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National
Women in Blues Festival |
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The journey to making the National Women in Blues Festival has been interesting to say the least. Women have had to promote themselves and fight for every gig. Women kept blues going during wars just like their counter parts in other work fields. Women booked the bands, fed them dinner, sewed the costumes, booked the rooms, and more, all while they fronted the band and put on a show. Even now you see many a male artists who has a woman behind him, getting him to the stage or handling his business, and yet women get overlooked to this day. You don't see that happening in rock, pop or country music, where things have become a lot more equal, but for some odd reason the women have been kept under thumb in blues genre.
In the last few years we have tried to help spread the word to aide many women artists who had health issues or were about to lose their homes. Men have these hardships, too, but it seems they get big press and we women often rely on spreading the word amongst ourselves.
Below you will find a list of some of the most talented women on this planet who have graced the stages of the National Women in Blues Festival #1, #2 and #3! Stay tuned for WiB #4 in 2009!!
Help play a part in keeping the Women in Blues Festival alive! Support Live Music! Support the Blues! Most importantly, support Women in Blues!
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National Women in Blues Festival Artists! (in alphabetical order)
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Gaye Adegbalola - Maintaining the blues legacy, she now sees herself as a contemporary griot – keeping the history alive, delivering messages of empowerment, ministering to the heartbroken, and finding joy in the mundane. As a founding member of Saffire – the Uppity Blues Women, she became a full-time performer. She has toured nationally and internationally, and has won numerous awards including the prestigious Blues Music Award (formerly the W.C. Handy Award – the Grammy of the blues industry). As of Summer 2008, Adegbalola has 12 CDs in national distribution, including 3 on her own label, Hot Toddy Music. Gaye composes, sings and plays acoustic guitar, slide guitar, and harmonica. |
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Sandy Atkinson - Her musicial influences are: Etta James, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, Otis Redding, Elvis, Joplin, Sam & Dave, Big Mama Thornton and her Mom to name a few. She is based in the Tampa Bay area and works with a band and also perfoms solo or duo acoustic shows. Known for her diversity in writing styles and dynamic vocals Sandy
has released 4 CDs of original songs to great reviews in the US, Europe and
Australia. "She is a powerful vocalist and a gifted songwriter." Norman
Darwin, Blues In Britain |
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Patty Benson - It wasn't until she became mature in years thatshe was smitten with the appreciation and love for Blues. She intently studied the idiom of Big Momma Thornton, Big Mabelle, Koko Taylor, Bobby Blue Bland, Muddy Waters and Eddie "Clean Head" Vinson. Her influences span several genres including Soul Blues. Patty was predominantly influenced by Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Clarence Carter, Denise LaSalle and Esther Phillips. |
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Big Red and the Soul Benders - With a sultry, low down, reach inside you voice Big Red fronts this band with a style all her own.She has been called the next Janis Joplin, also told she sounds like Koko Taylor & Big Mama Thornton. BigRed And the Soul Benders is a great little blues band from Mountain Home Arkansas. Winners of the 2006 Texarkana blues society battle of blues bands and Winners of the Sonny boy blues society's battle of the bands 2007. They have won the main stage spot for the Arkansas Blues and heritgage fest & were contestants in the IBC in Memphis, TN, in 2008 . |
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Deanna Bogart - Down Beat magazine describes Deanna Bogart as "an extravagant entertainer"-- and entertain is what Bogart does best. The Maryland-based blues and boogie pianist / saxophonist combines the energy of 1930's style boogie piano blues with contemporary blues sounds emanating from places like New Orleans, Chicago and Memphis. "The goal when we play live," says Bogart, "is to create a fusion of all these different musical styles with the blues and boogie genuinely at the core." |
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Laura Chavez - John Orr, from Triviana, said: "Chavez is still coming up against sexism, from fans who are surprised when the find the guitar player is a petite woman.
'People look at me and -- I always get the surprised looks -- 'What's this gonna be about?' I had one guy say, 'You're the guitar player? I'll try not to throw things at you.'''
But, after the shows, Chavez gets her props. ''It's nice to see people eat their words,'' she says." |
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Sarah Cole - Don't let her age fool ya! Sarah brings her love and knowledge of the blues guitar with the talent of players far beyond her years. She has been on stage with other artists such as Guitar Shorty, Robert Randolph, Duwayne Burnside, Michele and the Midnight Blues, Candye Kane, Laura Chevez, and the list just keeps growing! Keep a keen eye on this one! |
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Grit Pixies - ELIZA LYNN (guitar, banjo, vocals) & JILL FROMEWICK (harmonica, washboard, vocals) - In a blues scene dominated by bluesmen, blues women, Grit Pixies, promise to deliver more sound per square inch than your average blues duo – in cute dresses to boot. With one guitar, two voices, multiple harmonicas, and plenty of personality, all brought together by a single microphone, Grit Pixies play traditional and original duets, inspired by harmonica/ guitar duos of both the present (Cephas and Wiggins, Annie Raines and Paul Rishell) and of days past (Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Fred McDowell and Johnny Woods). |
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Juke Joint Judy - Playing since 1964 , Judy says, "Today I play the blues, the whole blues and nothing but the blues. And I play it MY way – Juke Joint style.
