When I had heard that West Memphis was going to sponsor a month-long series of blues concerts on Thursday nights, I was determined to check them out. So, when the first one was announced for May 7, I made sure to go out there. The city had blocked off a small street near the Civic Auditorium, but unfortunately, the weather was not co-operating, and despite a couple of food trucks outside, the city had decided to move the concert indoors.
I was not familiar with either of the two acts scheduled to perform. Dan Charette is apparently originally from Maine, but currently lives in Millington, Tennessee, where he fronts a band called Absolutely Blue. He is a decent blues musician, whose repertoire consists primarily of cover tunes.
The headliner for the night was a blues performer who calls herself B. B. Queen, a playful response to B. B. King. She is based in Las Vegas, and fronts a band consisting entirely of women musicians. Most of her material on this particular night consisted of cover tunes as well, but she is talented and quite attractive, and her band was first-rate.
Unfortunately, the change of location and the weather made for a paltry crowd indeed. Only about forty or fifty people were seated in the seats of the auditorium, and the formal theater setting was rather incongruous for blues. Although I enjoyed the music, I wanted to make it to Tacker’s Shake Shack in Marion for dinner, and when I learned that they would close at 8 PM, I left the auditorium to head there.