Carnival of Soul

As summer continues, so does the option for outdoor concerts. More events are planned, giving us all a chance to take advantage of the good weather. Whether it is a club, festival or a recreation department concert, the blues is making its mark.

Chris “Bad News” Barnes brings his style of Hokum blues to Black-eyed Sally’s on Friday. The first time Blues Beat saw Barnes, he was brash, bold and thoroughly entertaining, and he still is.

Barnes is an entertainer that has a way of putting comedy into his blues. This is something he started, when at the age 17 he worked at Tramps blues club on 15th Street in New York City. Barnes served as the warm-up act for the blues legends who played there.

His cue to bring the blues performers onstage was to improvise a song with his harmonica. Often, it was based on audience suggestions. It was legendary drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith who told Barnes what he was doing was “hokum blues.” Barnes’ connection to this part of the blues continues to this day.

His career covers working as an improvisational comic (Second City), comedy writer (Saturday Night Live), and actor (The Carol Burnett Show, Life With Bonnie, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Thirty Rock) have served him well as a bluesman.

Hokum blues go back to W.C. Handy where a comic act went on before the blues act to hold the audience — and that’s what Barnes does. Whether it is a topical song or just some fun, his creativity shows. He has a broad range of experiences and relates them to hjs performance. An active part of the blues scene Barnes is also a valued member of the Blues Foundation.

Barnes’ second album, Hokum Blues reached Number 1 on the Roots Music Report and Air Play Direct and landed at No. 6 for the Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine’s top 12 Albums for 2017. You can expect a show to rave about with his powerful high energy stage craft. Then on Friday, Vitamin B-3 takes the stage.

41 Bridge Street Live has a Sunday show with Carolyn Wonderland, a musical force equipped with the soulful vocals and guitar slinging skills. Wonderland reaches into the depths of the Texas blues tradition with the wit of a poet. She hits the stage with unmatched presence, and along with the guitar and the multitude of other instruments she plays, her ability to whistle remains most unusual. Whistling is a uniquely vocal art seldom invoked in modern music, yet it’s among the most spectacular talents the human voice possesses.

Infinity Music Hall Norfolk has Robert Randolph and the Family Band on Thursday. Many musicians claim that they “grew up in the church,” but for Randolph, that is literally the case. Randolph and members of his own family upheld a long but little-known gospel music tradition called sacred steel. The renowned pedal steel guitarist, vocalist and songwriter led a cloistered childhood and adolescence that he heard no secular music while growing up.

Randolph is today an inspiration to the likes of Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana and Derek Trucks, all of whom have played with him and studied his technique. It wasn’t until he was out of his teens that he broke away from his early music and discovered rock, funk, soul, jazz and the jam band scene, soon forging his own sound by fusing elements of those genres.

Once Randolph began to discover other forms of music, he saw how they were all connected, and was eager to find his own place. “All music is related. Gospel is the same as blues,” he says.

By the early 2000s, Randolph began applying his dazzling steel guitar technique to secular music, and from that grew the Family Band. The group’s sound was so different than anything else around that they were soon packing New York City clubs.

Their first album, 2002’s Live at the Wetlands, was a classic, still recommended as a first buy. They are now club regulars and on the festival circuit, and broadening their stylistic range as well.

A couple of big names take the stage in the middle of the week. College Street Music Hall brings in Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul on Tuesday. Steven Van Zandt has played many parts in the music world. He is a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and is recognized internationally. He can often be found at the Blues Foundation’s events in Memphis.

Another well known New Jersey sound man is Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes. They will be playing in Columbus Park as part of the Dental365 Stage season on Wednesday. Jake Kulak and the LowDown are the opening band.

Sunday, The Stafford Palace Theater presents the Spyda Murphy Blues Blast at 1 pm. The event is being held in support of the Connecticut representative to the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge. Three great bands, Mike Crandall, Janet Ryan, and Ed Peabody and the big Blue Thang.

Get the complete Blues Beat schedule on Thursday at the blog http://bluesbeatnews.wordpress.com/. Any questions or comments should be sent to Domenic Forcella at TWBlus@aol.com.