It may come as a surprise to many, but one of the greatest American blues festivals is being hosted at Eugene’s backdoor. The Waterfront Blues Festival just finished its 20th year of exposing the Northwest to some of the most artistic, and ancient, blues rock ever created, keeping the faith for bigger and better turnouts in the future, musically and financially.
This year the festival hosted more than 125 established blues artists on four different stages. The boisterous blues crept onto the grassy banks of the Willamette river in downtown Portland, projecting good vibes and great riffs for the entire inner city to hear. In the past, the lineup included infamous blues legends, such as Taj Mahal, John Mayall, Buddy Guy and John Lee Hooker.
This year was no exception, as festival recruits, new and old, played for the lounging lawn lizards of the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The headliners included Mavis Staples, a soulful sister of one of the most prominent blues families in the United States, as well as Pinetop Perkins who, despite his 90+ years of practicing blues piano, threw down an amazing set upon his ivory keys with elderly, but limber, fingers.
The 2007 lineup also included the young guitar phenomenon Ben Rice, who is a product of the University of Oregon School of Music. Ben Rice & The Youth of Blues was one of the many young generation bands present at the festival. Incorporating musicians from age 13 to 20, the festival succeeded in drawing a young crowd and representing the new up-and-comers of Northwest-bred blues.
Aside from teenage guitarists and epitomizing elders, the festival also included several blues rock acts, which served as a fine riverside blend of jazz, funk and R&B. One set that drew a crowd was the Florida swamp rock group Mofro. Lead singer JJ Grey commented mid-set on the pristine beauty of the Northwest and the hidden, but huge, culture for blues music in Oregon.
But for the producers of the festival, music wasn’t the only thing on their mind. Since its inception in 1987, the festival has served as support for the Oregon Food Bank, a state-wide conglomeration of more than 900 hunger relief agencies. One dollar from every ticket sold is donated to the association, as well as non-perishable foods contributed by blues consumers in exchange for a discount. Last year alone, the Waterfront Blues Festival drew in over $545,000 and nearly 104,000 pounds of food for the effort.
The gathering at the park also portrayed a mix of Portland personality and Northwest charm. Seattle suburbanites, Eastern Oregon farmers and metro-music maniacs all displayed a wide love for the blues in abundant sizes. Everyone from a Jimi Hendrix look-a-like to 108-year-old Tennessee Grandma baked their bodies in the sun and smothered their ears in the raw, but sometimes eloquent, sounds.
The Waterfront Blues Festival has advanced its popularity over the past decade. It won the coveted “Keeping the Blues Alive” award in 2000 from the National Blues Foundation. In recent years, publishers have boasted that the event is the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi and the second largest festival in the nation without receiving rebuttals or dispute.
Every year, the festival brings more and more, mixing different genres of blues to acquire an even larger audience. With a kind heart and wonderful taste, the Waterfront Blues Festival is sure to be a continuing tradition in the Northwest, instilling the instinctual rhythm of blues music into the heart of every Oregonian, as well as any outside attendee.
Blues Festival keeps things moving on the waterfront
Daily Emerald
July 12, 2007
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