Jun 6

Jun 6 Blues Fest, Day 2

Blues, Chicago, Chicago Tourism, Festivals, Musicians, Performance, Things to Do in Chicago

As I recall, today my weather app forecasted rain for at least a portion of the day. Everybody who wanted to celebrate the Centennial Tribute to B. B. King on the Pritzker Pavilion stage this evening must have collectively wished the rain away. Although the skies were extremely hazy due to the Canadian forest fires, the sun managed to break on through to the other side, as the Doors once sang. The temperature was somewhere in the 60s, making a sweater or hoodie advisable, but not an absolute necessity.

As Millennium Park’s security team was inspecting my camera bag on the park’s western perimeter, I heard someone playing what sounded like Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Child (Slight Return). By the time I made the short walk to Rosa’s Lounge (the stage located in a large tent on Millennium Park’s North Promenade) whoever was playing was still in full Hendrix mode, but he had moved on. That someone was Jamiah “Dirty Deacon” Rogers, backed by the Dirty Church Band. Apparently, the deacon thinks he is playing some form of ‘gospel’ music. Using Hendrix’s original configuration—guitar, bass, and drums—Rogers had anointed himself as a guitar god. Hendrix is obviously his hero, although I am told that earlier during his set, Rogers paid tribute to Al Green, or least singing the sort of soulful songs that Green was known for.

With his lanky body, the Dirty Deacon who was dressed stylishly in a black tee-shirt and strategically torn jeans, leapt, pranced, and preened for his adoring fans. Rogers is the master of guitar pyrotechnics. As I approached the front of the stage, getting into position, he was standing above me, looking down. But he didn’t remain there for long. First, he headed in the drummer’s direction, but then he quickly darted to the other side of the stage. Bounding to the front of the stage, Rogers then stood on the large, floor-mounted speakers as he contorted his body while the crowd showered him with adulation. One older woman with blonde hair was clearly smitten by his musical abilities and larger than life persona.

I didn’t see Rogers play the guitar with teeth or set if on fire with lighter fluid, but he had at least one memorable trick up his non-existent sleeves. Another woman moved to the front of the stage. Rodgers strapped his guitar on her body. Standing behind her, he played it.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]

As the old saying goes, time waits for no one, so I headed to the Mississippi Crossroads stage, where the Johnny Rawls Soul Review was already in progress. Having worked with Joe Tex and Z.Z. Hill, Rawls should have been far more animated. What I heard was proficient, but Rawls is no Road Runner. Maybe I am being unfair after having just come from the Dirty Deacon’s incendiary performance. Things immediately picked up when Rawls introduced a singer wearing a pink dress. She launched into Aretha Franklin’s Chain of Fools. Even after she polished off that classic, she remained in full Franklin mode, belting out soul classics from Franklin’s bygone era.

As I circulated through the enthusiastic crowd, I saw people dancing, or at least swaying. But I needed to get back to Rosa’s to check out Ricco McFarland. Like the Dirty Deacon, McFarland adopted the power trio configuration. While he is a talented guitarist, McFarland put in the worst performance of the day. The bass guitar and bass drum were over amplified. Looking at the drummer, all I saw was a guy with both drumsticks simply banging his drum as if he were a little kid—down stroke after down stroke. No subtle fills whatsoever. A pounding monotonous beat does nothing for me, particularly when played at extreme volume. I stayed about 10 minutes, and then headed to the Pritzker Pavilion.

**A Fan of the Blues Dancing to the Music**

**"Chain, Chain, Chain, Chain of Fools"**

**How Can You Pass Pulled Pork and Beer By?**

**The Good Old Days Brought to You In Vinyl By Delmark Records**

Tonight’s emcee, WDCB’s Tom Marker had just stepped to the mic following the National Anthem. After running through the list of the festival’s sponsors, Marker introduced D.K. Harrell, who now records for Alligator Records. Coming out of Rustin, Louisiana, Harrell grew up watching videos of B.B. King, apparently looking to the King for instruction. Given that the night would close with an all-star tribute to King, Harrell was an excellent choice as tonight’s opener.

Dressed in a flamboyant red suit, Harrell quickly demonstrated that he had learned a lot more from those videos than just how to play a guitar. He had adopted King’s stage mannerisms and vocal inflections. While he sounded like King, he was much more than an imitator. The set was rock solid, with the band producing a rich and full sound, in significant part due to addition of a trumpeter and tenor saxophonist. I shouldn’t omit the keyboard player, who occasional took us to church with his organ work.

Despite being relatively new on the Blues scene—his debut album, the Right Man, was issued just two years ago—Harrell filled the stage, holding the audience’s attention with his guitar playing, vocals, and stage patter. At one point, he did step over the line, asking all the ladies to come to the foot of the stage so that he could serenade them. Within seconds, the already crowded photo pit was filled with dozens of adoring ladies. Millennium Park security stepped in, clearing the pit within three or four minutes. Most of the ladies left immediately, but there were a few stragglers.

**And the Ladies Came to the Front of the Stage When D.K. Asked Them to Step Up**

**Longtime Photo Pit Security Person Sharon Summers Expelling the Ladies from the Photo Pit**

**Escorting the Ladies Out of the Photo Pit**

**The Horns Moving to the Front of the Stage**

Canadian Dawn Tyler Watson then took the stage, bringing with her a baritone sax player and a trumpeter. She also brought Ben Racine, who in 2017, took first place in the International Blues Challenge held in Memphis. With her were John Sadowy (piano), Richard Irwin (drums), Francois Dubé (bass), Moose Mousseau (baritone saxophone) and Kaven Jalbert (tenor saxophone). Together, like D.K. Harrell and company, Watson and her band offered up a solid, multi-layered take on the Blues, with more than a few jazz inflections in her often-sultry voice. At one point, she turned herself into a human trumpet, taking a nice solo.

