Perhaps Easter doesn’t bring thoughts of blues to many people, but this Easter evening was the occasion for an amazing event at Foxfire Ranch celebrating the release of a new album by 84-year-old bluesman Leo “Bud” Welch. Welch’s story is amazing, for he is an authentic traditional bluesman who remained undiscovered until 2013 at the age of 82, when he began recording his first record. He signed with Fat Possum’s Big Legal Mess subsidiary the same year, and released his debut album Sabougla Voices, which was a gospel record. (“Sabougla” is a hamlet in Calhoun County, Mississippi where Welch is from). Gospel is Leo’s preferred music, but his young audiences love to hear him play blues, and he does so on his sophomore album, which is aptly entitled I Don’t Prefer No Blues. But to celebrate its release, rather than a typical release party, a full evening of live Hill Country blues was scheduled at the Hill Country Pavilion at Foxfire near Waterford, Mississippi. Although the sun was out, the day was chilly, but a decent crowd showed up at 5 PM for the opening act, Jason Carter, who performed acoustically with another guitar player. Right behind him came Cedric Burnside and Trenton Ayres, collectively known as the Cedric Burnside Project, who got things crunk with the heavy, rock-inflected brand of blues they play, including one of Cedric’s trademark extended drum solos. Several members of the legendary Burnside family were in the audience, including Duwayne and Garry Burnside. The next act up was something a little different. Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition are also on the Fat Possum label, and are more of a strange but winsome amalgam of indie rock, traditional country, blues and funk, which Jimbo whimsically calls “catfish music”. Although he maintains a different sound than Hill Country blues, the influence of blues can be heard through much of his work. Robert “Bilbo” Walker is 76 years old nowadays, and is a former Mississippi bluesman who currently lives in California. Although he is originally from Mississippi, his music has considerable Louisiana and swamp influences, which came to the forefront in his reading of the classic blues/soul song “Staggerlee”. Finally, at the end of the night, Leo “Bud” Welch came up with his three-piece band and performed a collection of songs from the new album, which he had available for sale there at the pavilion. When things finally came to an end around 10 PM, there was still a decent crowd.
Keep Up With Jason Carter & The Healers:
https://www.facebook.com/jasoncarterandthehealers/info?tab=page_info
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Keep Up With Cedric Burnside:
http://cedricburnside.com
https://www.facebook.com/cedric.burnside.5
Keep up with Jimbo Mathus:
http://jimbomathus.com
https://www.facebook.com/jimbomathus
https://www.youtube.com/user/jimbomathusvideo
Tweets by JimboMathus
https://myspace.com/jimbomathus
Keep up with Robert “Bilbo” Walker:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Robert-Bilbo-Walker/144881378903373
Keep up with Leo “Bud” Welch:
http://www.leobudwelch.com
https://www.facebook.com/leobud.welch
Keep up with Foxfire Ranch:
http://www.foxfireranch.com
https://www.facebook.com/foxfireranch2008
Keep up with Fat Possum Records & Big Legal Mess Music:
http://www.fatpossum.com
https://www.facebook.com/FatPossumRecords
Tweets by FatPossum
https://vimeo.com/fatpossum
https://fatpossumrecords.bandcamp.com
http://biglegalmessrecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Legal-Mess-Records/134672929932373