May 2013
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Hey All!
Any one ready for spring yet? Hopefully by the time this hits the streets we’ll be able to sit out in the sunshine and enjoy the backyard. This winter realllly doesn’t want to go away. Keep believing, spring will come, and summer right on it’s heels. So get ready.
The Sue Orfield Band created some time for Sparky (Paul Hinz) & Mike Schlenker to get us warmed up on April 9th. It was great to see Paul back on stage again. Those guys were scheduled to be the opening act for Tuesday Night Blues Unplugged, but Paul experienced some serious health issues that prevented that from happening. It was worth the wait, and then a tune or two with Paul Joining SOB and Josh Gallagher sat in on piano, too!
Next up on May 14th Code Blue w/Catya & Sue will be the finale for the unplugged series this year. 6:30 at the Unitarian Universalist church, plenty of parking and easy access to downtown Eau Claire. 421 S. Farwell in Eau Claire is easy to find, just a block east of Barstow.
Don’t forget, coming up Memorial Day weekend, The 2013 Northwoods Blues Festival is going to be May 25th & 26th in Trego, WI at the Heartwood Conference Center & Retreat. Friday fires right up with Howard “Guitar” Luedtke & Blue Max, followed by Reverend Raven & The Chain Smoking Altar Boys with Westside Andy sittin’ in, then Chris Beard, and capping Friday night will be the newest member of the National Blues Foundation Hall Of Fame Joe Louis Walker. Wow! Saturday starts rockin with The Rhythm Roosters, then Eau Claire’s own Mojo Lemon leads in to the awesome Kenny Neal, which is only warming the crowd up for that blues siren Ana Popovic, current covergirl for WhatzUp magazine and a new album “Can You Stand The Heat” just released. That is an awesome lineup. Go to www.northwoodsbluesfest.com for ticket, camping and lodging info. Tickets for the two days are $60 in advance and $70 at the gate.
The 5th season of Tuesday Night Blues at Owen Park begins Tuesday May 30th with Howard “Guitar” Luedtke & Blue Max, followed by another 13 Tuesday nights of great music. We have two Grammy nominated artist on the schedule this year!
The 3rd week of the season TNB will feature Bryan Lee on June 11th. A New Orleans legend Bryan will grace our stage with his band on his way to play at Buddy Guy’s Legends club in Chicago the following Friday night. Find out more about this awesome performer at http://www.braillebluesdaddy.com . According to Duke Robillard “Whether he’s wailing a Freddy King inspired blues ballad, stomping out low down and dirty blues, or getting down with a super funky New Orleans groove, Bryan Lee is gonna grab your soul and squeeze it till you scream in blues ecstasy.”
On Tuesday June 4th Revolver will make an encore appearance at Tuesday Night Blues. June 18th the Tommy Bentz Band will return to Owen Park, followed on June 25th by Code Blue w/Catya & Sue. That will just get the season started.
Every week TNB will present great bands presenting blues stylings mixed with a little rock, funk, soul, and maybe even some country or reggae here and there. The best of the valley will once again be present mixed with some of the best in the region. We have excellent local talent that is often better known in Europe or even other parts of the country than in our own backyard of western Wisconsin. They and we appreciate your support! The entertainment calendar is on our home page (bands be sure to send us your schedules), and there are links to many of the bands (and there scheduled events) at the Chippewa Valley Blues Society website www.chippewavalleyblues.com and the Tuesday Night Blues Facebook page www.facebook.com/tnblues for more info.
If you’re interested in being a sponsor for Tuesday Night Blues contact us at the website www.tuesdaynightblues.com. There are new links for membership, mailing lists and sponsor information.
Blues On The Chippewa will continue to bring us amazing talent from around the country and Midwest as well. I hope to bring you word about that schedule soon. If you are interested and want to volunteer or contribute go to http://www.bluesonthechippewa.org/
There are many great musical events that are available, but very few have such high quality and are essentially FREE. Hard to beat that!
Don’t forget to tune in to WHYS 96.3 Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. for Snapshot’s blues show.
Thanks for lending me an ear! We’ll be seein’ ya around.