I must confess, I skipped out on part of what was both a solid and pleasing performance, which proved to be a mistake. I headed back to the North Pavilion to hear vocalist Sheryl Youngblood. Her gospel influences were evident, but once again the bass drum and guitar were mixed at ear-splitting levels. Not sticking around long, I headed back to the Pritzker Pavilion, where I caught the Watson’s final number, which turned into an extended barnburner.

**Nothing Better in Life Thann the Baritone Saxophone**

**Dawn Tyler Watson Taking a Quick Look at the Photographer**

**Sheryl Youngblood Trying, But Unable to Restrain Herself**

**Nellie "Tiger" Travis Taking the Mic**

**The Pritzker Pavilion Filled Up as the Evening Progressed**

**Dad Enjoying Being with His Son While Listening to Dawn Tyler Watson**

**A Blues and Jazz Fest Perennial Seated on His Usual Perch**

**The New ‘Clarence and Bruce’ Are Still Born to Run**

**Momentarily Turning Over the Vocal Duties**

After a brief intermission, harpist Steve Bell and guitarist John Primer took the stage for what was an acoustic set despite Primer opting to play three electric guitars—minimal volume on the amp. Primer calls whatever band he is leading the Real Deal. Today, Primer and Bell joined forces to deliver the real deal when it comes to the Blues. Yes, they were seated in the cavernous Pritzker Pavilion stage, but they were truly two friends sitting on a country porch somewhere in Mississippi. Rico McFarland and the Jamiah “Dirty Deacon” Rogers relied on volume and pile-driver sound coming from a bass guitar and a bass guitar, but Primer and Bell, in all their quietude, were far impactful in delivering their message. Each pluck of the Primer’s guitar strings was clearly enunciated, unless he was playing slide guitar. Then the notes were slippery and elongated. At times, Bell sounded like a steam engine rolling down the track. At others, he sounded as if he was wistfully sitting under a Magnolia tree on a sweltering hot summer day.

The two played a variety of familiar numbers, including Mystery Train and Rosalee. Toward the end of the set, someone screamed “He’s [Primer] is just putting the icing on the cake for the next band.” The entire audience erupted. Yes, the real deal.

“Then walking down that gravel road. Going down south. I. just can’t be satisfied.”

More please.

**Steve Bell Showing His Support for the North Side Team**

**Sliding the Bottleneck Across the Strings**

I was first saw B.B. King with a friend when I was a freshman in high school. My parents drove us down to the Milwaukee Performing Arts Center. His picked us up. It was our first concert, and a memorable one. A few years later, I had the opportunity to sit just off stage from his drummer as an tens of thousands of people took in King’s magic at Milwaukee’s Summerfest. Over the years, I purchased many of his albums, including Live at the Cook County Jail and Live at the Regal. I, therefore, was primed to the Centennial Tribute to B.B. King.

Someone in the Photo Pit told me that the plan was to recreate Live at the Regal. When I arrived home, cued up that classic. I can’t say that the players on stage played every song from the album, but they did the album justice. To the credit of those players, the sound coming from the stage tonight had far more heft than the original recording. In part, the meaty solid may be due to what are now antiquated recording techniques from back in the day. Back in 1965, recording technology was in its infancy, particularly when it came to live, electrified music. Even though the Regal recording does included horns, I attribute tonight’s more polished sound to the excellent horn section, which included a trumpet, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, and last, but not least, one of my favorite instruments, a trombone.

Before the music kicked off, Chicago singer Tammy McCann once again found herself on duty. Thursday night, McCann read a proclamation from Mayor Brandon Johnson honoring Bobby Rush. The Mayor had declared today, June 6, 2025, B.B. King Day in Chicago. Holding the now familiar navy blue folder, McCann read the Mayor’s proclamation, which provided an excellent bio for B.B., as well as a list of his many accomplishments. When McCann finished her pitch-perfect recitation, the crowd erupted with applause for both her and King.

Three successive guitarists assumed B.B.’s role. D.K. Harrell returned to the stage to play tribute and show reverence to the man who taught him guitar through the wonder of videos. Presumably out of respect, Harrell had changed out of his flamboyant red suit, opting for a far more subdued brown and tan attire. As was true when he opened the evening several sets earlier, Harrell did B.B. King justice, as did Jonathan Ellison, who followed Harrell.

The audience, however, was waiting for 26-year-old Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, who hails from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Kingfish played the Chicago Blues Festival several years ago, when his star was beginning its ascent. Flashing forward several years, Kingfish is now a phenom. Had he born much earlier, it might have been “Kingfish is God” written on the walls of London rather than Eric Clapton’s name. For me his singing is serviceable, but there is no doubt that he is a Blues guitar virtuoso. He squeezes out sparks from his six-string guitar, each one clearly and cleanly enunciated. The crowd had waited all evening for him to hit the stage. They were well rewarded by a young man who won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues album

Before the night was finished all three guitarists united on stage for an extended version of King’s classic, the Thrill Is Gone. I can safely say that every person now standing in the packed Pritzker Pavilion and the adjacent green field was more than thrilled when the performance came to an end.