Blues Festivals: Part 2

June 25, 2010 by DaleR
Filed under: Blues History, blues festivals

Another blues festival stands out in my mind was a festival that was set up so that once inside the paid areas that had more than one stage for daytime and then reduced to just the main stage in the evening after dark. The main stage was at the bottom of a small hill and at the top of the hill was a tent where you could find a little shade. I believe this was in very early September, maybe Labor Day weekend. anyway it was hot. My family and I were sitting in chairs at the edge of the tent. Just upwind from us there was a Salsa vendor and every time they would cut up another bunch of peppers it was strong enough to make our eyes water. I believe this to be the festival where I ate some alligator on a stick. I was not real impressed. There was so much spicy breading on the meat that I wasn’t able to taste the meat. Maybe so I wouldn’t notice that it tasted like chicken.

Anyway, as we sat in the shade I noticed Johnny Johnson walk by. He stopped and talked to some of the folks in the tent and started to walk toward the stage. I pointed him out to my family and my daughter jumped up and ran after him to get his autograph. In case you don’t know Johnny Johnson, he was Chuck Berry’s piano player for years and legend has it that he was the Johnny in the song “Johnny be Good.” He not only gave her his autograph but he came back to talk to us and invited us to his church the next weekend where he was playing. By the way, when he was playing his set that evening, Chuck Berry came on stage and performed with him.

I believe this to be the same festival that I noticed my daughter wasn’t around and when I looked for her, I found her behind the stage talking to Lonnie Brooks and his wife. During his set he also had his son Ronnie Baker Brooks playing guitar. Ronnie Baker Brooks has come into his own as a blues player. I have always hesitated to bother these guys when they are offstage but I believe that my daughter was 15 or 16 at the time and she didn’t hesitate.

You know, I believe that all of these people should end up in the Blues Hall of Fame just due to the way they respect their fans and the professional way they behave at the fesivals.

Continues next post