So I’ve been thinking about this Merle Haggard tune, which opens with the line: “Everybody sings the blues sometimes. And everybody knows the tune.”
Yes, indeed, everybody’s had the blues. If you don’t have them now, well, at some point they’re rolling down the tracks at you. Fortunately, there’s music.
And blues music can be sad. But it can also be infinitely happy. And it can be — and is — a thousand other things.
This Saturday is the Shasta Blues Society’s 17th annual Blues by the River Festival at Lake Redding Park. Headlining the event (gates open at 11 a.m.) is the J.C. Smith Band. The Bay Area native guides the 2006 Bay Area Blues Society’s West Coast Blues Band of the Year.
J.C. Smith
I have so many great memories of this festival. I remember Chicago’s Eddie “The Chief” Clearwater working through a great set from his album “Cool Blues Walk” while being backed by the amazing Duke Robillard, who had just performed. I remember a performance by the incomparable Roy Gaines and the way he looked up at me while signing a CD when I said, “God bless you, man.”
The late oh-so-great Portland bluesman Paul DeLay has lit up this stage. The names tend to go on and on — Curtis Salgado, Long John Hunter and Canned Heat are some others that pop quickly to mind.
What I also love about this event is the laidback atmosphere under the shade of the huge oaks at Lake Redding Park. Look beyond the stage, and there’s the Sacramento River gliding along. Grab a beer. Grab a seat. Listen to some blues. It just seems like the perfect antidote for life’s problems, which can seem pretty earth-shattering at times.
Before Smith takes the stage, there are a host of other artists who will channel this great music, including frequent Blues by the River Festival performer Bill Noteman and the Rockets, the Craig Allen Blues Band, the Backyard Blues Band, the Shasta Blues Revue and the Siskiyou Blues Society’s Dave Amour Band. For more information on the festival, visit the Shasta Blues Society’s site.
For the past couple of years, another great event — the Downtown Redding Beer and Wine Festival — has coincided with the blues festival. This event runs from 4 to 8 p.m. on the 1700 block of Market Street in front of the Cascade Theatre. The list of participating breweries, wineries and restaurants is pretty impressive. Check it out.
There’s nothing wrong with relaxing at either event, but please keep an eye out for your friends and those around you. It’s a noble act to take the keys from someone who shouldn’t be driving because they’re impaired.
