Bradenton Blues Festival features giants of the genre
If you're a blues lover, you'll probably want to see every single act in this year's Bradenton Blues Festival. But if you're a human being with things to do and people to see, you may not be able to devote nine hours to the music.
Here's a quick look at the acts in this year's lineup for those of you who need to be selective about which acts to catch.
Albert Castiglia
(11-11:40 a.m.) A Miami-based vocalist and guitarist who toured the world with the great blues harp player Junior. A Miami alternative paper recently named him the city's best guitarist. He released his first solo album in 2002.
Johnny Rawls
(11:55 a.m.-12:55 p.m.) A Mississippi native who's been playing professionally since the 1960s. He's been nominated for four W.C. Handy Awards, and his 2006 album "Heart and Soul" was named "Soul Blues Album of the year by the Blues Foundation.
John Nemeth
(1:10-2:10 p.m.) He is one of the hottest up-and-comers in the blues world. He's gained massive praise from important people (Charlie Musselwhite and Junior Watson, for example) for both his harp playing and his singing.
Anthony Gomes
(2:25-3:25 p.m.) He has been called "not bad for a white boy." That doesn't sound like high praise, but it came from Morgan Freeman, so it's pretty darn cool. Gomes is Canadian electric guitarist who's influenced by Clapton, Hendrix and B.B. King.
Trampled Underfoot
(3:40-4:40 p.m.) Kansas City siblings Kris, Danielle and Nick Schnebelen have attracted a rabid national following thanks to Danielle's tasty bass playing and smoldering vocals, Kris' intense drum solos and Nick's fiery guitar work.
Eddie Shaw & the Wolfgang
(4:55-6:05 p.m.) Started off as the backing band for the legendary Howlin' Wolf. Tenor sax man Shaw, who had written a lot of songs on Howlin' Wolf's albums, became the band's leader when Howlin' Wolf died in 1976.
Doug Deming, Dennis Gruenling and the Jewel Tones
(all day) The group will play short sets (15 minutes, if all goes smoothly) while other acts are setting up. Deming and the Jewel Tones all live in the Bradenton area and Gruenling, a harpist who has been joining Deming on the road for many years, hails from New Jersey. Deming recently received the Sean Costello Rising Star Award at the prestigious Blues Blast Awards, which use to be called the W.C. Handy Awards.
This story was originally published December 5, 2013 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton Blues Festival features giants of the genre."