Highlights From the Blues Festival VII

Friday Night, the first night....at Rosie O'Grady's was amazing. The sax player with Luther Bad Man Keith almost blew me right out of my shoes. I need to get his name, as he is a fantastic musician. I swear I saw dust shaking off the rafters as he blew a solo on his saxophone that had the crowds on their feet.

I heard that the young teen-age son of Albert Young also impressed the audience at Tony's as he played the sax as well. Im told he is around 13 years old. It is great that each generation brings about new blues musicians.

Dino's had the biggest crowds, to the extent that they had to halt entry for periods of time both weekends. Im glad the Fire Marshall didn't pop in. The Luddites were great. The Reefermen are always great.

We lost power Wednesday morning and thus lost a night of blues at Dino's and Club Bart's.
The following night however made up for that loss. The Ferndale Middle School Jazz Choir and Band bowled people over. The Ringwald was standing room only. Those kids are wonderful.

And the Barbeque Tent! Who could have predicted nearly 1,000 people coming through that amazing event. The music was topped only by the food. Six chefs, all volunteers, cooking up hundreds of pounds of baby back ribs. The Judges Choice? Jack Aronson of Garden Fresh Salsa along with Ferndale Police Chief Michael Kitchen won that award.

Nine days, two cities, 24 venues, and over 80 concerts. The Festival was great, and the money is still being counted, but it appears that we will blow past last year's take like a blues sax on a hot Saturday night.