Most of the well-known headliners at this weekend’s 31st annual Chicago Blues Festival are older artists with mainstream appeal—that is, they play some combination of vintage blues, soul, and R&B. This is more or less standard operating procedure for the fest, but the 2014 lineup distinguishes itself in other ways: further down the bill you’ll find an array of talent more diverse than in many recent years, covering soul-blues, roots rock, old-time string-band music, and more.
Half our writeups are of artists on the side stages, though—their bookings are even more eclectic, and deep enough that it’s worth mentioning a few sets we didn’t cover at greater length. Harpist Sugar Blue, on the Front Porch Stage on Sunday, uses pyrotechnical prowess to deconstruct traditional blues with fury and audacity; soul-blues stylist Pat Brown, who plays the Rhythm & Blues Stage on Sunday, imbues a smooth, amiably rakish blend of neosoul and contemporary R&B with bluesy immediacy and emotional depth. Homemade Jamz, a family act from Tupelo, Mississippi, play the Crossroads Stage on Sunday; they’ve outgrown their novelty-act cuteness to become a fully realized blues band. And Saturday’s “Blues Divas” revue on the Crossroads Stage is a mini survey of contemporary styles: Deitra Farr melds Chicago blues with deep soul, funk, and pop; Peaches Staten spices up her bluesy vocals with rhythms she taps and scratches on a frattoir (the washboard worn by zydeco percussionists); Nellie “Tiger” Travis switches between contemporary soul-blues numbers and 12-bar Chicago standards sung with a full-bodied power that recalls the late Koko Taylor.
2 PM Kevin Purcell & the Nightburners (2013 Chicago Blues Challenge band winner)
12:45 PM Guy King
2:30 PM Mr. Sipp “The Mississippi Blues Child”
3 PM Cicero Blake Chicago soul and blues singer Cicero Blake is 76, and his voice has coarsened and stiffened over the years. But on his most recent album, last year’s Cicero (CDS), his keening tenor remains compelling, largely because he can convey strong emotion through subtle variations in timbre and tone. This gift of his is especially evident on songs such as “Yes I Do,” the testimonial of a scarred soul survivor desperate to keep believing in the redemptive power of love; the pleadingly vulnerable “Be Careful With My Heart“; and “Damn Fool,” a hard-eyed admonition to an abused woman, telling her to get out before it’s too late. Chicagoan Bob Jones wrote most of the material, and coproducer Ronnie Hicks sweetened the mix with fatback horns. —David Whiteis
Fri-Sun 6/13-6/1511 AM-10 PMGrant ParkFreeAll ages
