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  Keeping DC's dreams alive                                                                                                                                                                                                       
THIS YEAR, September 2,  3, 4  •   5pm - 5am Nightly    •    in Rentiesville OK
READ ABOUT EACH ACT ON THE SHOW HERE:

Thirty bands from 9 states – 50 sets – 65 hours of music in all will be presented in “the Blues Lover’s Paradise, right here in Rentiesville” three stages each of three days/nights
What a way to wrap up the summer. Dance under the stars or sit in air conditioned comfort.

Chuck Blackwell (seated left), Johnny Williams (seated right), David Thayer (standing left), James Wallace and Ray D. Rowe, pictured at the Church Studio in Tulsa, make up the band Oklahoma Stew. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World

                                        
VSA arts                                       presents:
      
 

Soul Album of the Year Winner
"Mr. Romance!!"

JOHNNY       RAWLS
Fri - Sat - Sun
                                    
                                                    

  • Johnny Rawls is a national treasure: a great singer/guitarist who is also a fantastic composer and arranger. Not the same tired standards, nor fancy guitar ego-trips, just superb compositions and performances. This is the very real today's Blues with a marvelous touch of Soul.
    Just try "Put Your Trust In Me" (with Eddie Kirkland and Phil Guy), i. e., and be ready for some of the best black music around!

                 
          

JOHNNY RAWLS 

 

 

 
 
Johnny Rawls was born in Columbia, Mississippi in 1951 and raised in Purvis and Gulfport, Mississippi.  He acquired an early interest in music when hearing his grandfather play the blues guitar one Christmas morning.  He began playing professionally while still in high school with such stars as ZZ Hill, Little Johnny Taylor, Joe Tex and the Sweet Inspirations.  In the mid-70's, Johnny went to work for OV Wright as Wright's band director.  After Wright's death in 1980, Johnny led Little Johnny Taylor's band until 1985, when he began touring as a solo artist and made his first solo recording under the Rainbow label.

Recording under Touch Records, Rooster Blues, Rock House, Reach and JSP Records, Johnny has done it all from producing, songwriting, horn arranging, Rhythm, Lead and Bass guitar, keyboard, vocals and background vocals.  Johnny started his own record company, Deep South Soul, in 2002 and has released his CD's Lucky Man, Live in Montana, and The Best of Johnny Rawls.  His newest CD entitled Heart and Soul was released in October 2006 and has been nominated for "Best Soul Blues Album of the Year (2007)" by the Blues Foundation .  No Boundaries was released under the TopCat, Catfood and Deep South Soul labels in 2005.

Johnny has appeared on the cover of the April 2002 Living Blues Magazine and has been nominated four times for the W.C. Handy Award.  His most recent was in Memphis winning the Handy Blues Award Soul Album of the Year for Ace of Spades.

Johnny has performed at the Chicago Blues Festival twice, The Russian River Blues Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival, The Portland Waterfront Blues Festival, Poconos, as well as festivals in Sweden and Poland.  He tours constantly, playing well over 200 dates a year.  He can also be heard on XM radio's Bluesville.  Whether he is playing in a small club or a large blues festival, Johnny gives it his all and the crowds love him!

Additional biographies can be read at:  All Music Guide, Catfood Records, Russian River Blues Festival, and the Liner Notes to My Turn to Win
 
Click on Listen! to upload music  to your computer
 
 
Listen to a sampling of Johnny Rawls' original music!

Ace of Spades   Deep South Soul
                                       
Released October 2009

Ace of Spades                           Listen!Going Back Home                     Listen!
 
 

 

 SELBY MINNER

                          
        
                                     

Selby worked as D.C.'s bassist for 30 years across the US and overseas. She has perfomed with Hubert Sumlin, Drink Small, Albert Collins, Lowell Fulsom and garnered the KBA (together with D.C.) Keeping the Blues Allive Award from the Memphis based Blues Folundation for her work with kids doing Blues in the Schools. Also an OK Blues Hall of Fame Inductee. Like D.C. she switched back to guitar as it became time for her to front the band. --all 3 nites

LEON BLUE Las Vegas - plays in Europe several times a year and hails from Las Vegas. he will be all over the Festival sitting in with various bands--all 3 nites                   
 
http://highisomusic.com/2011/03/lightnin-malcolm-and-cameron-kimbrough-kill-d-b-a/
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhnYKZZbki4&feature=related

      
 

http://www.randymcallister.com/PressKit/PressKit1c-Americana.pdf

 

Randy McAllister (Dallas, TX) 2002 Grammy Nominee, Randy McAllister is one of the premier singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist to emerge from Texas. Heartbreak, humor, high hair and tall Texas tales all play a part in the song writing of Randy McAllister. His music has been hailed as some of the most original and innovative being made today. While comparison's are not easy, it has been said that his music is a cross between Doug Sahm, John Hiatt and Delbe rt McClinton, with a blues man's background and sensibilities thrown into the mix.

www.randymcallister.com
www.myspace.com/randymcallister

 

JIM DAVIS
 
 PAT MOSS
               
 


PAT MOSS of Tahlequah – a leader in his Cherokee tribe who has worked as a domestic violence prevention
advocate, an advisor to prisons on Native American spiritualism, and is gifted in the use of herbal medicine. Accomplished on harp and guitar, Moss approaches the music with
humility then soars into powerful, moving expressions of deeply felt appreciation for its
transcendent qualities.

