Jun 9

Jun 9 Bluesfest (Day 1)

Chicago, Festivals, Musicians, Performance, Things to Do in Chicago

The Chicago Bluesfest, which is the largest admission-free blues festival in the world, kicked off today at noon, with performances along Chicago’s Riverwalk and on the Mississippi Juke Joint stage in Millenium Park. At the outset, I should note that the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Affairs has reduced the number of stages at Millenium Park from four to three, deciding to expand the geographic reach of the festival by staging performances in Chicago’s Bronzeville and Austin neighborhoods.

If there was one word to describe today’s performances in Millenium Park, it is incendiary. Both the Mississippi Juke Joint and Jay Pritzker Pavilion stages were almost uniformly devoted to extremely loud, guitar driven music that at times was more rock than blues. Certainly rocking Blues has it place, particularly since Blues is the roots of what we now call Rock. Yet, the overemphasis on Blues-based rock created a sameness. That is not to say the performers were bad. In many ways, each was at the top of his or her game.

Take Jamiah Rogers, a 27-year old guitar phenom who is steeped in the music of Jimi Hendrix and Prince. He prances across the stage, doing a tango with his guitar, his long-tongue wagging and slithering, sometimes directed toward the bass player. Rogers definitely has the chops. Then there was Joanna Connor, who produces staccato chord after staccato chord, cutting the audience. For me the highlight of her set, however, when the world slowed down, with the drummer singing a wonderful rendition of the Bill Wither’s classic, Ain’t No Sunshine.

Then there was Toronzo Cannon, who was a city busdriver for over two decades. Ah, too have been a passenger on his bus each morning on the way to work. At one point, Cannon said that you had to be careful around him because he might turn anything you said in his presence into a song. As proof: One day, the guys down at the bus depot were talking about health insurance, and what do we get, a song entitled Insurance, with complaints about the size of deductibles. I am willing to bet that this is the only Blues song that addresses the cost of and need for colonoscopies. But those deductibles sure do give everyone the Blues, with Cannon telling the doctor to apply a blood-stained bandage lying on the floor rather than a new one because a new bandage costs morre.

Shemekia Copeland, who had been scheduled to headline the 2020 Thursday night concert, which was cancelled due to Year 1 of Covid, was the closing act tonight, announcing that she had been cancer-free for a year, which drew applause from the crowd.

Copeland is a talented singer, who tossed a John Prine song into the mix, as well as the title track from her 2020 Uncivil War album, which was fitting given that Copeland was competing with the first of the January 6th Committee’s hearings—which I taped and then watched when I arrived home. Copeland definitely took the volume and pace down with this excellent number, but that was the exception, particularly given that her backing quintet included two guitars, a bass, drums, and a keyboardist.

The programmers have added a tribute feature, which will highlight one notable artist at the start of each day’s performances on the Pritzker stage. Today, boogie-woogie pianist Erwin Helfer was the feted player. He is a Chicago staple. At 80, Helfer used the old joke when greeting the audience, “I am glad to be here; I am glad to be anywhere.” I first heard that from my father’s friend, Frank Heilbronner, who is now long gone. With Helfer, we got some variety, with two saxophonists accompanying him, together with a stand-up beautifully maintained orangish-yellow bass. Helfer was incendiary, playing both his own works and standards, but without overpowering the audience with volume, making the case that subtle acoustics pack far more punch than power chords pumped through massive amplifiers.

I particularly enjoyed returning several times to the tent dubbed Rosa’s Lounge, which is located on the southside of the park. It is housed in a small, makeshift tent, with no stage. The audience just mills about on the hot cement, dancing while freely interacting with the performers, who often dance with audience members as they sing or play. Unfortunately, there was no listing for Thursday’s lineup, so I am not sure who I saw perform, but the three bands I did listen to were excellent. There was a lot of blues harp, which was unfortunately absent from the Pritzker stage.

Overall, Day 1 was a great kickoff to the four-day festival.

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