In just its third year, the Reading Blues Fest can stand shoulder to shoulder with just about any blues festival in the country in terms of major talent. They certainly have their pulse on the leading acts. Many of the top contemporary blues artists performed as well as traditional ones too. Many BMA Winners and a couple of Grammy nominees. Some stretched the usual view of the genre into other forms closer to rock or jazz. This writer was only able to attend on Saturday evening, November 23rd so the commentary will be centered on the three acts of that night at the Doubletree Hotel.
It deserves mention though that the November 22nd event featured multiple BMA winners The Nick Moss Band with Dennis Gruenling, BMA nominee and rising star Vanessa Collier, and this year’s new sensation and Grammy nominee Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. Saturday afternoon featured Albert Castigilia and a buzz worthy big band tribute to the music of Paul Butterfield with Rob Paparozzi & The Ed Palermo Big Band featuring Robben Ford. Sunday had a triple header with BMA nominee Deanna Bogart, BMA winners Rick Estrin & the Nightcats with Frank Bey and multiple BMA nominee Toronzo Cannon. There were film features and many local and regional acts both in the Doubletree Hotel and in surrounding clubs.
So, Saturday night, for this writer, found the earliest act of the evening, John Primer and The Real Deal Blues Band the most satisfying and consistent of the three. Usually in this kind of format it would be the headliner but Primer is one of maybe two artists, the other being Lurrie Bell, that are carrying the torch of traditional electric Chicago Blues. Primer played in Muddy Waters’ last band and he’s the closet thing we to Muddy today. He knows the tunes, plays the slide and has a first class harp player in Steve Bell, son of harp legend Carey Bell.
The rhythm section comprised of bassist Danny O’Conner and drummer Lenny Media are veterans of the late Magic Slim’s Teardrops. They played in the smaller ballroom where the acoustics are better and had an engaged and enthused audience. Three tunes in Bell, Primer, and O’Connor all walked off stage into the audience playing while Media kept the beat. Of course, the Muddy tunes were the favorites like “Mannish Boy,” “Hootchie Cootchie Man,” Sugar Sweet” and “40 Days and 40 Nights.” Other recognizable tunes were Howlin’ Wolf’s “Three Hundred Pounds of Heavenly Joy,” the showcase for Bell, Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Help Me” and even the Rolling Stones’ “Let It Bleed.” Primer and the Real Deal proved to be not one trick ponies with a stinging guitar version of “Slip Away” and a soulful rendition of “Rainy Night in Georgia.” They left the audience standing and exhausted after their blistering 90 minute set. Primer and The Real Deal Blues Band also hosted the late night jam.
A much slimmed-down Victor Wainwright and his sextet, The Train, were the first on the Grand Ballroom stage, playing extended versions (6 compared to Primer’s 14) of tunes from their 2019 Grammy nominated Victor Wainwright and The Train. Wainwright’s grand entrance would seemingly indicate that the focus is mainly on him, but he did a superb job of showcasing his band, especially guitarist Pat Harrington and the Roomful of Blues horn men -trumpeter Doug Woolverton and saxophonist Mark Earley. Hearing a synthesizer solo from Wainwright was somewhat jarring after the Primer set but the clear highlight was when they invited guitarist Albert Castiglia to join them for Freddy King’s “Same Old Blues,” Wainwright stepped away from his piano and sang without a microphone, even wandering into the crowd while doing so. Earley’s killer tenor solo and the dual guitar workout between Harrington and Castigilia added to blues every bit as deep as what Primer had laid down. Wainwright is a four-time BMA winner including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer of the Year from 2016. He knows how to engage an audience and they were with him every step of the way, even during the improvisational moments.
Headliner alto saxophonist and vocalist Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers lived up to their band name. They did rock the house with several from their latest No Good Deed, (which highly impressed this writer) yet somehow their set did not come across as bluesy or even as blues rock oriented as the album. They were dressed in black, just as they appear of the album cover and there’s no denying the musicianship of stellar rocking guitarist Randy Jacobs, keyboardist Rodney Lee, drummer vocalist Third Richardson and bassist Ben White. The three-piece Berks Horns joined them on several tunes. The band had plenty of punch but didn’t have the same riveting connection to the audience as the other two preceding acts. Maybe their sprinkling of smooth jazz a la David Sanborn, cover of Stills’ “Love the One You’re With” and stomping rock tunes were a bit too far from the bluesy fare the audience had enjoyed and/or were expecting. Give the band some credit though. They mixed it up with a couple of acoustic based tunes and delivered an explosive set that would have drawn even bigger raves from a more rock focused audience.
Kudos to the many volunteers, The Berks Arts Council, its General Manager John Ernesto who also is the visionary for the long-running Berks Jazz Fest, and to long-time blues promoter of the Pocono and Pennsylvania Blues Festivals Michael Cloeren. The Reading Blues Fest is already on firm ground with a terrific future.
Photos by Tina Pastor
