Jun 15

Jun 15 Blues Fest, Day 4

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

So far, the 2025 Chicago Blues Festival has been a stellar musical experience, showcasing a variety of blues styles. The programming committee, however, saved the best for last. Headlining the main stage tonight was the incomparable Mavis Staple, best described as blues and gospel royalty. Before Staples, the schedule called for performances by Lurrie Bell and Frank Catalano, C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band, and a tribute to the Chess Records on the occasion of its 75th Anniversary this year. Nobody could ask for more.

Early in the week, the weather forecasters were predicting a wet weekend, beginning Friday. Until today, our collective luck had held out. Not pristine June weather, but close. Unfortunately, the festival’s luck ran out today, which was evident when I left the house after sleeping late. I needed the extra two hours of shuteye.

I arrived just in time to catch Jimmy Burns at the Rosa’s Lounge stage. Burns hails from Dublin, Mississippi. Over the years he has played both acoustic and electric blues. Mid-career, he switched to soul music, but he has since returned to his blues roots. Kneeling just in front of his chair, I was able to watch his fingers dart across the the guitar’s strings and frets. Burns plays with finesse.

I then headed to the Mississippi Crossroads stage. The skies were growing more threatening, with the weather app on my phone showing storms headed Chicago’s way. Jonathan Ellison and the Ras Band were already on stage when I arrived on the south end of the promenade. Ellison and his bass player beat the weather to the punch. They were tossing lighting bolts at each other. Ellison who couldn’t contain his energy, took a stroll through his adoring audience. Like the Caribbean’s warm waters, the crowd fueled Ellison’s energy.

I then went back to Rosa’s Lounge to hear the Nick Alexander Blues Band. Much to my surprise, every seat under the big top was empty. The rain had arrived, but the officials were more concerned with the lightning and wind storms heading toward Millennium Park. They had ordered the evacuation of the tent.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]

**A High School Student Playing with A Patch of Blues**

**Jonathan Ellison Strutting His Stuff**

I then headed to Pritzker Pavilion because the photo pit is under cover. The festival officials had different plans for me. Officials required everyone in the park to take shelter in the parking structure immediately adjacent to the pavilion. I had been through this drill once before, when the skies opened up just after jazz singer Dianne Reeves took that stage at the Chicago Jazz Festival six or seven years ago.

Standing in the garage for the next hour, I, like everyone else huddled together, wondered whether the music would resume, or whether the officials would excise one or more main stage acts. One thing was for certain: I would not be seeing the sultry Ms. Jody, who at times takes on a lusty persona. Her performance had already been scrubbed. Damn!

After I emerging from the garage, I headed back to the stage. A dedicated crew was swabbing the wood floor, filling buckets with the accumulated water. All the electrical wiring and plugs in immediately front of me made me a bit nervous. My camera batteries were firmly charged, so I didn’t need a sudden jolt of power.

Toward the back of the stage, several musicians were tuning up. But before the music began, a woman dressed in red sang the National Anthem. Then Chicago’s poet laureate, Avery R. Young, made the short walk from the stage’s wings to the mic. I’ve seen Young several times before. He may be a poet, but he is high energy, often funny, functioning as a human beat box. I assumed he would do a full set, but today he was just an appetizer, reciting/performing just one of his poems, which honored Mavis Staples.

Before the music began, a city official walked out, carrying the now familiar folder that holds Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proclamations. Not surprisingly, the Mayor had proclaimed today Mavis Staples day in Chicago.

This weekend, Johnson’s proclamations have served as a textbook, providing everyone biographical information about the the performer that the Mayor has chosen to honor that day—Thursday Bobby Rush, and on Friday, B.B. King.

Much to my dismay, WDCB’s Tom Marker delivered some bad news: Due to the rainstorm, C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band had been scratched, a victim of the rain delay. I first encountered Zydeco music back in the late Seventies, when I bought a couple records on the relatively obscure Arhoolie label. The artist was C.J.’s father. I had been looking forward to seeing the son because I had never seen his father perform.

Well, with the shortened program, choices had to be made. Hopefully, the programming committee will bring C.J. back next year.

