Maple Blues Online - Loose Blues News

Congratulations to Wickens-Knight, winners of the TBS Talent Search, seen here in full flight at their CBC-recorded performance at the Distillery Blues Festival with Tom Bona on drums and Joe Burns on bass. Listen for the broadcast on Saturday Night Blues later this year and pick up their brand new self-titled CD. Photo by Larry McCarthy

Mayoral Congrats on TBS 20th Anniversary Celebration: "Just a brief note to say that I greatly enjoyed the event last week at the Mod Club. Congratulations to all involved with The Toronto Blues Society for a terrific job! Joe Pantalone, Deputy Mayor".

Daredevils of Soul Jam: There's a new jam every Sunday night at The Cabbage Patch, at 488 Parliament Street in Toronto, hosted by the Daredevils of Soul, Ricky Day (vocals & keyboards - ex-Ink Spots and Drifters), Billy Blackburn (drums), Tristin Clarke (guitar), and Michael Francis (sax). Early evening, 7:30 pm. to 12 midnight, 416-925-3468.

Another Blues Doctorate: Last month, Ronnie Hawkins was on stage at the Fraser Auditorium of Laurentian University, to receive an Honourary Doctorate of Letters. Ronnie shared the event with 1,100 graduating students. His words of advice to the young graduates were pretty straightforward. "Don't Smoke". Ronnie is credited in many music history documents with introducing rock'n'roll to Canada in 1958, and he continues as one of the greatest supporters of the Canadian Music Industry. Graduates couldn't resist the opportunity to interact with Dr. Ronnie Hawkins. www.ronniehawkins.ca.

Electro-Fi Records updates: Sam Myers had a rough start to 2005, being diagnosed with cancer during throat surgery in January. The cancer was removed, and Sam is now undergoing chemotherapy. He's expected to make a complete recovery and be back on the road with Anson & The Rockets in September. Electro-Fi label mate and fellow harp master Snooky Pryor also had some health problems last year, but is feeling 100% better these days. It was a sold out full house at the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis in May, as Electro-Fi presented their first annual Mojo Ramble showcase with performances by Paul Oscher, Fruteland Jackson, and Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne. Watch for new Electro-Fi releases this fall from Chicago blues legend Billy Boy Arnold, produced by Mark Hummel and featuring Rusty Zinn, as well as "You Can't Choose The World You Live In", the debut from triple threat vocalist/pianist/songwriter Julian Fauth, with special guests Paul Reddick, Mel Brown and David Rotundo.

Ottawa Bluesfest update: In a bid to dispel the rumours about site changes for this year's edition of the Cisco Systems Ottawa Bluesfest, the festival's executive director, Mark Monahan, has announced that Bluesfest will in fact take place in downtown Ottawa on and around the grounds of City Hall, albeit in a new and reconfigured setting. Bluesfest organizers, in consultation with Mayor Bob Chiarelli, have taken a giant step toward ensuring that Bluesfest remains one of the premier music festivals in North America. Mayor Bob Chiarelli's suggestion to move the main stage on to Laurier Street proved to be the absolute solution. "After 11 years of successive growth, we're now in a position to rival the Montreal Jazz Festival as one of Canada's huge downtown events. A Laurier Street closure allows us to move some of the infrastructure on to the street, creating much more space for patrons," says Monahan. "The new layout for the site solves the capacity issues, expands the size of our popular Gold Circle area, and provides more access for lawn chairs on most days. The new site plan will also feature a licensed and non-licensed area for the main stage bowl. Overall, this will result in a new setting with more space for the public to enjoy the festival," says Mr. Monahan. "Once again, it's been heartening to see how the Mayor and key city staff members, including police, fire, special events, and paramedics, have stepped up to the plate and worked with us to fast-track this move. Mayor Chiarelli's visionary idea will establish Bluesfest as a major downtown Canadian tourist destination and an event that all Ottawans can be proud of," concluded Monahan.

Highway 61 now B.B. King Highway: Motorists driving on a stretch of U.S. 61 in Tennessee will now be travelling the B.B. King Highway. A ceremony noting a name change for the highway was held in June at the Beale Street nightclub that also bears King's name. The 79-year-old famed bluesman was on hand, but without the guitar he calls Lucille. "I'm not very good at talking, and Lucille is asleep on the bus," King said. "Thank you Memphis. Thanks to all of you, God bless you." King, whose given name is Riley, grew up in rural Mississippi. He began his career on Beale Street, and took the stage name B.B. for Beale Street Blues Boy.

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