 
       CHUCK BLACKWELL
OK STEW
  Chuck Blackwell (seated left), Johnny Williams (seated right), David Thayer (standing left), James Wallace and Ray D. Rowe, pictured at the Church Studio in Tulsa, make up the band Oklahoma Stew. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa WorldChuck Blackwell (seated left), Johnny Williams (seated right), David Thayer (standing left), James Wallace and Ray D. Rowe, pictured at the Church Studio in Tulsa, make up the band Oklahoma Stew. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World

http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=269&articleid=20110515_269_D7_CUTLIN261561


hear music and more at the above link!!!

 

ROGER HURRICANE WILSON

Quotes

"That boy knows what he's doing!"

~Hubert Sumlin~

“This guy plays some great blues!”

~Les Paul~

“Not since seeing Luther Allison have I experienced such energy from any other artist!"

~Sam Veal~
Springing The Blues Fest
Jacksonville Beach, FL

“Roger “Hurricane” Wilson is the real deal!”

~Walter Trout~ 

“A bluesman too good not to enjoy!”

~Sonny Rhodes~ 

 

Four decades ago he taught hundreds of people to play guitar. In 1972 he

began playing professionally. He’s jammed with Les Paul, Hubert Sumlin,

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Albert Collins, Roy

Buchanan, Magic Slim, Michael Burkes, and Charlie Musselwhite just to

name a few. He’s shared the stage doing shows with B.B. King, Buddy

Guy, Little Milton, John Mayall, Marcia Ball, Delbert McClinton, Taj Mahal,

Leon Russell, and Edgar Winter among many others. With 8 CD’s on the

market, Roger, with his band, as well as solo, is working overtime,

performing 200+ nights a year.

 

BAR ROOM PREACHER created in the best studio in Memphis with the best musicians and PAT!!!

Pat Moss hails from Tahlequah with his Native blues - slide, harmonica. His hit song is Bar room preacher and he sure rocks on Wang Dang Doodle... here he plays with Yogi on harp on our main stage.

 

       CECIL GRAY
 

The Native American blues band formally known as Cecil Gray and the Red Dawn Blues Band has migrated to the Cecil Gray and the Flying Eagle Blues Band.  The southwest Oklahoma bluesmen are currently working on a cd, which will feature ten original songs by Cecil Gray.  The band members are Cecil Gray (lead singer, lead guitar, harmonica), Troy Simmons (drummer), and C. F. Gray (bass player). The talented musicians blend their musical abilities to contribute to the continuation of the Blues music. 

In 2004 an exuberate Cecil Gray and the Red Dawn Blues Band took the stage and proudly accepted the prestigious NAMMY Award at the 7th Annual Native American Music Award. The “Best Blues / Jazz Recording” award was for the cd “Indian Harmony”.  The music was unique as all twelve songs on the cd were originals.  The blues songs were composed and sung by Cecil Gray, who plays lead guitar and harmonica.  This achievement was the pinnacle of his musical talents. The four times NAMMY nominee has been heavily influenced by Jimmy Reed, Robin Trower, and the great Jimi Hendrix.

Cecil Gray is an enrolled member of the Kiowa Nation.  He is from the Saddle Mountain area near Carnegie, Oklahoma.  An accomplished singer, songwriter, and guitarist, he has been playing guitar and harmonica for forty-one years.  At the age of fifteen, he was playing gospel music for his aunt Stella Rivera.  In the 11th grade he formed his own band called the Shades of Gray.  In 1973 he joined the Native American dance troupe and toured the southwestern United States.  In 1980 he formed the band called the Flying Eagle Band.  In 1986 Cecil obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a 3.2 GPA.  For the next twelve years he sang and played lead guitar and harmonica with the Blackhawk Blues Band.  The band recorded two cds titled “Gypsy Blue” and “Rainy”.  In 2002 at the 5th Annual Native American Music Award, the second cd “Rainy” was nominated in two categories:   Best Blues / Jazz Recording and the Debut Artist / Group of the Year.  Eight of the twelve songs on the cd were original songs written and sung by Cecil.  In 2003 he formed his own blues band called “Cecil Gray and the Red Dawn Blues Band”.  The band’s first cd “Indian Boy / Indian Girl” was nominated in 2003 for the 6th Annual Native American Music Awards in the Best Blues / Jazz Recording category.  However, it was in the following year at the 7th Annual Native American Music Awards that Cecil and his band were publically announced as the winners for the “Best Blues/Jazz Recording” award for the cd “Indian Harmony”.  In 2005 he sang and recorded the gospel cd “Prayer Warriors”, whose singers featured his mother Dorothy Gray and his aunt Vivian Komardly.  In 2006 at the 8th Annual Native American Music Awards the gospel cd was nominated in the “Best Gospel/Christian/Inspirational Recording”.  In the testament to Cecil’s faith, all of the proceeds from the recording go directly to the family church “Cedar Creek Indian Methodist Church”.  The church was ministered by his grandfather Cecil HuntingHorse, who was a preacher and a medicine man.  After the passing of Cecil’s close friend and bass player Melvin Scott, he regrouped and transitioned the Native American blues band into the present “Cecil Gray and the Flying Eagle Blues Band”.  In the last two years Cecil has been lending his musical talents as a vocalist and guitarist to front numerous professional blues bands.