**And the Doors Open After an Hour-Long Rain Delay**

**Careful, That's a Lot of Water Near a Lot of Electrical Equipmen**

**WDCB's Tom Marker Name Checking the Sponsors**

**Chicago's Poet Laureate Avery R. Young Doing His Take on the Blues, While Paying Tribute to Mavis Staples**

**Reading Mayor Brandon Johnson's Proclamation Declaring Sunday Mavis Staples Day in Chicago**

I’ve been coming to festivals in Grant Park and now Millennium Park for years. The programmers rely on tributes as organizing devices. Tonight, the Festival was celebrating Chess Records, which was founded 75 years ago. For an hour, performers associated with the company, arguably the record label that started it all, took the stage. In several cases, a deceased legend’s children did the honors.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the entire celebration, three moments stood out. First, after all the luminaries were introduced, the band launched into Gene Ammons’ My Foolish Heart, considered to be the first single that Chess released. Not intending to knock the late Gene Ammons, or the band’s performance tonight, I leaned over to Mark Sheldon, who was seated next to me, “If the Chess brothers had continued down this road, we wouldn’t be sitting here tonight.” The instrumental blended Lawrence Welk with elevator jazz.

Fortunately, Mud Morganfield, one of Muddy Waters’ offsprings, came out next. It was time to hear the second single that the Chess brothers released. The son would have been a dead ringer for his father had Muddy been a regular at the gym. Morganfield, playing Hoochie Coochie Man, one of his father’s best known and beloved songs, was spot on.

Second, the unassuming Pastor Mitty Collier walked to the mic. For decades, we’ve heard that soul music originated in African-American churches. The influences are clearly audible, but Collier offered conclusive proof when she revealed the details surrounding her first recording. Showing up at the Chess studios in her early twenties, she was hoping to record a song entitled, I Had a Talk with God Last Night. The record producer had a different idea, changing the title to I Had a Talk with a Man Last Night. Once he made the appropriate alterations to the lyrics, Collier had a hit record on her hands. Tonight, at age 80, she turned the clock back, singling the original, with all its references to God.

Third, Louisiana Al (Alonzo Jones) took the stage, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with a Harley-Davidson logo imprinted on the back. With two of Howlin’ Wolf’s daughters looking on, Al saluted the master with fabulous renditions of the Wolf’s two best known songs, Spoonful and Smokestack Lightning. Unlike many Wolf imitators, Louisiana had the necessary gravel in his throat.

Unfortunately, I missed Charles Barry, Jr—Chuck’s son, needing to step out for a quick bathroom break. Standing at the concession stand, waiting for a hot dog, I did hear the sounds of Johnny B. Goode coming from the overhead speakers.

The celebration included several other notable performances. The program did not identify her, but Mae Koen had the courage to take on Etta James’ Chess classic, Rescue Me. At one time, Koen backed Aretha Franklin, but tonight she made her Millennium Park debut as the front woman.

As a kid, one of my favorite Top 40 hits was Fontella Bass’ Rescue Me. Tonight Simbryt Dortch did the honors. I was singing along.

I should also note Joe Barr’s excellent renditions of Little Milton’s Raw Blues and the Dells’ What a Night. Notably, Ric Hall, who traveled with the Dells for 25 years, was on hand with his guitar.

Last but certainly not least, Sam Chess, Phi Chess’s grandson added his trombone to the mix throughout the celebration. Chess is a graduate of the Julliard School, and has worked with Steve Turre, Wynton Marsalis, and James Burton, among others.

