Rolling On the River Blues Festival

August 15-16, 2008

Keokuk IA

 

Since its inception in 1991, Rolling On the River in Keokuk IA has been the little festival that could. The predecessor to many of the festivals in the area, Rolling On the River has marketed itself as featuring “Everyone From A to Z.” Sporting a stage and tent area beneath Highway 136’s Mississippi River Bridge that connects Iowa to Illinois, the festival continues to bring great blues and roots music year in and out. Just down the road from the historic lock and dam on the Old Mighty Muddy River, the two day festival enjoyed great weather, great sounds, and great camaraderie for both days.

I arrive shortly after 7PM underneath the bridge. It was a beautiful evening with the full moon shining off the big river and the great big sounds of Kansas City echoing from the stage. You couldn’t tell that just a few months before that Victory Park had been inundated with flooding and the mess of an aftermath. However, I quickly got word from one of the festival workers that the city had taken hours of community service workers to scrub and clean up the park, making it look like nothing had happened. Save for a little bit of silt on my shoes left on the ground, the park was in fantastic shape.

On the stage the six-piece group from Kansas City called Penelope and the Unusual Suspects were hopping on the stage literally. Giving a fine blend of contemporary blues and that great Kansas City swing sound; Penelope & Co. fired through very many familiar blues tunes with a great Kansas City spin. Powered by the powerhouse vocals of Penelope, sax by Chris Cohick, barrelhouse piano by Leslie MacLean, and some hot guitar licks by Justin Griffs; the six piece got the crowd cooking, which slowly began trickling in at the 8PM hour. As one festival worker said, “Keokuk really is a strange city, full of vampires almost, they really don’t start coming out and really kicking till about 8 or 9 o’clock.” With killer renditions of the Nat King Cole Trio classic “Route 66,” a swinging rendition of Jimmy Rogers “Walking By Myself,” and wonderful originals like “Call My Job” and “If You Will,” the crowd hooted and hollered as they came through the gates. The first thing I really noted about this group was their wonderful chemistry and energy. Refusing to just be players, this group hopped and jumped around the stage and smiled the entire time they played. It was infectious, because many of the festival goers took notice and wanted CDs and autographs afterwards.

The final act of the first night was Debbie Davies. On the heels of her current release “Blues Blast,” with Coco Montoya, Tab Benoit, and Charlie Musselwhite, Davies brought her undeniable guitar talent to the stage. After a little bit of sound issues before the show started, Davies kicked right into her hard-driving electric guitar blues. With stinging shuffles like “I Don’t Want No Man,” “Homesick For the Road,” and many more Davies brought the crowd a roaring. Lyrics are also nothing short on Davies and her band leader Don Pastagano with “Worse Kind of Man” and “Picture This.” Davies closed out the show with homage to her mentor Albert Collins ripping through Collins’ signature stinging guitar style on “If You Love Me Like You Say” and a variation on the instrumental “Albert’s Shuffle.” Whether it was slow blues or upbeat driving guitar shuffles, Davies shows why the guitar isn’t just a man’s world. Vocally, I was quite surprised, too because Davies’ records rarely do her justice. Her whiskey-soaked vocals were powerful and emotive during her set, helping carry her songs on not just her guitar work. And with C. Faulker and Pastagano holding down the rhythm section, Davies really had a tight unit and set all the way around.

Day 2 kicked off at 1:30 with free entertainment in the tent for both young and old. David Bernston of the opening night’s band Duo Sonics, kicked off the afternoon with a highly entertaining and informative harmonica lesson for the kids. Bernston, who was awarded the 2006 Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation for education. The first 100 kids through the tent got a free harmonica and a fun lesson to take home and expand on. Throughout the rest of the day, you could hear little kids tooting on their harmonicas. At 2:30, Homemade Jamz Band gave a quick set in familiar favorites to the crowd. The brother-sister trio came to Keokuk the previous year and won over hundreds of fans. With their debut release on Northern Blues driving up the Billboard Blues Charts, Homemade Jamz stock has raised 100 fold since then. The Perrys gave the small crowd under the tent a small taste of what was to come in the evening, as they were scheduled to be the second to last act that night. Tossing out covers like they were their own, Homemade Jamz ran through “Feel So Bad,” “I’ll Play the Blues for You,” and Willie King’s “Back to the Woods.” At the end of the set, father Renaud Perry announced that the group had both and NBC special and possibly a reality TV series on the way for the fall and 2009, and also announced they’d be going back to the studio in the fall. Blues fans were given the afternoon to nap, eat, or enjoy the August weather until the evening time.

At 5:30, the main stage once again was alight with blues talent, this time Iowa’s IBC entrant the Avey Brothers. With their hard-driving mixture of blues, blues-rock, and swamp sounds; they tore through a mix of originals from their new album Devil In My Bed. With hard-stinging guitar songs like Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Willie the Wimp,” Tab Benoit’s version of “I Put A Spell on You,” Freddie King’s “I’ve Got A Woman,” and originals like “Garbage Man” and the swampy “Her Mind is Gone,” the Avey Brothers set the stage on fire and as Mark Avey told me afterwards they increased their fan base, selling out of their CDs. Memphis watch out! The Avey Brothers have got a tough brand of blues ready to blues you come next February! Look for them in a town near you as they are out on the road supporting their album.

 

 

 

The festival met its only real hiccup when festival leader Leland Robinson announced that Trampled Under Foot had to cancel due to vehicle trouble, as they were stranded outside their home of Kansas City. However, with good luck, Penelope and the Unusual Suspects were still in town and were ready to take the stage. For one last time for the weekend, the six-piece veterans took the stage and kept the stage on fire, and being the veterans they are played an entirely different set.

Homemade Jamz then took the stage and if the stage was afire, now it was ablaze as the family brought in their downhome brand of electric blues and Mississippi funk. Playing most of the selections off their new album, the crowd went bonkers. They came to a near frenzy as the guitar playing brothers Ryan and Kyle flicked a switch on their homemade muffler guitars and took to walking through the crowd without missing a note. Flashes and cell phones lit up the night sky as kids and grown-ups alike wanted to snap a picture of the future of the blues walking in front of them like a stranger in the crowd. It truly was a sight to see!

The night was capped by the high-energy vibe and positive message of zydeco legend CJ Chenier. Chenier’s music has won the world over countless times. This time was no exception. With both washboard and accordion, CJ and his father Clifton have taken the mixture of Cajun rhythms and blues to the world’s stage again and again becoming the pioneers of one of America’s oldest traditions.
Bringing America’s blues and roots music to the little old town by the river for 20 years now, Keokuk IA can count this year as a winner. With great tunes and great weather, Rolling On the River will roll on again and again. It really was a true pleasure to walk around the festival, getting to see both artist and blues lover alike in such a family atmosphere. Mark this August weekend on your calendar next year folks if you’ve never been! With a little bit of river charm, Rolling On the River will win your heart if you’re new to the blues or if you need a weekend to go and get away to hear some good music.