Singing the blues in Taichung

Taichung will get the blues this Sunday, when the nation's first one-day outdoor blues music festival, aptly named the Blues and Bar-BQ Bash, rolls into town and sets up shop at the Tiger City Mall from 1pm to 9pm.

Organized by the Blues Society Taiwan and sponsored by a list of multinationals, including Jim Beam, Duracell, 3M, Daimler-Chrysler and Geant, as well as local city-guide publisher Compass Group, the festival will feature appearances by several of Taiwan's leading blues acts and shows by a couple of overseas acts of international renown.

According to blues fan Kevin Smith, who, when he's not working for a living, doubles as the Blues Society's marketing director, the aim of the festival is twofold. First, it aims to promote blues music in Taiwan, and second, it hopes the festival will generate a set of local blues-oriented networks.

"At this point, local audiences are still kicking the dead horse of jazz and the blues scene is younger, yet more vital in some regards," Smith said. "I think [blues] could become a focal point for music fans of all ages."

The idea of holding a blues festival was put forward by Blues Society President DC Rapier and veteran ICRT host and festival co-organizer Rick Monday. Ever since, blues lovers, including Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), have been eagerly anticipating the event.

According to organizers, the mayor will be taking the stage on Sunday accompanied by Grammy Award-winning musician and Brown Sugar regular Hazel Payne to perform a rendition of Everyday I Have the Blues.

"I am delighted that the Blues Society [of] Taiwan chose Taichung to host the first-ever Blues Bash," Hu said. "[And] I am sure once Taichung residents hear [the blues] they will fall in love with it as I have."

To make the inaugural Blues and Bar-B-Q Bash appeal to blues fans and non-blues-savvy listeners alike, the Blues Society has opted to showcase a mixed bag of artists Sunday.

Along with traditional and more standard forms of blues from local acts like BoPoMoFo, Stevie Ray and the Black Sheep and Boogie Chillin', festival-goers will also be able to enjoy more offbeat sounds from Taiwan's fledgling blues scene. The popular blues band Dave Chen and the Muddy Basin Ramblers will be making an appearance, as will ex-punk-rock combo turned high-octane rockabilly act Chicken Rice.

As the event is still pretty much a work in progress and admission is free, organizers decided to forgo packing the lineup with overseas acts and instead chose to invite only two international acts.

Blues guitarist and vocalist Joanna Connor will be representing the US and slide guitar maestro Peter "Bonzo" Radvanyi will be representing the European blues scene.

"It's a cool thing to be able to play on the same stage as Joanna Connor and Peter Radvanyi," said Dave Chen. "They are both very accomplished, and being around them will be a great learning experience."

WHO'S WHO AT THE BLUES AND BAR-B-Q BASH

Stevie Ray and the Black Sheep

Formed last year and named in honor of the late blues-guitar guru Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Taipei-based combo Stevie Ray and the Black Sheep is one of the nation's few fully local blues acts. Led by Aborigine guitarist Stevie Ray (not his real name), who, when he's not plucking the blues, dresses in blue and patrols the streets of the capital in his police car, leads the three-piece band that plays crowd-pleasing, Stevie Ray Vaughn-inspired sets.