Troy Simmons is an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation from the Apache, Oklahoma area.  He has been playing the drums for thirty-two years.   He began listening and practicing to Steve Miller, Beatles, Kiss, soul, and R&B 8track music, since he was fourteen years of age.  In 1978 thru 1980 he played with the Flying Eagle Band with Cecil Gray, C. F. Gray, Terry Bennet, and Patrick Tointigh.  In 1988 thru 1990 he played with the hard rock band called Speak Thunder.   In 2001 he joined the Grizzleheads, who play a variety of music from classic rock and country for local and out of state events.  In 2005 he joined the Red Dawn Blues Band and played numerous Native American events, festivals, and casinos.  In 2008 he loaned his talents to the OIT (local Native American band) and played local events in Oklahoma and Texas.  In 2009 he migrated from the Red Dawn Blues Band to the Flying Eagle Blues Band.  He has been drumming for Cecil Gray’s band for the last four years.  His main influences are Robert Cray, Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, John Hooker, Iron Maiden, and BB King.  Troy’s years of drumming experience and his passion for drumming are readily seen when he becomes so immersed in the blues music that he twirls a drumstick overhead and does not miss a beat.

C. F. Gray holds down the bottom as the bass player.  He is the brother of Cecil Gray and is also, an enrolled member of the Kiowa Nation.  He is from the Saddle Mountain area near Carnegie, Oklahoma and has been playing bass for the last thirty years.  In 1980 he began playing bass with the Flying Eagle Band.  His main influences are Steve Harris, who is the bass player with Iron Maiden and Geddy Lee, bass player with RUSH.  He has played with a variety of music from rock and roll, heavy metal at numerous local activities.  Now he is back to the blues.  In 2010 his unlimited musical talents are a very, welcomed addition to round out the unique and distinctive sound of this Native American blues band from  southwest Oklahoma.    

Tara Cargill is the back-up singer for the all Native American blues band.  Tara is an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation.  In addition, she is Kiowa, Navajo, Choctaw, and Chickasaw descent.  She lives in Cache, Oklahoma.  During high school, she sang at several local town festivals in the southwest area.  She admires Etta James and Koko Taylor.  Cecil asked Tara if she would like to audition for the one of the original songs “I Need You”.  The results were magic and brought soul to the song.  Tara’s deep, rich vocals adds a new dimension to the songs.  Although, the newest addition to the band, she shows great promise as a Native American female blues singer.

 
 ROLAND BOWLING BAND
Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame Inductee Roland Bowling from OKC and Vegas his wife/bassist. Biker Blues ... His hit " I want to live in Rentiesville" and lots of other originals...
INVITATIONAL JAMS
10 – Midnight, CLUB STAGE
--all 3 nites

A NOTE ON THE JAMS (Jam Sessions) – as it wouldn’t be fair to schedule a band indoors while the headliners are onstage outside, the 10 pm til midnight INVITATIONAL JAM in the club is a chance for any musician ever hired on the Festival to ‘musically get to know’ any other…great surprises every night. THE ALL STAR JAM from about 3 am on is the headliners who feel the spirit working out together. In the past this has included Kenny Neal jamming with Magic Slim…many magic moments.

 

ALL STAR JAM--all 3 nites Also – each nite the headliners come into the club and perform a short set after midnight. Then, if we are lucky, they jam out til 5 am!
     

 PATRICK DUFFY POTTERY
       
         JOANN McMILLAN
face painting beading, home made shakers to create rhythms…

A NOTE ON THE KID’S VILLAGE – ongoing through entire fest, and free—

LINDA DIXON of Shawnee will do facepainting all three nights

JOANN McMILLAN, OK Arts Council Artist in Residence, is a mainstay of the Kid’s Village, bringing in loads of costumes, puppets and fun for the kids

PATRICK DUFFY runs The Ceramics Encounter – a chance to get dirty and mom cannot complain – a pottery wheel!

