I got to spend the past weekend at the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival in Colorado. It was the 30th year for this three day event held in a beautiful Rocky Mountain valley located at 9,000 feet above sea level. From both the open air main stage and the enclosed Blues stage, I got to hear a literal cross section of the contemporary blues, blue rock, R&B, and even a bit of gospel. Over 10,000 people a day attended the festival and I shared the time with my two grandchildren and my older daughter and son in law. Here are some of the new, the good, and the best acts that I got to see from among the more than 30 artists that performed. I have provided a link to a song from each of the artists so you can sample their talent also!
The New
Tyron is the brother of Tab Benoit and his “down the bayou” blend of music on both the concertina (related to the accordion) and guitar were reminders of the style of music I grew up with in New Orleans.
Grainne Duffy is from Ireland and songs from her last couple of albums have been on my playlists frequently. I was pleased with her voice, guitar playing, and smiling persona.
Ron Artis II hails from Hawaii and he has a great voice, guitar tone and unique playing style.And,ala Joss Stone, he performed in his bare feet on stage.
I first became aware of Zach Person from comments made about him by no less than Buddy Guy. His slide guitar work was amazing! His music is a mix of Lenny Kravitz, Gary Clark Jr., and a dash of the Black Keys….oh yeah!
Eddie Roberts & the Lucky Strokes
Eddie Roberts is a UK artist than now hails from Denver. He and his very tight band had a badass soul infused sound.
The Good
This was my fourth time to see Joe Bonamassa and he did not disappoint me or the huge gathered crowd for the final performance of the festival. My only critique is that I wish he would have interacted with the crowd more. Joe’s songwriting ability is often overlooked and I would have loved to hear him talk about his inspiration for several of my favorite songs that he performed.
Gary Clark Jr.’s show featured a great light show and a smattering of his blues rock hits and several songs from his Stevie Wonder influenced new album.
Seeing Marc checked off one of my “bucket list” artists. He was absolutely incredible!
Seeing Tab out on tour supporting a new album was truly a joy. His soulful voice and magic on the guitar kept the audience enthralled.
I swear Eric has the Jimi Hendrix gene and his left handed guitar playing only reinforced my impression. He truly is one of the top contemporary blues rockers on the planet!
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben has a blues fusion style with elements of soul, funk, jazz and reggae weaved in amongst the blues. His music was a perfect close for the second night of the festival.
The Best
#4 – Taj Farrant
Taj Farrant is a FIFTEEN year old Australian who is self taught on the guitar. He absolutely blew me and the crowd away with his skills. He played several originals, aced the tortuous opening to Eric Johnson’s Dover, scorched a couple of Stevie Ray Vaughan classics, and then took it upper another incredible level with his rendering of Jimi Hendrix’s Red House. Wow…just Wow!!
Robert Jon & the Wreck are another group that were on my “bucket list”. Their sound mixes the blues, blues rock, and southern rock into a delicious contemporary blues gumbo. They played both the blues stage and did a “pop up” event on Sunday afternoon under a 12 x12 open tent surrounded by 300 or 400 festival goers. Listening to the crowd sing along to Oh Miss Caroline was magical. Robert Jon’s voice is fabulous and Henry James was an obvious fan favorite with a 1970’s style afro and a blistering talent on lead guitar.
#2 – Samantha Fish
The look…the voice…the songwriting….the music of Samantha Fish make her one of the top five contemporary blues artists currently on tour. It is easy to be drawn in by her sexy, brash and bratty vocals as she struts the stage in a skin tight bell bottom outfit and entirely miss her incredible talent on the guitar, particularly the slide guitar. I was blown away by her performance. I expected greatness but not the badass attitude and showmanship that sits on top of all that talent…oh yeah!
#1 – JJ Grey & Mofro
The best performance of the weekend hands down was JJ Grey & Mofro. Backed by a 10 person band that surrounded him horseshoe style, JJ bared his soul to an adoring crowd. You could see that he was emotionally moved as the crowd sang along unprompted on one song. He told stories about the songs, led a couple of sing alongs, played the harp, and played a bright candy apple red guitar as he moved through a set of fan favorites and new songs from the recently released Olustee album. His voice is iconic and I won’t soon forget the stellar performance of JJ Grey & Mofro!!
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Ben Vee started out spinning songs on terrestrial radio and at nightclubs back in the 1970’s in his home state of Louisiana. After a career in the construction business, he returned to DJing in 2011. He now hosts two shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com and writes about the blues for BMFR and at http://www.benveeblues.com from his home in Connecticut. He also has a personal 24 hour stream devoted to the Roadhouse Blues… WRHB as well as a Youtube channel.
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