This week's Blues Update...

[tsedivy]

Greetings Blues Fans,

Some sweet concert footage from FarmAid here: http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.3263901/k.A4EB/2007_Webcast_Videos.htm

Click here for Bob Dylan/Elvis Costello Pre-sale tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/06003F1D885165A4?artistid=734972&majorcatid=10001& minorcatid=1

I haven't plugged this in quite a while, so some of you may not be hip. The Legendary Blues Cruise is presented by Roger Nabor, a cool cat that used to own The Grand Emporium in KCMO. I have been on five of these international Blues Cruises, and they are as great as you can imagine. Click here for all the details. http://www.bluescruise.com/

Speaking of cruises, the 9/30 cruise with Geoff Achison, Old School, and Out of the Blue is almost sold out. The last of the tickets are at Murphy's, McKenna's, Bar Fly and The Lift. $25 per person. BSO members can buy up to two at $20 each. Cruise is 3pm-6pm.

Huge week of Blues starts tonight, Tuesday, 9/18 with Ana Popovic at Murphy's Lounge. Mike Zito and his band open the show at 5:15pm. Cover charge $10.
“Popovic is much more than a pretty face with a guitar. She fuses healthy does of rock, jazz, soul, and other styles into her own brand of American roots music; well – let’s just say that the camera really likes her, too.” – Guitar One Magazine “Popovic gives the audience some searing blues guitar, smooth jazzy licks, and a proof that the incarnation of Jimi Hendrix is a woman.” – Jazz News
Check out the Nightshakers Jam at Downtown Blues Wednesday nights.
Chris Duarte returns to the Zoo Bar for a 6pm show on TH. He won a major label deal with Silvertone Records and released Texas Sugar/Strat Magik in 1994 to considerable immediate notice. He was named “Best New Talent” in Guitar Player’s 1995 Reader's Poll, and finished fourth in the magazine’s “Best Blues Guitarist” category behind legends Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and B.B. King. But something more than just blues guitar wizardry was at work within the Chris Duarte Group. Musician magazine recognized it three years later on Tailspin Headwhack, praising “Duarte’s monstrous chops, from funk to punk, from Hendrix to B.B. King, all marked by Duarte’s percussive, in-your-face Strat sound and a subtle use of samples, loops and electronics.”
Also Thursday at 5:30pm at Murphy's is Guitar Wiz Debbie Davies. Cover charge $10.Debbie Davies has taken the blues world by storm since leaving her mentor, the late guitar great Albert Collins. There are more female guitarists on the scene today than ever before, but Davies is the only one who came up through the ranks by cutting her chops with one of the masters, and she is proud to have been among the few that have broken down barriers and enabled others to follow. (Davies plays the Zoo Bar on Friday night).
Chicago Blues Harp-Master Bill Lupkin brings his band of veteran Blues musicians to McKenna's stage on Friday 9/21.
The weather forecast for Saturday's Playing with Fire looks perfect: Sunshine. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 60s.
The forecast for top-shelf blues is even better. The Fabulous Thunderbirds headline, with support from Papa Mali and The Jazzwholes. The Blues Ed kid's bands start the music at 4:30pm. Visit www.Playingwithfireomaha.com for all the details. For the past 30 years, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been the quintessential American band. The group's distinctive and powerful sound, influenced by a diversity of musical styles, manifested itself into a unique musical hybrid via such barnburners as "Tuff Enuff" and "Wrap It Up." Co-founder Kim Wilson, the sole original member; still spearheads the group as it evolves into its newest incarnation.
Get out and get into it.
Terry O'Halloran
Blues Society of Omaha Prez and emailer