**Celebrating Chess Record's 75th Anniversary Year**

**Dudley Owens Assuming the Saxophonist Duties**

**Guitarist Joe Pratt Leading the Chess Records Ensemble**

**Simbryt Dorch Gesturing to Someone in the Audience**

**Longtime Guitarist for the Dells, Ric Hall Adds Some Tasty Notes to the Chess Tribute**

**Bassist Rodrigo Mantovani, Playing with the Chess Tribute Band and Looking Pretty Spiffy**

**Soul Singer Joe Barr Taking the Audience Back to Chess Records’ Halcyon**

**Louisiana Al (Alonzo Jones ) Paying Tribute to Howlin' Wolf**

**One of the Wolf’s Daughters Enjoying Her Father’s Memorable Blues Classics**

**Big Al Putting a Spell on the Audience**

**Taylor Bringing His Early Maxwell Street Experience to the Stage**

Mae Koen Taking on Etta James’ Chess Classic, *Rescue Me*

**Mud Morganfield with a Towel for His Sweat**

**Koko Taylor’s Daughter, Cookie, Taking the Mic**

**Pastor Mitty Collier Returning to Her Gospel Roots**

**Five Backup Singers Sweetening the Sounds**

After a quick intermission, Lurrie Bell came out, with saxophonist Frank Catalano sharing the bill. Catalano could have just as easily been performing at the Chicago Jazz Festival or in a jazz club. Accompanying Bell and Catalano was the ubiquitous Steve Bell, who seemed to be on every stage this weekend. Lurrie Bell and Catalano had teamed up, recording an album entitled Set Me Free for Catalano’s imprint.

The two headliners, together with Steve Bell adding color and wails, delivered a solid hour of the blues. Early on, Lurrie Bell performed a slow-tempo blues on a Gibson guitar painted in muted reds and greens. He took an extended solo, with Steve Bell blowing in the background. Then Catalano took center stage, playing off Lurrie’s solo, at times slapping his sax.

During one rollicking instrumental, Lurrie Bell alternated between rhythm guitar riffs and single plucked notes. On the next number, Catalano opened with a solo, and then Lurie Bell launched into the Muddy Waters classic, The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll. Midway through the song, Bell took an extended solo on his guitar. Muddy Waters reappeared later in the set when the ensemble played, She’s Nineteen Years Old, with Lurrie Bell singing,

She's nineteen years old, And got ways just like a baby child

Nothing I can do to please her, To make this young woman feel satisfied

Poor Lurrie Bell, he’s got his problems. Later he elaborated, singing, “I got a real bad feeling that my baby don’t love me anymore.” Steve Bell accentuated Lurrie’s pain, with wailing, train whistle-like riffs.

At one point, Steve Bell came to the mic, demanding that the crowd give it up for Lurrie by standing. “He worked hard for you.” Then the band launched into another Muddy Waters’ number, I’m Ready.

Like John Primer, Lurrie Bell, Steve Bell, Frank Catalano, and the their rhythm section are the The Real Deal.

**Frank Catalano Blowing the Blues Away with Lurrie Bell**

**Roosevelt Purifoy, Jr. Doubling on Organ and Piano**

**Listening Under the Cover of Umbrellas as Steve Bell Blows Harp**

By 8:00 PM, after four days of non-stop blues, I was exhausted, particularly because I never got to bed before 1:30 AM and generally woke up just five or six hours later. But Mavis Staples was going to take me home, rejuvenating my spirits for another hour.

Staples is blues royalty, even though she is more a gospel than blues singer. Performing for over 60 years, Staples got her start with the Staples Singer, headed by her father, Pops. While Mavis is known for her vocals, she is also an iconic figure in the Civil Rights Movement. The Staples Singers had a close relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. During her set, Staples mentioned King three or four times, performing one of King’s favorite songs, Why? (Am I Treated So Bad). She also name-checked Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Like many others, Mavis also managed to work Taylor Swift into her stage patter.

With Staples was her long-time guitarist, Rick Holmstrom, playing an elegant Fender guitar and doubling on vocals. Staples and Holmstrom are a team, with Holmstrom providing subtle, but powerful guitar lines, providing Staples with leverage for her vocals.

Over the course of her set, Mavis performed Freedom Highway, Why? (Am I Treated So Bad), Heavy Makes You Happy, Respect Yourself, Celestial Shore, I’m Just Another Soldier, and several selections. Occasional she stepped toward the back of the stage, where a chair, table, and a pot of tea awaited. After a few sips from the purple mug labeled “Mavis,” she returned to stage center, often swaying with her arms overhead. She may need a sip of tea, but Mavis still sounds great.

Mavis Staples is the perfect antidote for the Trump Blues. Singing about love, brotherhood, and peace, Mavis is just what the world needs today. She was the perfect closing act.