On Saturday June 1st The Lloyd Jones Struggle will present a special evening with Los Angeles recording artist, piano player and singer “Teresa James” at Portland’s premiere nightclub Jimmy Mak’s! This “Starlight Reveue” will begin early at 7pm, with the Portland Starlight Parade following at midnight!
Teresa & Lloyd first met on Delbert McClinton’s “Sandy Beach’s Cruise” years ago, with “Teresa James Rhythm Tramps” returning to play the Portland Waterfront Blues Festival” several times. Since then, Teresa has recorded with Jones on his latest recording “Doin’ What It Takes” and she will be celebrating her own new release “Come on Home” later this month.
Tickets only $10 in advance, $12 at the door!! Please get your tickets early. Don’t miss this special “Starlght Reveue” show, as it will sell out fast!! Just go to www.tickettomato.com to purchase tickets.
BTW – Teresa James will be at this year’s Waterfront Blues Festival singing with Eric Burton. Check out www.teresajames.com or www.lloydjonesmusic.com to find out more!
On Friday, June 7th, Duff’s Garage welcomes back The Sultans Of Slide, the power-house guitar extravaganza featuring a collection of some of the very best players in the Pacific Northwest. The Sultans of Slide were originally the brain-child of Monti Amundson and Franck Goldwasser in 2010 and soon added former Terraplanes/Duffy Bishop guitarist Henry Cooper to the mix. Since Goldwasser moved to Southern California, the band has continued in a new incarnation with two of the finest slide players of the Seattle area in the mix with Rod Cook and Mark Riley, plus Portland’s Joe McMurrian.
The Alberta Rose Theatre presents a very special night, bringing two of the most amazing up and rising blues divas today together for one show. Both are past Blues Music Award nominees, representing both sides of the country, with exceptional musicians playing with them.
Often referred to as “The Hendrix of the Sahara”, Vieux Farka Toure was born in Niafunké, Mali in 1981. He is the son of the late legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Toure, who died in 2006. His father recorded one of the greatest collaboration albums of all time with Ry Cooder, titled Talking Timbuktu, which won a Grammy and illustrated just how close the sounds of Western Africa and the blues actually were. Vieux Farka Toure continues to expand and broaden the sounds of his music, proving himself a more than exceptional guitarist and composer, paying homage to the musicians of the past while looking toward the future and showing that the blues is a blend of generations, from the father to the son.
Wendy DeWitt performs a mix of boogie and blues that Robben Ford describes as “straight from the heart”. Growing up in California, she was deeply influenced by the sounds of Chicago blues and Texas boogie woogie, with particular nods to Otis Spann, Memphis Slim, Professor Longhair, Albert Ammons and her former employer Hank Ballard who called DeWitt his favorite piano player due to her full sound and two-fisted style. One of the most dynamic piano players today, her most recent album titled Industrial Strength finds her teamed up with drummer Kirk Harwood who also has an extensive background in the Bay Area blues scene having worked with Norton Buffalo, Roy Rogers and Huey Lewis. Together they have performed their lively boogie sounds up and down the West Coast and appeared at the 2012 International Blues Challenge.
It has been a long wait for a new CD from the Jim Mesi Band, so it is definitely necessary that a party is thrown to celebrate its release. The new disc, I’m Ready, is filled with the great guitar grooves and tones you would expect from the CBA Muddy and Oregon Music Hall of Fame member, backed by a strong band that includes Scott White on bass/vocals, Ed Neumann on keys/vocals and Johnny Moore on drums. They will all be on hand, and probably several guests as well, at The Trails End Saloon (1320 Main Street) in Oregon City on Saturday, May 25th at 9:00 pm to showcase the new CD and old favorites as well. The Jim Mesi Band always gives the best in entertainment and you can expect no less for this show. 
For more than a decade now, Nick Moss has been noted as one of the finest musicians performing traditional Chicago blues today. Sixteen Blues Music Award nominations over that period should easily attest to that. But he has been expanding his music and has proven he is cutting edge within all bluesy styles he approaches. Consistently touring venues and festivals across the country and into Europe have made these road dogs favorites of blues fans everywhere they make a stop. Nick Moss is a fiery guitarist/harmonica player/vocalist and he joined by the equally talented Michael Ledbetter on second guitar/percussion/vocals and drummer Patrick Seals. It has been a number of years since they last performed in Portland and for those who attended his last shows you know his return is long overdue and highly anticipated.
At a recent Chicago Blues Festival, following the passing of Koko Taylor, Shemekia Copeland was proclaimed the new “Queen of the Blues.” With her passion and energy that she gives forth with every performance, there can be no question that she well deserves the title.