The Smiley Tillmon Band featuring Kate MossTillmon and his band perform on the second day of the Chicago Blues Festival. Fri 6/9, 6:15 PM (music starts at noon), Rosa’s Lounge stage (North Promenade), Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph, free, all ages Anyone under the mistaken impression that blues music is depressing has never seen Chicago guitarist […]
Author Archives: Bill Dahl
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Soul singer Ruby Andrews makes a career change
In its nearly 40-year history, the Chicago Blues Festival has frequently saluted the city’s vibrant soul-music legacy with all-star sets underscoring the connection between soul and blues. This year is no exception. On Saturday, June 11, at Pritzker Pavilion, what’s billed as a Chicago Soul Tribute pays homage to three local legends: saxophonist-producer Gene “Daddy […]
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The Reader’s guide to the 2019 Chicago Blues Festival
The Blues Festival diversifies its lineup for 2019, with suave and sexy R&B star Latimore, deep-soul legend Don Bryant, genre-defying singer Bettye LaVette, and many more.
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Latimore proves himself a smooth soul-blues survivor
Florida soul-blues veteran Latimore outlasted disco decades ago, and on his most recent album he applies his inimitable voice to the Great American Songbook.
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Bettye LaVette can make any song sound like it was written for her
Bettye LaVette debuted with a hit soul single in 1962, but she’s long since transcended genre, singing blues, country, pop, funk, rock, and more.
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Memphis veteran Don Bryant returns to soul after decades away
Don Bryant narrowly missed stardom at Hi Records in the 60s, but now he’s taking another swing.
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The Reader’s guide to the 2018 Chicago Blues Festival
The fest expands its footprint in Millennium Park with a diverse lineup that includes boogie-woogie pianist Erwin Helfer, southern soul-blues star Ms. Jody, and the Rising Stars Fife & Drum Band with Shardé Thomas.
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Gene Barge blew his sax on some of the wildest R&B hits of the 60s
The Blues Festival pays tribute to 91-year-old saxophonist Gene “Daddy G” Barge with a set with by his longest-running band, the Chicago Rhythm & Blues Kings.
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Willie Clayton still has his sterling voice as his career nears its golden anniversary
For Willie Clayton’s fourth appearance on the Blues Festival’s main stage, the southern soul king will be cooking with a full band—backup singers, horn players, and all.
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Denise LaSalle earned her crown in southern soul—and wears it in the blues
In a career spanning 50 years, Denise LaSalle has proved herself a riveting performer and chart-topping songwriter.
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At age 88, late-blooming guitarist Jimmy Johnson enters his fifth decade in the blues
Jimmy Johnson—older brother of Syl—started out playing soul, but he came into his own as a bluesman in the late 1970s.
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William Bell makes a triumphant return to Stax after more than 40 years
Willam Bell’s 2016 album This Is Where I Live has attracted new generations of fans to his classic southern soul.
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The Reader’s guide to the 2016 Chicago Blues Festival
This year’s Chicago Blues Festival bustles with a diversity of traditions and talents—including Irma Thomas, Lazy Lester, Wee Willie Walker, John Primer, and tributes to Otis Rush and Otis Clay.
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Twin Cities soul veteran Wee Willie Walker makes his overdue Chicago debut
Twin Cities soul veteran Wee Willie Walker finally plays Chicago on the strength of last year’s If Nothing Ever Changes.
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Irma Thomas extends her benevolent reign
New Orleans soul queen Irma Thomas has been recording for almost six decades—and singing at the Blues Festival since 1989.