UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Tallman Hotel and Blue Wing Saloon Restaurant in Upper Lake have announced the lineup for their 11th annual Blue Wing Blues Festival, which takes place this year from Friday, Aug. 4, through Sunday, Aug. 6.
Details of a followup show on Labor Day, September 5 will be announced shortly.
Highlights this year include American Blues as interpreted by Japanese and German performers plus the veteran bluesman Sonny Rhodes, master of the lap steel guitar.
Starting at 6:30 p.m. each day of the festival, these top blues musicians will perform on the veranda of the hotel with the audience gathered in the intimate garden between the hotel and restaurant.
“It’s a nice time of day and a pleasant spot to enjoy world-class music,” said owner Bernie Butcher. “With a top quality barbeque dinner thrown in with the price of admission, it’s a great value for music lovers.”
Opening night this year on Friday, Aug. 4, is a special Japanese Blues Night featuring a Japanese-centered barbeque and Japanese appetizers for sale from sponsor Oco Tine Restaurant in Ukiah.
Music is by a band organized by well-known percussionist Akira Tana. Born and raised in California, Tana earned degrees from Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music.
As a session musician, Tana has appeared on over 150 recordings. His third US release as a bandleader is a project by his Secret Agent Band playing themes from the movies of James Bond featuring vocalist Annie Sellick.
Sellick and the band will open for Tana and his Blues combo featuring Midori Ono on the Hammond Organ and the great Takezo Takeda on guitar and vocals.
The love of American blues music brought Takeda to California in 1985 and he has since made his mark in and around the Bay Area.
“Takezo stole the show when he made a guest appearance with the Nancy Wright Band at our 2015 Festival,” said Butcher, “and it’s great to have him back.”
On Saturday, Aug. 5, it’s German Blues Night featuring Big Mo (Maurice Huffman) and his nine-piece Full Moon Band from Paradise.
Huffman fell in love with the blues around U. S. military bases growing up in Germany and he has built a soulful and popular band since moving to California in 1989.
“Mo and the band have played the Blue Wing and the Festival several times,” said Butcher. “They’re great guys and they make wonderful music together.”
As a special treat, Huffman has recruited his longtime friend from Germany Volker Strifler to join the group as a special guest.
“Volker is a headliner with his own band touring the country, so it’s a special treat to have him join the party,” said Butcher.
Opening for both the Saturday and Sunday headliners will be the accomplished blues duo Chicken and Dumpling composed of Charles Oriel (“Chicken”) and Julia Simon (“Dumpling”).
Both professors at U. C. Davis, this duo plays down-home, delta-style blues with great harmony and feeling.
Headliner on Sunday, Aug. 6, is Sonny Rhodes, a Texas-born legend in the business. Rhodes has been a popular songwriter, musician and entertainer for over half a century.
Rhodes is proficient on both the electric and lap steel guitar and he projects a genuine love for the blues. He and his band have nine recordings to their name and Sonny has been nominated fifteen times for various Blues Music Awards.
“I’m what you call a self-proclaimed Disciple of the Blues,” said Rhodes about his years playing and singing for fans around the world.
Tallman Hotel Manager Susan Mesick summed up the 2017 Blue Wing Blues Festival this way: “Our staff puts a lot of effort into this festival every year and we look forward to giving our guests a great time and serving them a fabulous barbeque dinner while they enjoy the music.”
Tickets are limited to 100 each evening and may be purchased directly at the Tallman Hotel, located on Main Street in Upper Lake, or by calling the Hotel reception desk at 707-275-2244, Extension 0.
Ticket prices are $50 plus tax if purchased in advance and $55 at the gate.
More information can be found at www.tallmanhotel.com/events.
Japanese and German nights highlight Blue Wing Blues Festival Aug. 4 to 6
- Lake County News reports
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