cray, recipient of the Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award. The exciting new music presented by these and other BMA nominees reveal the genre’s evolution and vitality.
Topping the nomination charts this year again are Rick Estrin & the Nightcats with five nominations; they also led last year with six nominations. Estrin is up for the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Instrumentalist Harmonica (which he won last year), and Contemporary Blues Male Artist categories.
Five is the lucky number for Sugar Ray & the Bluetones. The group squares off against Estrin & the Nightcats for the Band of the Year award along with another New England favorite Anthony Geraci’s Boston Blues Allstars. Sugar Ray Norcia is competing for Traditional Blues Male Artist and Instrumentalist Vocals honors, while the Bluetones’ :Too Far From the Bar” is up for Album of the Year and Traditional Blues Album. Furthermore, Bluetones’ Michael “Mudcat” Ward and Anthony Geraci are nominated for Instrumentalist Bassist and Instrumentalist Piano, the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award; the two, moreover, play together in Geraci’s Boston Blues Allstars.
The BMAs are different from other awards; here members of The Blues Foundation can vote for the BMAs. Voting opened Jan. 28 and closes March 12 at 11:59 p.m. CST. Visit www.BLUES.org and click on “Join” to learn about membership, donations, and to help keep the blues thriving around the world.
You can sign up to support The Blues Foundation when you shop online at Amazon. Just visit smile.amazon.com where you can choose The Blues Foundation as your charity the first time you visit the site.
The Amazon Smile Foundation will give 0.5 percent of the price of your eligible purchases to The Blues Foundation and will remember your selection the next time you shop.
You have the opportunity to watch the Dedicated Men of Zion’s remarkable performance at Globalfest. When the Dedicated Men of Zion hit the virtual stage at last week’s onlineonly Globalfest, they made enormous which got raves around the world. They were praised for their “hard-driving gospel standards like ‘Can’t Turn Me Around,’ with its rasping and soaring into a falsetto.” Go to https://rb.gy/1eu4fb and somebody say amen.”
Last week, Blues Beat brought you the Music Maker origin story in comic book form. This week, you can take a more extensive look by watching “Toot Blues,” a 2006 documentary featuring Music Maker founders and many of our beloved partner artists, Guitar Gabriel, Macavine Hayes, Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, Captain Luke, and many more. It is available at https://rb.gy/6fussx
The National Museum of African American Music opened its doors this Fall in Nashville, Tennessee. NMAAM is the only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the many music genres created, influenced, and inspired by African Americans. The museum’s collections will share the story of the American soundtrack by integrating history and interactive technology to bring the musical heroes of the past into the present.
You can see more at https://rb.gy/dc6slz
Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks have made a commitment not only to the members of the Tedeschi Trucks Band but also to their support team during the COVID crisis. “It’s easy to make sacrifices if it helps the greater good. It’s kind of a nobrainer,” Susan Tedeschi said matter-of-factly.”
They have done this support by dipping into their savings and tapping into emergency funds. This allows them to pay the band and crew their regular salary until March.
Before things become dicey, Trucks and Tedeschi will deliver a series of pay-per-view performances. Beyond assisting the group, proceeds will be directed to various charities that support local artists and aid others in need.