WEST COAST TOUR – June 2008

If it weren’t for some major forest fires in northern CA, I would say that we hit nothing but gorgeous weather on this tour. But that is the downside of living in a beautiful, dry state…the fires! We began our tour in the desert, just over the border in Las Vegas. Boulder Station is always an awesome gig for us and I am never not impressed by the support for the blues that this otherwise “tinsel town” has. The house was really rockin’ as we were joined by the great Lenny McDaniel on keyboards. I get so many requests for the tune Tired Angels that I have recorded, that I know fans will be interested in finding out that Lenny is the author of that tune, and many, many more.

The town of Carlsbad, CA has an awesome outdoor music series that we were invited to take part in this year. As it usually never gets too hot in that San Diego corridor, no one has ever thought to put up a canopy over the stage. But it seems that global warming is even hitting that beautiful SoCAL paradise because it was HOT HOT and we were playing in some direct sun. This is always a challenge for a white girl with freckles such as myself, but we persevered in true blues fashion and soon had hundreds of folks on their feet beating the heat with us!

Heading now to Lake Tahoe, as we hit the half way point up the mountain, we made a little pee stop at a beautiful rest area. Stepping out of the van I thought to myself, “ah that crisp, mountain air…and someone’s burning wood in the fireplace!” But when we arrived at the Crystal Bay Casino and I stepped out of the van again, I realized that this was more than someone’s fireplace…the air was full of smoke! Of course the fires never got close enough to put us in danger, but they would be a factor for the rest of our NoCAL shows. In fact our show in Grass Valley was almost canceled, as they feared that no one would be able to get into the town for the show. The show did go on, but the town was full of a choking brown haze.

Performing at the Monterey Blues Festival this year was an extra special treat for me, amplified by the fact that we were playing on the big stage this year, warming it up for Charlie Musselwhite and then BB King! Performing before us, but over on the Garden Stage, was Kenny Neal, so guitar in hand, I moseyed up to the side of the stage, catching Kenny’s eye, and he called me up! Man it’s good to see Kenny back on top of his game! He looks as healthy and handsome as ever and was surrounded by a big band with horns. Of course I invited Kenny up to sit in with us during our set, which he did, and it was like the old days when we were all little jammin’ whores! Hee hee!

We were all touched and mesmerized by the presence of BB King. It’s a blessing to see him and feel his soul in the golden years of his career. But the night wasn’t over yet. Charlie Musselwhite played a closing set on the Garden Stage, and as planned, I hopped up on his stage to join him in a rousing rendition of Movin’ and Groovin!”

In between stage-hopping, I enjoyed cruising around the blues fest grounds, checking out food, friendly folk, and arts and crafts. This is one of THE GREAT blues festivals folks, made slightly eerie this year by the smoky skies and falling ashes, but it didn’t put the slightest damper on the quality of the blues or the overall festive vibes.