Two accomplished guitar slingers, a barrelhouse pianist and a veteran drummer are among the featured artists at this year’s Blues Bash, which begins tonight at the Dream Community (夢想社區) in Sijhih (汐止), Taipei County.
Blues Bash, now in its seventh edition, once again promises a weekend of shuffling grooves, instrumental virtuosity and whoops and shouts.
Returning to the festival is headlining guitarist Ken “The Snowman” Minahan, a past winner of the prestigious WC Handy Award. Minahan, who plays modern electric blues, held audiences captive when he appeared at Blues Bash in 2006 and 2007. The Chicago-born musician and blues history buff has a flair for showmanship: With his guitar connected wirelessly, he sometimes strolls off stage to walk through the audience section while tackling solos.
Photo courtesy of Blues Bash
Another headliner, Gary “Shrimp City Slim” Erwin, is a pianist and singer who has worked with well-known traditional blues artists from the southeastern US such as Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, Big Boy Henry and Wanda Johnson. Erwin, a devoted promoter of the blues as an art form, organizes the long-running Lowcountry Blues Bash in his home base of Charleston, South Carolina. Fans of Dr John and Professor Longhair will appreciate Erwin’s piano playing and gospel-tinged vocal style.
Blues Bash is also showcasing a musician who bends the genre a little. Brooklyn guitarist Teddy Kumpel combines his penchant for loop machines and sampled noises with swampy funk grooves. But Kumpel is more than just a quirky jam rocker. An accomplished session guitarist and indie rock producer, he has worked with Rickie Lee Jones and Feist and recently won an Emmy for his work on the sound track to the HBO movie Temple Grandin.
These performers will be backed by drummer Mick Kilgos, a veteran of the blues scenes in Florida and San Francisco. According to Blues Bash organizer DC Rapier, the 59-year-old Illinois native will bring his unique experience to the festival: Kilgos spent his early years honing his skills while playing for blues and R ’n’ B bands on the “Chitlin’ circuit,” a network of nightclubs in the American south that catered to black performers and audiences during segregation.
Photo courtesy of Blues Bash
In keeping with Blues Bash tradition, Japanese performers are also on the bill. Female singer and guitarist Nacomi, who is making her third appearance in Taiwan, sings pop and R ’n’ B-influenced songs in the vein of Bonnie Raitt. Kensuke Machida will be playing acoustic blues.
The international guests perform tonight and tomorrow evening at the Dream Community’s indoor theater.
Throughout the day tomorrow,
Photo courtesy of Blues Bash
the festival is holding free outdoor concerts by nearly a dozen Taiwan-based groups, including BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ), Blues Vibrations, garage blues rockers Celluloid (賽璐璐), one-man band Jack Conqueroo, and my own band, the Muddy Basin Ramblers.
Food and beverages will be available, and before the indoor concerts start, a carnival-style parade will be held by the Dream Community, complete with samba drummers, fire-breathers and stilt walkers.
Schedule
TONIGHT
7:30pm Kensuke Machida
8:20pm Teddy Kumpel
9:10pm Nacomi
10pm Gary “Shrimp City Slim” Erwin
10:50pm Ken “The Snowman” Minahan and Mick Kilgos
TOMORROW
Mark Twain Stage
2:05pm Taiwan Sugar Company
2:55pm Kenyatta Quartet
3:45pm Mike Mudd and Silence
4:35pm Brad Tindall
5:25pm BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ)
Monkey Bus Stage
2:30pm The Blues Boys and Cooky
3:20pm Blues Vibrations
4:10pm Celluloid (賽璐璐)
5:00pm Jack Conqueroo
5:50pm Muddy Basin Ramblers
6:15pm Dream Community Parade
Indoor Concerts
6:30pm Kensuke Machida
7:10pm Teddy Kumpel
7:55pm Nacomi
8:45pm Gary “Shrimp City Slim” Erwin
9:35pm Ken “The Snowman” Minahan(featuring Mick Kilgos)
10:25pm to 11:10pm Jam session
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