As I pushed through my own personal struggles again this week (sorry if TMI) and reflected on the comments of several friends reiterating the concept I proposed here last week that music is a good place to focus and that it can help you through struggles, the week ended sadly for the music world. There is not much I can add to the plethora of remembrance articles being shared about Prince, but with the passing of blues icon Lonnie Mack yesterday as well, I feel that sharing his story with our readers is important. So, check out the article below and celebrate Lonnie Mack's contributions to blues music with me.
Of course I still hope for help finding missing listings of local bands you follow so PLEASE consider taking time to drop me an email. I want this newsletter to
offer you the information you, the reader, finds helpful. Send any
ideas or comments to me anytime at:
~Sandy McCann
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"Unsung Guitar Hero"
Lonnie Mack
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Yesterday was a day of losses for the music world for sure. The whole world likely is aware of the loss of the iconic musician Prince. For many the loss of a blues icon may have slipped past their notice. The blues world for sure lost another great yesterday when Lonnie Mack passed away at the age of 74. In 2007 Gibson Guitar shared his story calling him an "unsung guitar hero." The following is an excerpt:
"...But the story of how Lonnie Mack came to be a seminal artist begins not in 1985, but much earlier—July of 1941, to be exact, when Lonnie McIntosh was born in rural southern Indiana, not far from the Ohio River, to a farmhand father and a homemaker mother. 'It was a musical family,' the 66-year-old Mack remembers. 'Mom and Dad, my brothers, my sisters. Most of the music was on my mama’s side of the family. It had a lot to do with fiddles, banjos, and guitars, music that was leaning more toward bluegrass, gospel, and some of the old country stuff.'
Young Lonnie, whose family moved to Aurora, Indiana, not far from Cincinnati, shortly after his birth, never had to look far for musical guidance: His father played the banjo and his mother played guitar, as did an uncle—an American Indian who had spent a lot of time in Texas and was well-versed in Merle Travis¬-style picking and Delta blues. Another key figure in Lonnie’s musical development was a blind blues and jazz guitarist named Ralph Trotto.
'I started playing [the guitar] when I was about four, or tryin’ to play, you know,' Mack remembers. 'I could make a hook G, as they call it, where you just get the top and the bottom [strings] around the neck, start strumming and havin’ a little rhythm, you know. It was my oldest brother’s guitar. But the first real chords that was taught to me was taught to me by my mother. She had that real soulful, country, make-you-get-a-cold-chill kind of voice.'"
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Mark Your Cale ndar
for the
Bella Vista
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The Bella Vista Foundation, The City of Bella Vista Arts Council, and The Bella Vista POA are announcing the first annual, Bella Vista Hot-Dam Blues Festival to be presented on Sunday, July 3, 2016, in the park below Lake Loch Lomond Dam from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. Immediately following the Blues Festival, the City of Bella Vista will present their annual 4th of July fireworks demonstration.
Three great, Northwest Arkansas bands will be performing:
Jim Mills and the Hellbenders
Joe Giles and the Homewreckers
The Cate Brothers
Admission and parking are free. A free shuttle service to and from remote parking areas will also be available. Food and beverage will be available for purchase from five local food trucks and the Bentonville Brewing Company will host a beer garden.
The festival is also partnering with a Bella Vista food pantry to collect food for needy families. Spectators are asked to bring nonperishable, canned food items for donation.
Persons interested in volunteering to help with the festival can contact Deb Sorensen at (479) 855-7633.
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Still over a month to enter!
2016
International Songwriting Contest
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Once again this year Ozark Blues Society is excited to partner with the International Songwriting Competition.
Read on below and check out the link to get more information!
IMPORTANT for Songwriters
Enter World's TOP Songwriting Competition – the 21st Annual USA Songwriting Competition.
15 Categories You Can Enter.
21 Billboard top ten artists ALREADY discovered!
...Will YOU be next?
