2003 FESTIVAL & WORKSHOP PHOTOS
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Scroll down for letters from festival goers! Hello Folks, Several SAMW types ventured north yesterday to attend the Portsmouth Bluesfest that T. J. puts on every summer. Ruth Rothstein, Trish English, Jeff Thomas, the notorious Cooper Brothers--Bob and Rich, Claude Galinsky and I were treated to a great festival. The highlights for me were Zydeco musician Chubby Carrier, Flamenco guitarist (yes, Flamenco) James Cohen with his quartet, and Marcia Ball. John Mooney also turned in a fine set and The Campbell Brothers—Sacred steel guitar, were big crowd favorites. The festivities slowed, but didn’t stop when there was a thunderstorm before Marcia Ball was scheduled. Five of us crammed into Trish’s car to wait out the storm, and sang songs until the weather cleared (including a spontaneous “Inside the Porta-Potty,” sung to the tune of “Under the Boardwalk.” After the weather cleared Marcia Ball gave the remaining audience a storming (no pun intended) set of blues. She played and sang with non-stop energy well beyond the scheduled end-time of the festival. She could have easily passed on performing claiming a rain-out, but she didn’t. After the fest, Jeff, Trish, the Coopers and I went to The Pressroom to catch T. J.’s CD release party. T. J. and the Smokers, as well as guest artists gave us three hours of incredible music. You would never have known that T. J. had just put on a festival--he was on fire. The full house at The Pressroom went wild. He had people up and dancing, and screaming for more. Highlights of the guest musicians included James Cohen trading lick with T. J., and Trish’s 17-year-old daughter Kate singing and playing flute (it’s a marvel how T. J. gets these teenagers to perform like pros). I urge all you blues fans out there not to miss the Bluesfest next summer; also figure on making a night of it too by catching T. J. after the fest. The man never fails to deliver the goods. See you there next year, Davis Readin' my mind, dude! More and better is the only cure! "The Smokers" are SMOKIN' !!! T.J. rules, Hatrack plays blues harp like a clarinet, Melvin's bass is sublime, and Gordon's drumming is over the top! The festival was good too. Just plan on going to Portsmouth next year. You'll become a believer! J. Thomas

The Blues Bank Collective is a W.C.Handy Award winning blues education organization whose mission is: To further awareness of Blues Music and its African American heritage To show the historic context that gave birth to the Blues To use the music as a means of positive social change And, whenever possible, to eliminate all forms of racism, intolerance and prejudice.

DRAWING: B. J. Johnson (1906-1986) was a great Portsmouth bluesman and teacher, as well as an inspiration to all who knew him. Art by Steven Lee.
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