Sugar Ray Norcia
HeatherFest 21 may have gotten rained on for about an hour last Sunday night. Yet, the weather didn’t stop the talent from raining out of the amplifiers for most of the event. A festival sized event hosted by blues fans Heather McKibben in her Norton, Massachusetts home for two decades, nothing has even been able to defeat this event. In fact, the storm only forced the side stage performer, Racky Thomas and his friends, to entertain from their mostly non electric, roofed stage.
Perhaps the spirit of the event keeps it strong and weather proof. McKibben allows many charity organizations to set up informational tents and kiosks. She also gives all of the money raised by her $25 suggested donation to these very charities. The event, therefore, draws in a lot of kindhearted, good karma people for a day of friendliness and heavy appreciation for the local blues bands, top notch bands who entertain throughout the day.
I arrived in time to see Racky Thomas open the show with his Travelin’ Medicine Show Revival Band featuring keyboardist John Juxo. Juxo added a little gospel flavoring to “Hey, Mama Mama,” his piano style ladling more spiritual depth onto the song.
Toni Lynn Washington
Next up, two ladies of the local blues scene took turns delivering the vocal goods. Diane Blue took to the main stage to sing “That’s What We Call The Blues” off of her latest CD, Blues In My Soul, and her swaying, earthy style went over well. Toni Lynn Washington, a matriarch of the local blues scene, sang one of her favorites, “Every Day I Get The Blues” with an exciting array of backing musicians behind her. Ms. Washington sailed through with her usual svelte style, deep and rich. Meanwhile, Bruce Bears laid out a lively old time piano line for the two ladies to croon over during their spots. Washington sang “Rock Me, Baby” with a soulful glaze over her vocal delivery and handling the suggestive lyrics with lady like aplomb.
HeatherFest is also a day of charitable giving. After the ladies finished their set, guest speaker Kathy Crosby-Bell took to the stage. Crosby is the mother of fallen Boston firefighter Michael Kennedy. Kennedy and fellow firefighter Lieutenant Edward Walsh didn’t make it out of a burning building last year. Crosby reported that their water hose burst which kept the two from controlling the fire in the area they where they were battling the blaze. According to Crosby, budget cuts have made it impossible to improve and upgrade firefighting equipment and technology, resulting in firemen using the same kind of water hose for over a century. Crosby certainly got the attention of everybody in attendance last Sunday afternoon. She explained that the rate of cancer exposure is three times higher for firefighters than the average citizen, which again, results from a lack of modern equipment.
Racky Thomas & Travelin’ Medicine Show Revival
McKibben, before the music resumed, asked for her attendees to sign a petition to create a law requiring anybody raising farm animals to put them in larger cages, so they can at least turn around and spread their wings. Attendees didn’t hesitate to make their way to the kiosk where the petition was waiting.
Racky Thomas and his Travelin’ Medicine Road Show were soon back to work. They handled the traditional ballad “Stagger Lee” with a quiet confidence. “Goin’ Home” got a spiritual uplift from Juxo’s sweet accordion and Pete Hendersen’s expressive lead guitar. At this point in the show, Thomas, much to his surprise, was presented with this year’s Keeping HeatherFest Alive award. “I was totally blown away,” Thomas said of the award later in the day. “It was completely unexpected and I’m very humbled.”
Thomas and his Travelin’ Medicine Show Revival Band later turned in warm renditions of “May The Circle Be Unbroken,” “Bye And Bye, Lord,” and “Rockin’ Pneumonia.”
The main stage was soon teeming with life again. Sam Gentile had gotten up there to start his set with “She’s Into Something,” a sizzling blues number requiring Gentile to unleash a string of feisty notes, pouring heart and soul into his manic phrase. Gentile made it come alive with an eruption of sound, a three dimensional force of nature.
Bruce Bears
Gentile was at his soulful, raspy best singing and playing “Further On Up The Road,” as his scorching guitar work was on fire by this point. It certainly helped to have Bruce Bears adding a cushion of barrelhouse piano beneath the tune. “Crosscut Saw” was another this live band bumped along, with greasy organ lubing the rails for everyone else to push out a groove.
Soon after, the action was back on at the side stage. Blues belter Cheryl Aruda, possessing possibly the deepest, richest timbre around, got up to apply her vocal talents to a song she made up as she went along. She later called it “The HeatherFest Rain Prevention Song.”
The Knickerbocker All Stars, as was expected, made a huge impression. Willie J. Laws offered his powerful belt at the start of the all star set. Sugar Ray Norcia handled “You Upset Me, Baby” with his large sense of delivery and demeanor. He belted mightily over a blaring, swinging horn section with his hearty, earthy vocal, the kind that makes listeners feel what the song is about. A down tempo slow boil let Norcia spearhead with his shifting dynamic carrying the song forward. He was an honest and real match for the quality of horns erupting all around him, filling his numbers with their joyful exuberance. This was an especially good bari sax line during “Reconsider, Baby.”
Sam Gentile
Delta Generators was next to last on the schedule, and they turned in a powerhouse set, just after a fast moving storm soaked the grounds of HeatherFest and delayed the main stage action for several minutes. Vocalist Craig Rawding belted with a hearty aggression and some nuances in just the right places, making the song feel like a dramatic experience. The band spread “One Way Out” into a funk groove sprawl, with Charlie O’Neal’s guitar phrase flowing through the night air, almost on its own volition, like it had a mind of its own. Delta Generators played one of their best songs, “Night Of The Johnstown Flood” like it was an apocalyptic nightmare come true. Heightened by true emotional vocal power and tortured guitar phrasing, this number was like a smoldering wick leading to a powdered explosion. Rawding was also impressive blowing a loud, wide harmonica line on his band’s “Hard River To Row.” At one point, his harp and O’Neal’s guitar came together to form a nice thick tuft of blues tones.
Delta Generators
The weather greatly interfered with my travel plans last Sunday. I arrived too late to hear TNG Blues Band and I left too early to hear Erin Harpe & The Delta Swingers. Yet, the feedback I’ve been getting on both has been very strong, so I’m certain they turned in mighty fine sets.
HeatherFest 21, despite being messed with by mother nature, was another time of friendly, positive vibes, charitable giving, and really good blues music. It’s hard to define what exactly makes Heather Fest a winsome day. It probably has mostly to do with community and everything cool swirling around that concept.
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