Thursday, July 15 - Otilia Donaire
Image via Otilia Donaire
A mainstay of the San Francisco Bay area club and party circuit, vocalist Otilia Donaire has a reputation for engaging the audience and bringing emotion to her performances at her live shows. Although her initial recordings feature plenty of original blues material, her live shows also cover notable blues artists like Freddie King and Koko Taylor, blues rockers like Stevie Ray Vaughan and even straight ahead rock artists like Rod Stewart. Her repertoire includes blues, rock, R&B and classic rock covers, most of which are instantly recognizable, and are performed with verve and swagger.
Her vocal quality is smooth and sultry when the song requires it but can also be gritty and bluesy. Backed by her trio which is composed of guitar, bass and drums, Otilia and her band can, and do give their all to rock the house and get the audience involved at their California performances.
Conventional wisdom in the blues music field suggests that success is dependent on bringing the music to a live audience in as many divergent venues as a well-planned touring schedule will permit. To that end, a little over a year ago, Otilia was preparing to tour at high profile venues like Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago when the pandemic hit. As it did for many artists, this situation stalled her exposure to a larger national audience, but this was only a temporary setback. Her performance at the Granville Blues Festival will be one step in the process of rising to the challenge of touring, recording, and seeking a wider national audience.
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Friday, July 16 - John Primer
Photo via John Primer
In 1945 John Primer was born in Mississippi, into the agricultural world of the sharecropper, as were many of the most authentic blues musicians. Primer moved to Chicago in 1963 and the rest is history.
In the strata of the blues world, there are newcomers, there are journeymen, and there are the old-timers. Electric Chicago blues was built on the shoulders of the rural blues tradition that was started in the Mississippi delta, among other deep south locales. Primer falls into the latter category, having played some of Chicago’s legendary original roots blues venues like the Maxwell Street market and Theresa’s Lounge, with some of the founding fathers of Chicago blues, like Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, and Magic Slim, with whom he toured and recorded for 14 years starting in the early 1980’s.
To date, he has recorded no less than 77 albums, received 2 Grammy nominations, is in the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame and has won not just many accolades and blues awards, but the enduring respect and admiration of his peers, and fans around the world.
It takes endurance, dedication and talent to rise to the top of an industry where the competition is fierce, and the rewards are measured in more subtle terms than just financial success. To make a mark in the world doing exactly what you love doing, and doing it with panache and grace while making an individual statement are all things that John Primer has achieved. His reputation as an authentic, long serving musician in the blues community is well deserved, and the proof is in the music.
Saturday, July 17 - The Cash Box Kings
Photo by Janet Mami Takayama
The Cash Box Kings
The Cash Box Kings are no strangers to Milwaukee. Lead guitarist Billy Flynn resides in Milwaukee. Co-front man Joe Nosek’s maternal grandmother and grandfather as well as his mom were all born in Milwaukee.
“Milwaukee will always have a fond place in my heart,” Nosek says. “My grandma passed away at age 96 a few months ago but all the way up until the pandemic she would come out and see me every time I played Milwaukee. She shut down Shank Hall several times over the years.”
The high-energy Kings blend Chicago and Delta blues with jumping proto rock ’n’ roll and Memphis rockabilly. Nosek (harmonica and vocals) founded The Cash Box Kings in Madison in 2001 and since 2007 has co-led the band with the charismatic, larger-than-life vocalist Oscar Wilson. Guitarist Flynn, bassist John W. Lauler, drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith and their friend, pianist Queen Lee Kenehira round out the lineup.
Blues music is best served live. The visceral music needs to be experienced to be appreciated. During the pandemic the Kings did the next best thing, performing livestreams wearing masks and as an extra precaution Nosek played harmonica from inside his kids’ tent, set up onstage.
“Nothing beats the experience of playing in front of a crowd of music loving human beings when it comes to live shows,” Nosek says. While that wasn’t an option for the last year or so Nosek says the Kings wanted to stay connected as a band and also reach out to their fan base. “We got a lot of great feedback from our fans so we know that it helped to make everyone’s challenges during the pandemic a little lighter.”
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He also notes clubs are now offering livestreams of their shows. “Some of the Chicago clubs we play have been able to build up sizable global audiences. In a lot of cases, that means extra money for the band at the end of the night which is always appreciated,” he says.
The ever-evolving music industry has seen streaming services nearly replace CD sales yet Nosek says they band pressed the most recent release on vinyl which often outsells CDs at the end of the night.
He also cites the band’s label, Chicago’s Alligator Records (started by Bruce Iglauer, alum of Appleton’s Lawrence University), as supporting the band.
“They have been around for 50 years and have released countless award-winning blues albums by people like Albert Collins, Hound Dog Taylor, Johnny Winter, Koko Taylor and many other blues icons. The people at Alligator are truly amazing when it comes to supporting the musicians on their label,” Nosek says. “With them, we feel as though we are a part of a family.”
By the time the Granville Blues Festival happens the Cash Box Kings will have played a handful of festival and club dates. “For us the biggest challenge will be knocking the rust off. I’m pretty sure though that ten minutes after we start playing it'll feel pretty natural. It’s just like getting back on a bike,” Nosek says.
July 18 - Toronzo Canon
Photo by Chris Monaghan
The jaunty angle of his chapeau is an immediate tipoff that Toronzo Canon is about to deliver a high-powered load of blues music with some edge and an attitude.Bruce Iglauer, the president of what many consider to be the top blues record label in the world, Alligator Records, is a discriminating blues aficionado who wouldn’t consider signing any blues act that did not measure up to his high standards. The fact that Toronzo signed with Alligator in 2016 is a sure sign that this artist is possessed of an air of authenticity, and also possesses that “something extra” that separates the men from the boys.
Toronzo made his living as a Chicago bus driver until his recording and touring career started to take off. To date, he has toured extensively, not just in America, but also in Canada, Europe and Japan. He has been featured at the Chicago Bluesfest no less than 10 times.
The lyrical content of his original material encompasses topics about everyday life that we can all relate to, as good blues music is supposed to do. Being from Chicago and driving a CTA bus undoubtedly provides plenty of inspiration. He spent many years as a sideman to some of Chicago’s most prestigious blues performers.
He plays guitar left-handed with his fingers, no pick, and usually tours with his trio. Between his guitar playing and singing, bass and drums are all that are required to fill up the ensemble sound of his unique approach to delivering authentic blues music to the people.