HANDS on DRUMMING, Drummer to be announced


 
--all 3 nites
                  JOANN McMILLAN
                
dancing to the blues 

        

       pottery

Blues Fest Guide's Tom and Cheryl Yearnshaw wrote:

"In keeping with DC’s and Selby’s active participation in the Oklahoma school system through their innovative ‘Blues in the Schools’ programs, the Kid’s Village has also been a big part of the event.  Face painting, costumes, ‘dragons’ (a la Chinese New Years parades), clay pottery, and puppet shows are made lovingly available by a group of exceptional volunteers.  These are all hands-on activities, keeping young minds occupied while the hypnotic sounds of blues slowly soak into the young minds that will be the future of the blues.  This Kid’s Village is unlike anything we’ve seen before!!! "

            

                          


TONY MATHEWS
Inducted into our own OK BLUES HALL OF FAME land about to receive the DC Minner Lifetime Achievement Award as well.. Tony worked with Ray Charles and Little Richard for years...has done too much session work for him to remember :-) on other's records... and keeps his own band together in Hollywood...grew up in Checotah--all 3 nites
                   
 SPONSORS"        
                                                                                           

SATURDAY, September 3rd — Main Outdoor Stage
Mr. ROMANCE (JOHNNY RAWLS) AND DIVA NIGHT
with MISS BLUES, ZORA YOUNG, SELBY, AND  EG KIGHT!!!

 

PETER KARP AND
SUE FOLEY

  

 
Peter Karp & Sue Foley
 

 

Their first CD together  the award nominated "He Said - She Said" was number 1 on the Roots and Blues radio charts for 8 weeks - #4 most played for the tear! Their story of how was carried on national press, TV and radio. Working off that success these two combustible talents are finishing a new CD (release fall of 2011) of new songs that kick it up a few decibels and pour fuel on an already explosive stage show.

       SELBY 
MINNER



          
 

 This party is in DC's back yard, he was born and grew up here, founded the Fest and the OK Blues Hall of Fame together with his wife/bassist/vocalist/guitarist Selby. The Blues Club is still open the First Saturday of each month...As D.C. recently passed after a long bout with illness, this year's Festival is a tribute to him and his music.  Several bands will perform his originals... and since his fervent desire was to keep the Fest going, we hope you will be here - Selby
         
Selby and YaYas at the Cimmarron     D.C. Minner
JOHNNY      
RAWLS

Fri - Sat - Sun

                                    
            
   
Is the recent winner of the Blues Soul Album of the Year with his Ace of Spades release, in Memphis at the
Blues Foundation (Handy) Awards

This will be his third or fourth time a t the Rentiesville Fest - we call him "Me. Romance" - He will headline the stage on Saturday along with the Blues Divas ...and also appear in Friday and Sunday. We love it!

         
   
WANDA
WATSON!
WANDA WATSON from Tulsa and Fort Smith – a good time hard rockin’ vocalist with powerful chops, a great big heart, and a tight band. One of DC’s fave singers. Ok Blues Hall of Fame inductee 2007
   

SATURDAY, Sept. 3rd — Indoor Club Stage
the Down Home Blues Club...an intimate setting, a true juke joint!
Torrence 'Bear' Cushinberry
drumming at the Sunday
Jams with Selby Minner
and Blues on the Move
  
JIMMY
the Preacher
ELLIS
  
                                    

JIMMY the Preacher ELLIS has lived in Seattle and Arkansas and Texas and Tulsa. One of this year's inductees into the OK Blues Hall of Fame here in Rentiesville. Throaty vocals, harmonica and guitar - lots of fun, a great showman and real blues.



 
 
EUGENE
HIDEAWAY
BRIDGES

 

Selby:
 " I met this man in Clarksdale. He had just performed at Catheads and
later that nite I saw him onstage at Ground Zero there. he is the
complete package - singing, playing, fun and great projection... I think he will be the 'sleeper' here this year who will steal the show!!"

His new album is a stripped-down affair compared to his previous discs, and he sparkles throughout ...(Blues Revue)

It must have been sweet to hear young Eugene Bridges sing hymns with his brothers in a rural Louisiana church.  Bridges’ honeyed, crystal-clear voice dazzles from the first moments of 'Piece of the Mountain,' the joyful tune that kicks off his self-titled fifth album.  Bridges wrote every song here, and each is deeply felt by both artist and audience.  Fortitude and happiness abound; the gospel music he sang as a child is still an integral part of Bridges’ style. And if beautifully articulated soul isn’t enough, the man also plays a mean guitar. His exquisite picking and crisp tones are riveting, and his guitar work conveys the same contentment that shines in his voice.
 
Bridges’ dad, blues guitarist Hideaway Slim, gave his son these gifts, and the bloodline that runs from bridges’ mother to Tina Turner surely helped, too.  A Texan since moving to the Lone Star State to join the Air Force at age 16, this strikingly approachable bluesman is now mid-40’s and is clearly hitting his stride.  His new album is a stripped-down affair compared to his previous discs, and he sparkles throughout, whether playing solo or dueting with Asleep at the Wheel’s pedal-steel guitarist Lucky Oceans or Texas troubadour Ray Wylie Hubbard.  A few gritty numbers do appear – the boot-to-the-wood Delta blues 'Ain’t Got Time' is one – but Bridges’ sublime, Wes Montgomery-styled guitar drives the disc to its highest ground on 'Love’s Got the Best of Me.'  Those who enjoy the new-blood blues of Fruteland Jackson and Eric Bibb, as well as fans of elder statesmen such as Taj Mahal, will find it impossible to pass on this album.

