2019 Chicago Blues Festival - bare basics - much more to be added
Friday, June 7th
Charlie Musselwhite played an excellent set of his music. The picture below is not from the Festival. He was smooth and strong.

Billy Boy Arnold ably played several numbers with Musselwhite
Jimmy Johnson is amazing! At age 90, his mastery of the guitar and singing show no sign of his age. He is a delight to watch. The picture below is not from the Festival.
Saturday
Jesse "Guitar" Robinson was a solid, solid guitarist and singer. His music is jazzy, powerful and consistently very good. Though nothing was extraordinary, he seemed like someone who deserved more fame.
Super Chikan plays with a lot of finesse, with rapidv guitar licks. His all female backup group is very solid also. His music is consistently great. During the later part of his set he played only slide guitar, which sounded flashy. He is very enjoyable to listen to.
Rico McFarland, Wayne Baker Brooks, and Carl Weathersby played music that varied in quality and style soloing separately.
McFarland seemed solid. Baker Brooks to me sounded screeching and annoying. Weathersby finished the set nicely
Lattimore played solid, great music! He played a lot of his singles which were very enjoyable to hear. He is a wonderful performer, with a beautiful voice.
Don Bryant and his music totally, totally blew me away! I had never heard of him. His music was the most enjoyable I had heard through Saturday at the Festival. He "threw" loads of love to the audience several times. He danced with the sign interpreter during instrumental solos several also. He is a huge find for me!
Bettye LaVette had a tough act to follow, coming after Don Bryant. Her music was decent, but I found it repetitive.
Larkin Poe appealed to a good portion of the audience. I didn't enjoy the music significantly, though moments were nice. They did a nice version of a Robert Johnson song, but most of their music wasn't blues.
Larkin Poe appealed to a good portion of the audience. I didn't enjoy the music significantly, though moments were nice. They did a nice version of a Robert Johnson song, but most of their music wasn't blues.
The Connection: Mike Welch played an enjoyable set in memory of former co-leader Mike Ledbetter who tragically died earlier this year at the age of 33. He is a solid guitarist and singer, whose music is solid Chicago blues.
Ruthie Foster played a delightful set. Her music is wonderful! She has a mixture of a most relaxing ease which makes much of her music very mellow with obvious strong self-confidence which adds another layer to what she plays. She played some wonderful blues as well as some other genres. It was a most fitting finish to the Festival! I would highly, highly, highly recommend her (as well as Don Bryant).
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