MUSIC PREVIEW: Blues, brothers and sisters!
Will it be possible to eat a green onion cake at the Edmonton Blues Festival while simultaneously listening to Green Onions performed by Booker T himself? Might we offer the visiting organsmith a sample of Edmonton’s favourite festival food?
The answer is, sadly, no: No one’s selling green onion cakes down in Hawrelak Park this weekend. You’ll have to bring your own.
Or partake of other delicious foods available at the annual event. There’s Smokehouse barbecue, for instance, which always makes a nice pairing with the blues. Add beer – and now we’re talkin’!
As mentioned, the great Booker T. Jones is a featured headliner – all the way from Memphis, heck of a blues-town. He’ll be presenting a “Stax Revue and a Journey Thru Soul, Blues and R&B” with a 10-piece band on Friday night. Friday also features acts like Nikki Hill and Brent Parkin, solid veteran bluesmen-and-blueswomen of the highest order.
Headlining after a full day of comparable bluesy goodness on Saturday are Samantha Fish – an up-and-coming blues singer and guitarist from Kansas City, another acceptable blues destination – and Monkeyjunk, pride of Canada.
Sunday’s another full day. Closing it out will be the Sugaray Rayford Big Band, all the way from Texas; along with Rick Estrin and the Nightcats, and a multi-festival zydeco favourite: Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, from – you guessed it – Louisiana. We’re all over the blues map here. The slots between are filled with top Canadian, Albertan and local talent, and as with most festivals will reflect the taste and dedication of the curator, in this case producer Cam Hayden – who sure knows his blues, if not his green onion cakes.
Weekend passes are still available, $129 for adults, $65 for youth, with a limited number of day passes for sale.
Thursday 23
Alice Cooper – The Man for Whom Every Day is Halloween gets a little scarier each year he ages – which works out, for like many of our aging rock ‘n’ roll stars Alice Cooper, age 70, is still going strong as the undisputed King of Shock Rock. He’s on his “Paranormal” tour, named for his latest album – his 27th! Jesus! Is there no stopping this guy? We hope not. He always puts on a great show. Jubilee Auditorium, 8 pm, tickets from $92
Friday 24
Giselle Parker – This plainspoken singer-songwriter uses low-fi elements in simple arrangements to convey big emotions. Works like a charm. Release show for new four-song EP Old Flame at the Aviary. Also performing will be Goldtop (featuring Idyl Tea’s Everett LaRoi) and Jody Shenkarek. 8 pm, $8 advance
Baby Jey – Quirky, lovely, smooth, spacey and just a little Flaming Lippy, this local band is set to release a new album called Someday Cowboy in September. Until then there’s a “NYC send-off” show happening at the Kas Bar off Whyte. What? Just when we discover something cool it leaves town? Also performing will be Spells and Sam Wolfe. 9 pm, $10 advance
Saturday 25
Hewson Grey – How’s this for a little nepotiz? Members of this band have worked for GigCity – singer Stuart Bobbin (Bell) is an actual geologist and wrote a story about visiting the Creationist Museum; and bassist Caleb Bradley has written concert reviews. Long before that, this band – falling into the “prog” category – was selected by us in 2016 as one of the bands to watch for 2017. And they were. They’ve just release a cool new single called Waited All Night, and tonight play Bohemia for “A Stop on the Royal Oak Pretend Tour 2018,” for which we assume has some explanation. Royal Oak, In Search of Sasquatch, and Trace Italian also perform. 8 pm, $10 at the door