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04.22
- Bel Aires and Steve Pryor for Happy Hour at Georges Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville
- Daryl Brooks Band at the Dickson Street Pub in Fayetteville
- Brady Bunch Band at Bears Place in Fayetteville
- Jesse Dean at Core Public House in Fayetteville
04.23
- Left of Center at JJs Grill and Chill in Rogers
- Blew Reed and the Flatheads at Rowdy Beaver Den in Eureka Springs
- Eli Cook at the Founders Room in Alma
04.24
- Claudia Burson Jazz Brunch at Copelands Famous New Orleans Restaurant in Rogers
- Brick Fields at Brews in Eureka Springs
04.25
- Willin-N-Able at JJ's Grill and Chill in Forth Smith
04.26
- Keith Nicholson at JJs Grill and Chill in Bella Vista
04.27
- Blues Therapy with Brick Fields at Nomads Music Lounge in Fayetteville
- Nate Hancock at Mojo's in Fayetteville
- Gary Hutchison at JJ's Grill and Chill in Forth Smith
04.28
- Richard Burnett at JJ's Grill and Chill in Bella Vista
- Brick Fields Blues Therapy at Warren's Rec Room in Alma
04.29
- Full House for Happy Hour at Georges Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville
- Richard Burnett at The Grove in Rogers
- Tightrope at The Rowdy Beaver in Eureka Springs
04.30
- Tribute to Eric Clapton at Kingfish in Fayetteville
- The Odds at JJ's Grill and Chill in Fayetteville
- Tightrope at Rowdy Beaver Den in Eureka Springs
- J P Soars at the Warren's Rec Room in Alma
Mark Your Calendar
- 05.03 Doyle Bramhall II at George's Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville
- 05.22 Block Street Party on Block Street in Fayetteville
- 05.28 Jimmie Bratcher at the Meteor Guitar Gallery in Bentonville
- 06.04 Trey Johnson and Jason Willmon at the Founders Room in Alma
- 06.10 Rick Gibson Band at the Meteor Guitar Gallery in Bentonville
- 06/16-06/19 Eureka Springs Blues Weekend
- 06/24-06/25 Fort Smith Riverfront Blues Fest
- 07.03 Hot Dam Blues in Bella Vista
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On this day
in Blues History
April 22
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Today’s show features music performed by Jesse Fuller and George “Harmonica” Smith
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/sonnyterry211910.html
You have to open your mind. I like the ability to express myself in a deep way. It's the closest music to our humanity - it's like a folk music that rises up out of a culture.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/sonnyterry211910.html
Listen
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Blues means what milk does to a baby. Blues is what the spirit is to the minister. We sing the blues because our hearts have been hurt, our souls have been disturbed.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/albertahun394876.html
The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn't know how other people would take it. Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/158627n God loves you, what can be better than that?
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/arethafran649567.html
The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn't know how other people would take it.Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/158627
The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn't know how other people would take it.Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/158627
The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn't know how other people would take it.Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/158627
"Everyone has their own experience. That's why we are here, to go through our experience, to learn, to go down those paths and eventually you may have gone down so many paths and learned so much that you don't have to come back again."
Prince
June 7, 1958-April 21, 2016
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Check Out these regular local radio programs
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"The Generic Blues Show" hosted by Paul Kelso airs every Friday night at 9pm on KUAF 91.3FM
Rockin' Hog Radio presents "Sunday Morning Blues" from 8am to 10am every Sunday
LINK
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Get Involved with the Ozark Blues Society
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Annual membership levels begin at $15 and give you so much in return, including meeting new friends while enjoying the best blues artists in the area.
By being a member of The Ozark Blues Society of Northwest Arkansas, you are helping to support the Arts and to preserve the Original American Art Form known as The Blues.
Membership Benefits Include:
Weekly E-newsletter
Opportunities to win tickets to events
VIP seating at events (when available)
Discounts on OBS merchandise
Social networking – meeting other people who also love the blues
Opportunities to volunteer on OBS committees and at events
Ability to attend board meetings and vote on upcoming organizational issues and elections
Visit our Website to renew or join! Ozarkbluessociety.org
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