            
INVITATIONAL
JAMS

10 – Midnight, CLUB STAGE
As it wouldn’t be fair to schedule a band opposite the headliners on the Main Stage, each nite between 9 and midnight we invite Festival musicians to 
JAM IN THE CLUB, two songs each.
ALL STAR JAM

--all 3 nites

     Tony Mathews and the Rentiesville YaYas  Domenica & Janie
                                                  
 

       

      
                                                             

SATURDAY, Sept 3rd — Small Outdoor Back Porch Stage KIDS VILLAGE
 
includes workshops and is part of KID’s VILLAGE at this family-friendly Festival.
F.O.R. Blues let's kids in free and buys some of the best talent from OK Arts Council.

  in the KID's VILLAGE which is ongoing thru the entire fest - fun things to do!
       
                    
 
JAHRUBA LAMBETH
DRUM CIRCLES for the kids!

                
                    
Kids on Back Porch:
           BLUE FIRE FOLEY

                           

 a passion for the blues from age three or earlier. He's 13, now, and sings Muddy Waters - growing all the time.
                                         
                                          Blue Fire
creates blue fire - photo by Holly roach
Blue Fire Foley slide guitar from a thirteen year old and he can really wail on the deep blues. great stage presence.
TONY MATHEWS
 
charming, true blues, a true master of the guitar--all 3 nites
Fifty Cent ready to fly!   and Joann's Sun Puppet in action

                             
               
                

                
 
 
 

 Drums Help:            

  1. Encourage students to think for themselves.
  2. Develop rhythmic skills.
  3. Enhance musical abilities.
  4. Teaches self discipline and makes good listeners out of those who normally are not good listeners.
     
   great food!       
VSA arts                    BUD  
                                                                                                  


SUNDAY, September 4th — Main Outdoor Stage

 

GOSPEL

 

 

 Gospel Show Sun:

Rev Tony Wise's Church Chior form OKC

 

   




 
 
 
           
  Harry Williams
drummer 
   
                               
                                                                        
   
Selby Minner
and
Blues
on the Move

   
 
   
Festival founders, you are at DC and Selby's home place when you come to the Festival.
 Fun and true blues. Love songs....

SUNDAY, Sept. 4 — Indoor Club Stage
   

in the club after hours
HARRY & DEB BLACKWELL
         

 

DEBBIE AND HARRY BLACKWELL – the Fabulous Blackwell Bros. in from Dunsmuir CA. West Coast Blues hippy style…running jams and doing their own set – and coming in early, working to bring you the fest as well. Deb has been a musician since 13, fender and vocals. A “mountain girl originally from east LA..I went through heavy culture shock but this place, Mt Shasta, has lots of magic and I just can’t leave it too long”. That’s where she met Harry, too… www.myspace.com/debbieblackwell

      

      Debbie Blackwell and Harry Blackwell....in from Dunsmuir CA - hippy blues and more!!
EUGENE
 HIDEAWAY
BRIDGES

 

Born in 1963, son of the blues guitarist Hideaway Slim, Eugene is the fourth child of five. His mother was from the Bullock family (the same as Anna Mae Bullock better known as Tina Turner) and Eugene claims he got his guitar skills from the Bridges side and his voice from the Bullocks. At five he was already playing with his father around Louisiana. With his brothers as The Bridges Brothers he sang gospel and was the musician of his church touring with the Pastor, Elder A A Edwards. At thirteen Eugene was entering R&B talent shows and had formed his first R&B band The Five Stars.

Eugene moved to Texas to join the Air Force at sixteen, playing in the Air Force band for the next three years. On leaving he joined The New Chosen on guitar and vocals and went on to play with The Mighty Clouds of Joy.

Following a move to Houston, Texas in the 1980’s Eugene released Blues, Gospel and R&B recordings by the three bands he was running at the time. These included the first line-up of the Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges Band. They toured the USA from coast to coast. 

Eugene then travelled alone to Europe, where B B King Bassist Big Joe Turner spotted him in Paris and offered him the position of Guitarist / Vocalist with Big Joe Turners Memphis Blues Caravan.

A year later Eugene left to work under his own name again and formed The Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges Band. Signed to the Blueside label, Eugene recorded Born to be Blue, produced by Mike Vernon. His live performances received rave reviews and Eugene was awarded UK's Blueprint magazine Vocalist of the Year. He also won The Trophees France Blues 99 Chanteur De L'Annee.

In 2000 Eugene signed to Armadillo and released his next CD, Man Without A Home, which got worldwide airplay. Eugene appeared, often headlining, at major festivals in the USA, all over Europe, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia; whipping up a storm wherever he went with his distinctive southern sound.

