ENTERTAINMENT BUZZ
Destination:
Blues on The
Hill
By Charles Kochel
It’s natural to digress,
when delving deep
into the blues. Chicago’s
Southside, former landmark,
The Checkerboard Lounge
(owned by Buddy Guy)
used to anchor juke-joint laden
neighborhoods. Now, he owns Legends,
one of the best music venues in all the land.
Follow Highway 55 South to the back
streets and alleys of St. Louis. There
is The Fox Theatre and Blueberry
Hill. Music consistent Springfield,
Mo., and a double-double in Tulsa - Cain›s
Ballroom and Mercury Lounge - are all
destinations on this historical blues highway
tour chalking maps vertically.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – At the point of climax
in every great blues riff lies enlightenment.
Big guys and gals releasing hounds from the
plantation porches of North Mississippi and
hard-knock guitars and harmonicas in the
Arkansas Delta are the source of the blues.
Stories like, “She’s got the Devil in
Her,” featuring Arkansas Delta’s Jimbo
Mathus on guitar; Buddy Guy sings about a
woman who has the devil in her and feels
like doing something wrong. It’s low down,
dirty, and you feel rhythm deep in your soul.
Chicago›s blues scene may not be the
birthplace of the heart-aching, soul-
wrenching, dirty, nasty blues (this is the
Delta), but to say Chicago blues refined the
genre› into a widespread more cultivated art
form is an understatement. Chicago was the
destination point for the best blues musicians
on Earth to showcase their talent.
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At the peak of all things good, a gem in
Northwest Arkansas. Fayetteville›s Walton
Arts Center presents, «An Evening with Buddy
Guy» at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23.
Guy is the epicenter of Chicago blues;
a seven-time Grammy winner and 2015
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, the
79-year-old Guy is an icon. He›s a Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a major
influence on important guitar greats like
Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray
Vaughan. His legendary electric blues
performances in Chicago›s West Side will live
forever.
To compliment your evening try a pre-
concert dinner at Herman’s Rib House in
North Fayetteville, stroll Dickson for a bit
before the show and catch a band at
famed Maxine’s Tap Room for a night cap.
Secure your seats to catch Buddy Guy at the
WAC by visiting www.waltonartscenter.org.
Breeder’s Invitational
Tulsa Expo Square
Tulsa, OK
Oldies N’ Goodies
Car Sh