A Case of the Blues: Handy Festival Back for 18th Year

By James Mayse, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

Jun. 6–America is the home to a variety of musical styles. But every one of those styles — from rock ‘n’ roll and jazz to soul and hip-hop — has the blues as its heart.

Henderson has a heart and history full of blues, too.

In the 1890s, bandleader W.C. Handy lived in Henderson, where he both met his future wife and first encountered the African-American form of music he called “the blues.”

Before long, Handy was writing the blues himself. Today, he is considered one of the fathers of blues music.

Beginning this weekend, Henderson will celebrate its blues legacy when the Henderson Music Preservation Society opens the 18th annual W.C. Handy Blues and Barbecue Festival.

The event brings some of the biggest names in blues — as well as rising young blues and soul artists — to the banks of the Ohio River for days of free concerts in Audubon Mill Park, on the Henderson Riverfront on North Water Street between Second and Third streets. The free concerts also draw thousands of visitors, who overflow the park and spill into the streets.

This year, the festival is bigger than ever, with an expanded day of music on Wednesday. Wednesday’s headline performer is Ronnie Baker Brooks, an electric blues talent who packed the park when he performed at the festival in 2003.

Christi Dixon, the festival’s promotion chairwoman, said the music committee carefully selects which artists will perform, and it often has to turn high-quality musicians away for lack of space on the bill.

“We’d love to have everybody,” Dixon said. “But there’s not enough budget, and there aren’t enough nights.”

The festival kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday with the “Taste of Henderson” in Central Park, at First and South Main streets. Cooking teams will serve up barbecue until the stocks are sold out. Music will be provided throughout the day by Chad Nordhoff, Mojo Peddlers, Velveeta Jones and the Daddy Mack Blues Band.

Wednesday is “Red, White and Blues” night in Audubon Mill Park. Wednesday’s events include children’s activities and music in the park by Hog Maw Blues Band, Ana Popovic, Eddie Shaw & the Wolfgang and Brooks.

“It’s our biggest Wednesday night ever as far as names coming in,” Dixon said. “We’ve got a Saturday night roster for a Wednesday night, so we’re real excited.”

Music for the festival is selected by a committee that listens to countless demo tapes and works with record labels to attract the best performers.

“We try to bring a little bit of each type and variation of blues,” Dixon said. “We try to bring in a whole variety of styles, and we like finding new talent.”

Thursday night is “Zydeco Night,” with music by The Huckleberrys, Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp, and a returning favorite, Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band.

“He’s so much fun,” Dixon said of Carrier. “He livens up the place, and we enjoy having him back each year.”

The festival committee will also be serving red beans and rice, andouille sausage and other traditional Cajun foods. Music and food sales begin at 4 p.m. in Audubon Mill Park. The food sales are one way the nonprofit Music Preservation Society keeps the festival free.

Friday’s concert begins at noon at Audubon Mill Park, with free music until midnight. Featured performers include Blues 4U, Small Train featuring Jesse Sellers, The Stella Vees, The Beat Daddys, Tad Robinson and Zac Harmon.

On Saturday, June 14, the festival resumes with the popular “Street Strut” New Orleans-style people’s parade. The parade begins at 10 a.m. in Central Park.

Music begins in Audubon Mill Park at noon Saturday, with performances by Jimmy Duck Holmes, Boo Boo Davis, The Organiks, Alexis P. Suter, Big James and the Chicago Playboys and Bernard Allison.

The festival goes on, rain or shine.

“We don’t intend to try to move this thing indoors,” Dixon said. “If it’s not too bad weather, we’re OK.”

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Copyright (c) 2008, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

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