The 2003 release, Jump the Joint, reached Number 4 in the US Living Blues Charts, charting for three months. Eugene’s songs also appear regularly in The National Association of Rhythm & Blues DeeJays charts. He was nominated for three 2003 US Cammy Music Awards.

In September 2004 Eugene recorded his next CD, Coming Home, at The Zone Studio in Dripping Springs, Texas; using a full horn section led by Seth Kibel, on several tracks. He also has Texan guitarist and friend Rocky Athas joining him on two cuts.

After four CDs recorded with a full band, for Eugene’s next self titled release, Eugene ‘Hideaway ‘ Bridges, he went into the studio with friends and fellow musicians, met on the road. Lucky Oceans, co-founder of the Western Swing band Asleep at the Wheel, plays Pedal Steel on three tracks and Texan legend Ray Wylie Hubbard lays down some fine Slide Guitar on I Can’t Wait.  This CD was nominate for two 2008 US Blues Music Awards.

March 2009 saw Eugene in San Antonio to fulfil his fans wishes for a Live CD.  With the line up of Bobby Baranowski - Drums, Eric King - Bass, David Webb - Keys, Seth Kibel - Sax and Justine Miller – Trumpet, you have the real deal. 
Live in San Antonio has now been nominated for a 2011 Blues Music Award in the Soul Blues Album Category and Eugene has also been nominated for Soul Blues Artist.

January 2011 and Eugene is back in the Zone Studio, Dripping Springs, Texas with Pat Manske as Producer. Pat has previously produced both of Eugene’s Blues Music Award nominated albums.

The new CD ‘ROCK AND A HARD PLACE’ is Eugene and his big band; the horns again led and arranged by long time collaborator and maestro Seth Kibel. Joining Eugene are David Webb on Keyboards, Hammond B3, Piano & Wurlitzer; Lloyd Maines on Pedal Steel; Eric ‘Lollipop’ King on Bass Guitar; Calep Emphrey on Drums, Seth Kibel on Alto, Tenor, Baritone Saxophones & Flute; Shane Pitsch on Trumpet And Mark V Gonzales on Trombone.

Blues, Soul, Jump, Funk, Gospel, Rock and Beach music make Eugene’s latest CD an upbeat journey through all the musical influences that have made Eugene the seasoned and versatile performer we have today.

Touring his new CD Eugene is available for solo and band performances. For booking and all enquiries please contact: mail@bluearmadillo.com

                            
INVITATIONAL JAMS
10 – Midnight, CLUB STAGE - 2 songs each

 

 

catch your favorite Festival performers doing a little extra - maybe someone from the West coast jamming with someone from Chicago or Florida!                                  

SUNDAY, Sept 4— Back Porch Stage
includes workshops and is part of KID’s VILLAGE at this family-friendly Festival.
F.O.R. Blues let's kids in free and buys some of the best talent from OK Arts Council.

                                    
  pottery and face painting fun in the Kid's VIllage...
             Harold Aldridge guitar
HARLEY HAMM
CHARLEY REDD
   
                               

Harley has mastered many styles on the guitar andd is quite a showman. he recently completed a stint in Las Vegas as the house band at the BB King Club there. from Checotah/ Muskogee
   WORKSHOPS and PERFORMERS                               

 Dusk til Dawn Faves





From other years: 

                           2010

                                                  

 

                                                            

 Dusk til Dawn Faves From other years

 

                                                 Dusk til Dawn Faves From other years:

 

Dusk til Dawn Faves From other years
Some of last year's headliners and more

  Our founder and inspiration, D.C. Minner    
               
ANDREW 'To-low 16' MILLER
and his Band of Brothers
Andrew 'To-low 16' Miller - New this year D.C. found this young man doing a residency in OKC when Andrew was in the second grade - and could play blues guitar. D.C. hired him and paid him his first $50 to play the Moore Fireworks show.. Andrew is now 16 and tears the guitar up....lyrical and versatile. His band of Brothers includes Mathew, 18, on bass and Kevin Miller, 14 on traps. Check them out, a must-see. 
                   
        
                           
D.C. Minner Tribute year- thanks D.C.


DC in action in the club
 
Flash/DC
DC & SELBY MINNER, R'vl Festival founders, DC has been inducted into 3 halls of fame here in OK.;  see 2.DC and Selby Minner link at page TOP
      
    

Tony Gets Lifetime   Achievement                   
from the OK Blues Hall of Fame, and D.C.


       TINY DAVIS
           
                                                Tiny Davis is currently the bassist in Selby's band. He is also a fine singer, guitarist. People love the tone of his deep vocals.    See him between sets outdoors tonite as well.    --all 3 nites  
   
BACKUPBLUESBAND

     
        

KEVIN VAUGHN AND THE BACKUPBLUESBAND
   
                           
       kevin  has played for  little  milton, johnny taylor jr, tu tu
jones and r l  griffin to name a few.  he also has opened for  tyrone davis, jennifer holiday, the ohio players, slave, kc and jo jo, and the lost lonley boys.  In 2008 kevin performed live at the john f kennedy center for peforming arts with the soul  crew.
 