My mission in life is to keep the blues alive traveling around the world with an angel by my side. " |
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Valerie June - Influenced by Elizabeth Cotten, Roscoe Holcomb, Gillian Welch, Norman and Nancy Blake, The Carter Family, Tracy Chapman, and so many more. Now living in Memphis, TN, Valerie plays what she terms "Organic Moonshine Folk Music". |
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Candye Kane - Candye Kane may still be a well-kept mainstream secret but in most underground circles, her diva status is legendary. She has been making music professionally for over two decades and toured worldwide since 1992, performing for amazingly diverse audiences. She played at the French Embassy in Rome for the President of Italy, headlined the Rhythm Riot, a rockabilly and R&B festival in the UK, and belted it out alongside Ray Charles at the Cognac Blues Festival. She slayed em' at the Cannes Film Festival, kept them enthralled at New York Gay Pride and most recently, helped organize a thirteen city tour of the Netherlands for special needs kids. |
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E.G. Kight - EG Kight is now well positioned in the blues world, honored with three prestigious W.C. Handy nominations in 2004. Her song, "Let the Healing Begin," was selected in the final round of the International Songwriting Competition (ISC). EG's songs were chosen for two successful NARM/BMA compilations (Get the Blues! and Get the Blues 2!), each maintaining Billboard chart positions for more than a year. In addition to her own live performances (both solo/acoustic and with her band), EG has shared the stage with such notables as Taj Mahal, Delbert McClinton, Phoebe Snow, Merle Haggard, and Little Feat. |
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Sarah Lemieux - Sarah's influences ride the river, from Robert Johnson, Freddie King and Koko Taylor, on through Jimi Hendrix and Bonnie Raitt, to Bjork, Daniel Lanois and Pierre Bensusan. After college, she added some indie-rock to her mix, lending her vocals to bands like Brother Love, Hapikrak, and Toke Squealy, but she always returned to the blues. |
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Rose & Charlie Lucas - Charlie has played lead guitar for legends such as James Brown, Ottis Redding, BB King and Muddy Waters. Rose is an acomplished singer and pianist and still plays organ for their church on Sundays. They have played clubs and festivals all over the South Eastern region as a duo. Known as Wilmington, NC's "Grandparents of the Blues" they have opened for the National Women in Blues Festival three years straight, and it is tradition that will continue as long as they are able. |
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Michele Lundeen - Dubbed "The Queen of Steam" for her stirring vocals and electrifying stage presence, she does indeed command attention. Often described as "Janis Joplin meets Bonnie Raitt" (or think Lydia Pense, Bonnie Bramlett, Bette Midler, Etta James, Aretha Franklin!), Michele is a powerful, soulful vocalist with an incomparable style all her own, effortlessly blending classic roadhouse rhythm & blues, jump swing, Memphis groove, sultry jazz and funky soul and even some N'Awlins style 2nd line into a satisfying musical stew. |
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Michele and the Midnight Blues -Michele and the Midnight Blues can be heard on many blues radio stations throughout the U.S.A., Europe, parts of Asia, Australia and Argentina to name a few. In the span of a few months they went from a local band in the Southeastern US, to a band heard all over the world in part thanks to the 2006 International Blues Challenge and thanks to their 1st commercial CD release 'Eyes Set To Midnight'. Their song 'Better than I' is getting airplay on rock and adult contemporary stations. The cross over airplay has been a welcome surprise. |
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Laura Price - She’s an All American singer with a sultry stage presence and a voice that demands you're attention-smoky, lonely, sexy, and powerful. It's no wonder her music transcends the blues and crosses a line into music that is unequivocally superb. |
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Pat Pepin - Pat Pepin is a singer and saxophonist who knows the blues from the inside out. She sings with conviction and power, infusing her music with heart-felt emotion reminiscent of her vocal influences: Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and Etta James. From a hardscrabble childhood in central Maine, Pepin began her singing career in the church choir, like countless blues and soul singers before her. See Pat's interview with WFOS radio at WiB#3 here. |
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Peggy Ratusz - BandVillage claims"..her influences ..... Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Ella Fitzgerald and Janis Joplin; B.B. King, Jackie Wilson; Eric Clapton, Ray Charles and John Hiatt. Her music is rooted solidly in emotion and raw talent. Her voice is one that wraps warmly around passion and pain, pride and joy. Many years worth of audiences at nightclubs, pubs, benefits, festivals, and country clubs have recognized, complimented and been appreciative of her capacity vocally, her emotional diversity, her dynamic stage presence, and her warmth as a person." |
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Robin Rogers - Music has been Robin Rogers' consuming passion ever since her days as a teenaged street singer. Possessing a deeply expressive and soulful voice and an infectious enthusiasm for the blues, Robin and her band have developed a devoted and growing following. They won second place in the blues category of the 2007 International Songwriters Competition, and signed with Blind Pig Records in 2008. |
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Niki Sharpe - |
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Suzanne and the Blues Church - With influences like Buddy Guy, Prince, Barbara Lynn, Lady Bo, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Bettye LaVette, Etta James, Albert Collins, Rosetta Tharpe, Ernie Isley, Gary Moore, Joyce Kennedy, Ko Ko Taylor, Victor Johnson. Suzanne can flat burn up a guitar and wails the blues like nobody's business! |
Join us for another addition of the National Women in Blues Festival and support great women artists as well as the one true musical genre that was born in the USA of the African American experience.
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Contact Festival Producer Michele
Seidman for a Sponsorship package
for the NWiB #4. Serious
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Email: WilmywoodMayor@aol.com (Type "Sponsor" in
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