       JONATHAN FOX
                 
Jonathan Fox is a 14 year old blues guitarist who entertains audiences with some licks and techniques normally seen in more experienced guitarists. Originally from Arizona he migrated with his family to San Antonio , TX at the early age of 3. He began playing guitar in June, 2003 and began public performance in October 2004. Jonathan has been influenced by a number of guitar players, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tommy Emmanuel, Buddy Guy and Eddie Van Halen. He has been mentored by several local guitarists. In addition to his instructor, Jorge Ortiz, Jonathan has performed with; W.C. Clark, Gary Clark Jr., Shawn Pittman, The After Midnight Blues Band, Will Owen-Gage, The Kristal and Silver Band, The Bennie Harp Band, The Jimmy Spacek Band, Delta Ryde, Albert Garcia and the Surprise Package, Toatly Bluz, Seth Walker, Butch Morgan, Ruben V, Catherine Denise, Joey Fender, Ed Wills, and The S.A. Blue Cats.  Jonathan has performed at Dusk To Dawn Blues Festival (Rentiesville, OK) The Rolling Oaks Sports Bar, Casbeers, Massimo's, Sam’s Burger Joint, Texas Pride Barbeque, The Cove, Fiascos, Martini Ranch, The Blue Cactus Café, The Hanging Tree Saloon, The Shade Tree Saloon, Santa’s Place, Leon Springs Dance Hall and Chango’s Havana Club.  
  tribute to DC with some of his originals   
OKLAHOMA OLLIE

OKLAHOMA OLLIE in from LA – years as a bassist and now guitar and vocals as well… welcome home, Ollie!
James
ODD SHEEP OUT                        - winners of our Battle of the Blues Bands last year!! They had a great time in Memphis at he IBC.... from the Tulsa area... growing in leaps and bounds. years of time-in in this group. DFest video at www.oddsheepout.com, vocalist Jennifer Marriott is from Canada.
ANDREW Jr. BOY JONES
 

Andrew Jr Boy Jones TX -was a good enough guitarist to play in Freddie King's band as a teenager and has been growing ever since...catch him now before we can't afford him at all!

       
             

Tommy McCracken Chicago -arrived singing. Grew up singing in church. He  is a showman in the vaudeville tradition and a "natural entertainer who goes with the moment. His show offers a disarming mix of reverence and ego as he rips through a blues cannon that touches on hits from B.B. King to Z.Z. Hill" - Steve Dollar, The Atlanta Constitution.  - here straight from Buddy Guy's Legends Chicago. He's toured 40 states and played in 4 foreign countries.

       
            
                       

Clarence King jazz sax will be at the High School in Checotah with a workshop and then play with the Jazz Band on the first Set outdoors Saturday nite.

 

CLARENCE KING
 

SUNSHINE jams with Tony Mathews,

Induction ceremony May 2007
Sunshine
is sweet and serious about the guitar.   A lovely smile and she has a way with a song.



          MISS BLUES
                     
from OKC, originally Paris (near Direct)  TX. Her mom died when she was 8 and Miss Blues went from being very loved to the odd step child… she educated herself, traveled the nation and has published Hoe Cakes and Collard Greens with Patti Cogshell – a beautiful offering of cultural tidbits and wisdom complete with a CD www.hoecakesandcollardgreens.com 
 She tours the festival circuit annually.

MISS BLUES
 


Miss Blues is a living blues legend. This lady CAN SING!!! Songbirds have nothing on her. If you like your blues with attitude and spice, you’ll love Miss Blues. And she can cook!!!

Miss Blues and her blues band have played festivals all over the United States and the world! She was inducted into the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame in 2004! In 2007, and 2009 Miss Blues was voted the Best Blues Band in Oklahoma and received a "Woody" award from the Oklahoma Gazette which called her "the state’s first lady of the blues - all soul and she lets you know it! Belting out songs in a signature way that her many admirers have come to call the Texas Shout!" Miss Blues has been featured (cover story) in both the February 2000 and October 2007 issues of Southwest Blues Magazine. She was also a featured artist at the 2007 Arkansas Heritage and Blues Festival (formerly known as the King Biscuit Blues Festival), in addition to headlining many other blues venues and festivals all over the United States and Europe. One blues reporter recently said:

"[Miss Blues] was probably the most sincerely performed set of the long weekend that I witnessed. It was drenched in authenticity and performed with a passion that I haven’t seen in years! These are the moments I cherish most about the King Biscuit."
Dave Warford, Professional Freelance Music Reporter,
"A Blues Travelogue: The King Biscuit Blues Festival 2007"

 

BERNARD
ALLISON
 
MOJO SONATA
 

MOJO SONATA BIOGRAPHY

A few years back, Deb Bynum and Steve Hahn turned off their TV, and filled the air with the sound of their guitars instead; and the music they made was good. By and by, Deb met Tina Southworth, who soulfully sang an a cappella “Milk Cow Blues.” Deb said, “you're hired,” and the music of the three was fun. Plastering WANTED posters all over Northeast Oklahoma lured former Seattle bassist, Karen Woody, providing “Mo' Bottom” attitude; and the music was magic. David Small was brought in to lay down a funky drumbeat, and now the music was smokin'. Conjuring up a brew of Tina & Deb originals, and covers of both well-known classics, and more obscure gems, got the mojo workin'. Mojo Sonata is unique Oklahoma blues: powerful vocals, haunting harmonies, fun arrangements and inspired instrumentals.

Earlier this year, representing the Friends of Rentiesville, Oklahoma, Blues Society, Mojo Sonata competed with over 100 bands from throughout the world in the 26th Annual International Blues Challenge on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee.  After hearing the band in the semi-finals at Ground Zero Blues Club, Ricky Stevens, Chairman of the Blues Foundation, organizer of the challenge, stated, “If you've never heard Mojo Sonata, this group had the tightest vocal harmonies I've ever heard at the International Blues Challenge.”  Mojo Sonata has also pleased audiences throughout Northeast Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas.

It has been a long-time dream of Mojo Sonata to play on the bill at the Dusk ‘til Dawn Blues Festival in Rentiesville – now, finally, that dream will be a reality!  Come on out and help us celebrate this milestone, groove to the music, and shake your tail feather!

SUNSET
CHECOTAH HS 
JAZZ BAND

 

 

               
CHECOTAH HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND with Jim Davis – an award winning local group.
  

    

   
                           

ROCKY FRISCO
OK Blues Hall of Fame Inductee will be with James!

KEVIN PHARISS BAND
                   

                           JAHRUBA
                
 




 

Click on cover photo for more info EG Kight

the Georgia Songbird back by special request
CECIL GRAY
FLYING EAGLE BLUES BAND
 
 
 





JOE LOUIS WALKER 
  
Checotah singer-guitarist    Jesse Cahn

               

ZAC HARMON in 2009

             



Zac Harmon 2009

Zac Harmon is returning to his roots after several decades expressing an unbiased love for music.

Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Harmon is a disciple of the Farish Street blues sound. (Farish Street is universally recognized as the home of many great blues legends including the late, great Elmore James.). During the 50’s and 60’s Harmon hung out at his father’s pharmacy on Farish (first African-American pharmacy in Jackson), soaking up the aura and sounds of the musician customers while developing his skills as a guitarist, organist and vocalist. Like many he honed those skills while at church.

Harmon’s early years included stints as guitarist for Z.Z Hill, Dorothy Moore, McKinley Mitchell and Sam Myers. Sam along with Jesse Robinson and Mel Brown played a significant role in Harmon’s development guiding his progress through the rifts of rock ‘n roll to the true blues. At the age of 16 he was teaching guitar at the local YMCA, instructing young men such as Eddie Cotton to play church music. Family demands and his own commitment to pursue an education meant replacing music for college. However once completed he couldn’t stay away from his calling.

Moving to Los Angeles in 1980 to pursue a career in music, Harmon worked as a studio musician and began to make a name for himself as a writer/producer, crafting songs for such varied notables as Karyn White, Freddie Jackson, Evelyn “Champagne” King, The Whispers, Cherrelle, K.C. & Jo Jo, The Mississippi Mass Choir and Children’s Choir, Alexander O’Neal and the O’Jays. He produced songs on the Mystical Truth album for Black Uhuru that received a Grammy nomination in 1994.

Later, while composing songs for a movie score and performing those songs in the studio, Harmon decided to pursue his longtime dream of recording his first blues project. The result, Live at Babe & Ricky's Inn, (2002 Another Production Company) was an electrifying testimonial to the blues, featuring eight totally original songs that truly embodies the Mississippi blues sound.

Sponsored by the Southern California Blues Society of Los Angeles, Harmon and the Mid South Blues Revue went on to win The Blues Foundation’s 2004 International Blues Challenge as “best unsigned blues band.” Since then there’s been no looking back with the release of the latest CD, “The Blues According to Zacariah,” appearances at US festivals, signing to a booking agent and international tours to Canada and France.

Harmon is a man on a mission and he’s here to stay
.

 
Lissa Ann Wohltmann:
The blues isn't simply a depressing state of mind. It is music that some consider the poor man's opera. It tells a story, but in a simple, reflective, soul-stirring manner.
BATTLE
OF THE BLUES BANDS
bands just show up at 5 - and all play between 6 - 7 pm ...winner qualified to go to IBC in Memphis, hired on next year's show and wins $100. Must have never been hired on the Fest to be qualified to compete.
   
VSA arts                 Phoenix

                              
 
   
 

                                                         Dusk Til Dawn Blues Festival

                                 2007                 2007
 

  Founder D.C. Minner          Induction OK Music H of F    w Selby 

 
 
                                                
 

 

                                                                     

 

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